The Development of Victor

The character of Victor Frankenstein undergoes one of the more unique embellishments of a literary character I have ever seen. Instead of growing and becoming a more defined personality, Victor instead regresses and degenerates into an ambiguous madman. At the start of the novel, we see him in the prime of his life; heading off to college, brimming with genius and the creative spark that could almost guarantee him a position of glory. As the novel progresses, he begins to lose it, slowly at first, simply allowing himself to be caught up in his work is harmless enough, though it does tax his health considerably. Then, as the monsters rampage begins and all around him is slowly eaten away by despair and rage, he slips into ever deepening dementia.
He strikes me as a person very similar to Hannibal Lecter, who loses himself in order to exact revenge for a horrible crime. Victor becomes consumed with the idea of destroying the monster, while Lecter becomes a cannibal to get revenge on the men who tortured his little sister to death.