It\u2019s obvious that Henry Clerval serves as a foil character for Victor Frankenstein. Clerval is almost the complete opposite of Victor and this is made evident throughout the entire story. Especially in Volume 3 we see more of Clerval and the contrasting emotions of the two. Victor is sad and depressed for almost, if not all, of the last volume, while Clerval is able to marvel and experience happiness by all the sights and places the two visit on their journey. As Victor says, \u201cThe delight of Clerval was proportionally greater than mine.\u201d (170). Throughout this entire last volume we constantly see Clerval experiencing happiness, while Victor feels guilt for the loss of his family and pressure to fulfill his goal of finding the monster he created.<\/p>\n
Clerval is extremely significant in the life of Victor, as the two have known each other since childhood. In the story Victor completely deviates from telling his story to Walden in order to talk of how great Henry Clerval is as a friend and person. Victor states that, \u201cthe voice of Henry soothed me.\u201d He calls him his, \u201cbeloved friend\u201d (166) When Henry realizes that he has gone on a tangent he states, \u201cPardon this gush of sorrow; these ineffectual words are but a slight tribute to the unexampled worth of Henry…I will proceed with my tale.\u201d (167) It\u2019s clear that Henry was important to Victor and the main reason Victor was able to experience moments of happiness through his depression and illness.<\/p>\n
Clerval was also there as the Foil character, as mentioned earlier, to contrast and emphasize even more that emotion of Victor. The fact that Henry was mentioned by Victor so many time in the last volume, made Clerval\u2019s death that much more significant and difficult not just for Victor, but for the reader as well. It\u2019s interesting that Shelly had Clerval die, Victor\u2019s last true companion that he could depend on because Elizabeth was just as emotional as Henry. I think that Shelly did this just to show how horrible Victor\u2019s life became and just how much the creation of this monster truly ruined his life.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s obvious that Henry Clerval serves as a foil character for Victor Frankenstein. Clerval is almost the complete opposite of Victor and this is made evident throughout the entire story. Especially in Volume 3 we see more of Clerval and the contrasting emotions of the two. Victor is sad and depressed for almost, if not<\/p>\n