In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, is an obsessive scientist with a fixation for the act of creation; leading him to build the Creature. Victor’s work results in several moral consequences: the Creature killing multiple people and Victor feeling responsible, as follows, many troublesome mood changes arise. This is also seen in “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, as the narrator is determined to kill a man due to his fake eye that is tormenting the narrator. However, after he kills the man the narrator feels a deep sense of fear and regret, leading him to turn himself into the police. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, are two stories where the main characters’ Victor from Frankenstein, and the narrator from “The Tell-Tale Heart” share similarities in mood change, however the way they act on their emotions is where their differences are illustrated.  

Victor Frankenstein is introduced to the reader as an intelligent, and rather shy person with a drive for scientific excellence with the support of his father. As he states, “I was more calm and psychological than my companion; yet my temper was not so yielding” (32), Victor is comparing himself to Henry Clerval, as he was presumed to be more adventurous and imaginative. The narrator  in “A Tell-Tale Heart” is introduced to the reader as an unreliable, angry character that has an unhealthy hatred for a man’s eye which leads him to murder the man and stash his remains under floorboards. This conclusion is evident when he states,”But I scarcely observed this; anger and hatred had at first deprived me of utterance” (5). The mood difference between these two characters is seen by their reaction to hardship. As previously stated, Victor described himself as calm and calculated and this is further illustrated when he argues with the creature, he does not first act with violence, but words. On the other hand the narrator in “A Tell-Tale Heart”, is introduced as violent and states his intention of killing the old man early on in the story. On the contrary, both characters share an obsessive personality, affecting the overall mood of either works respectively. For example, Victor has an obsession with the pursuit of creation, and acts on these urges by creating the creature, however directly after the creature woke up he immediately regretted his decision. This parallels the narrator’s obsession with the old man’s eye, and his decision to kill him; but after getting questioned by the police, regret takes over and he ultimately confesses his actions. 

Overall, Victor Frankenstein, and the narrator in “A Tell-Tale Heart”, share similarities and differences that exhibit mood changes. The aforementioned highlights the obvious differences but stark similarities of Victor Frankenstein and the narrator in “A Tell-Tale Heart” that are not initially apparent. These similarities display that both Shelley and Poe use obsessive, regretful narrators to illustrate how easily human ambition can take over mental stability and reason. Both characters showcase the outcome of suppressed remorse by their respective downfalls: confession and death. Ultimately each character was not satisfied by their decision further emphasizing the tight grip obsession has on the human mind.