# William Frankenstein — Frankenstein character guide

> William Frankenstein in Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Poor William, William, Dear William

**First appearance:** 0011-chapter-iii

## Snapshot

Victor's youngest brother, a bright and cherished boy whose brief life becomes the first casualty of the creature's loneliness and rage.

## Who they are

William is the family's darling, doted on by father and brothers alike, still young enough to believe the world is kind. His innocent trust and the locket he wears make him fatally vulnerable when he encounters a being the world has already rejected. His death converts Victor's private guilt into public catastrophe, setting the novel's machinery of grief, accusation, and pursuit into motion.

## Relationships

### [The Creature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/characters/the_creature)

_rivalry_

The Creature murders young William in a fit of rage after being rejected by the boy.

### [Elizabeth Lavenza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/characters/elizabeth_lavenza)

_family_

Elizabeth is William's loving older cousin and caretaker, deeply grieving his murder.

### [Elizabeth Lavenza](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/characters/elizabeth_lavenza)

_family_

Elizabeth is William's loving older cousin and caretaker, deeply grieving his murder.

### [The Creature](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/characters/the_creature)

_rivalry_

The Creature murders young William in a fit of rage after being rejected by the boy.

## In the story

### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-vi)

Described as tall for his age with sweet laughing blue eyes and dimples.

### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-vii)

The victim; his murder is the central event of the chapter.

### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-viii)

William is the murdered child, the first victim of the Creature, whose death sets the tragic events in motion.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-xvi)

Murdered by the Creature in the woods near Geneva.

### [Chapter XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/chapters/chapter-xix)

William's murder is recalled as a source of Victor's anguish and the barrier between him and others.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/characters/william_frankenstein
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/frankenstein_se/characters