How Is Clerval A Foil In Frankenstein

In works of literature, characters called foils possess qualities that emphasize to those of the main character. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, Henry Clerval serves as a foil to the eponymous tortured scientist. Clerval’s presence in the book highlights Frankenstein’s melancholy and solitary nature, his insatiable curiosity, and the suffering he unwittingly caused through the monster he made. Following his successful reanimation of a corpse, Frankenstein is so shocked and horrified by his creation that he retreats to his residence, unable to even look at a scientific apparatus without being reminded of his monster. Only the perpetually optimistic Clerval is able to approach and console Frankenstein. Clerval’s loving and cheerful personality contrast sharply with the sadness that …show more content…
Transformed into a resentful and lonely creature by prejudice, Frankenstein’s monster kills those the scientist holds dear, from his cherubic younger brother William to his fiancée and childhood friend Elizabeth. Even the gentle and sympathetic Clerval becomes one of the monster’s victims. The sight of Clerval’s drowned body shocks Frankenstein and drives him into a deep despair as he realizes he has killed his best and most steadfast friend. Shelley’s description of Clerval’s kind personality and close relationship with Frankenstein make his untimely death an even more jarring reminder of the immense suffering Frankenstein unintentionally brought upon his loved ones. Henry Clerval plays an important role in Frankenstein by acting as a foil to Victor Frankenstein himself. Through his actions and friendship with Frankenstein, Shelley highlights Frankenstein’s sadness, his passionate yet shortsighted devotion to science, and the pain he inflicts on others. Clerval dies an innocent man whose devotion to his friend ultimately causes his