that he has sexual desire for her. He may also have a genuine sense of love for her, but this aspect is not as clear. Victors feelings for Elizabeth could be expected by examining his childhood.As he was growing up, Victor was quite sheltered. His only contact with women being his mother and Elizabeth. When Elizabeth was brought into Victors house his mother presented her as . . . a pretty present for my Victor. Victor at one point also states that Elizabeth was the beautiful and adored companion of all my occupations and my pleasures. The fact that Elizabeth was termed a present by Caroline, and Victor uses the word pleasures seem to suggest that she was intended to be not only Victors playmate as a child, but also his plaything as an adult. The fact that she was given to him can be related to the euphemism of giving ones self which is to engage in sexual acts with a person.I venture to say that the dream reveals that Victors lust was not confined to Elizabeth. I find evidence for this in the transformation of Elizabeth into Victors mother. Elizabeths image may have only been a way to mask his mother in a socially acceptable manner. In Victors mind it may have been his mother that he was embracing. He masks his mother with Elizabeth so that he does not have to consciously admit his desire for his mother. This theory comes from Freuds Oedipal Complex. Following Freuds theory, you could also say that the reason why Victor had an unstable relationship with his father is because he never resolved the feelings of rivalry that come from the complex. The rivalry may have continued because of the way in which Victor viewed the connection between Elizabeth and his mother. The metamorphosis of Elizabeth in Caroline also suggests that Victor may see the women as one in the same. Elizabeth had assumed the role of woman of the house after Caroline died. She took on the many of the motherly duties Caroline had preformed. Victor may have continued t...
