r/FRANKENSTEIN • u/KeraKitty • 7d ago

Why Viktor?

Why do so many people use the "Viktor" spelling when the novel only ever uses "Victor"? The Frankensteins are from the predominantly French-speaking city of Geneva, so if people are trying to de-anglicize the spelling wouldn't "Victoire” be a better choice?

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10

u/_I_Like_Yaoi_ 7d ago

Same line of questioning with von Frankenstein as well. But it’s probably InkMage13’s reason.

People think he’s German.

7

u/InkMage13 7d ago

It's because they think he's German

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u/KeraKitty 7d ago

I get thinking that if you haven't read the novel, but I keep seeing people who have read it use that spelling. How do you read the whole book and miss the constant mentions of Geneva and the consistent spelling of his name?

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u/Physical-Ad5343 6d ago

Most people probably are not aware that Geneva is French-speaking, and get more hung up on the very Germanic name Frankenstein.

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u/ElevatorSevere7651 7d ago

”Victoire” wouldn’t be good either, because that’s the French equivalent of Victoria

3

u/worstcourtjester 7d ago

Could be people more used to that spelling just misspelling it by mistake?

4

u/Snowpaw11 7d ago

They want to be special I guess 🤷‍♀️

2

u/JackfruitSlight1704 6d ago

They do it because many people associate Frankenstein with Germany.

  1. The name Frankenstein is Germanic.

  2. The 1931 movie is prominently set in the Bavarian Alps.

0

u/Select_Insurance2000 7d ago

In my world of Universal studios monsters, it's Henry.