Frankenstein

//F//The British Literature and Composition class also reads the novel Frankenstein. Here is the link to my website of resources. You do not need to do any of the assignments, but the study guides and other materials may be helpful.

Literary Devices: [|Themes in Frankenstein] [|Allusions in Frankenstein] [|Symbolism in Frankenstein]

For Background on the Novel: //Listen to free podcast from HowStuffWorks.com: The Birth of Frankenstein and the Vampyre// //Go to iTunes and search "The Birth of Frankenstein and the Vampyre" or you can listen to it streamed via HowStuffWorks.com if you have a speedy internet connection//.

Notes from Podcast:

About the Author: Mary Shelley
 * Mary Shelley was born onAugust 30, 1797 in London, England. Her parents were Willian Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, a famous female literary figure of her time. Mary first met Percy Shelley, her future husband, in 1814. After Percy's wife, Harriet Westbrook, died from drowning herself, Percy and Mary eloped dispite the disproval of both of their fathers. In 1816, Mary Shelley published her most famous novel, //Frankenstein.// She later went on to write five more novels that ended up having negative critics. Mary Shelley became ill and died on February 1, 1851 in Bournemouth, England. **

Historical Setting: Europe in 1800s


 * Europe's population during the early 1800's seemed to struggle. More and more people were dying from disease such as scarlet fever and tuberculoses, that couldn't be stopped or cured do to inadequate medical knowledge during this time. Along with the increased death rate due to diseases people during this time were also dying from shortage of food supplies. **


 * Between the late 1800's and early 1900's Europe's population more then doubled. This was caused by the death rate being decreased and not due to families having more children. Families were actually having fewer children during this time. Farming methods improved therefor people started eating better and more food was being produced. Medical advances were also improved during this time which also aided in the drop of Europe's death rate. In 1870, Louis Pasteur discovered a link between microbes and diseases. This helped him create vaccines for rabies and anthrax. Pasteur was also able to discover the process of pasteurization, which is the process of killing disease in milk. Robert Koch also identifies the bacteria that caused the disease tuberculoses. Tuberculoses was the cause of 30 million deaths during the 1800's. **

Scientific Significance:

Character Listing with description and Character Traits:

Victor Frankenstein- He is the narrator for most of the story. Victor discovers the secret of life, which allows him to create a monster. However, he didn’t plan on being afraid of the monster he created.

The monster- The monster is an eight foot tall, ugly beast. He is sensitive to his feelings and shows potential for intelligence. He desires to be accepted by the human society but struggles to be successful with acceptance. The monster looks to revenge on Victor to compensate for his abandonment.

Robert Walton-Robert is a sailor in the Arctic, who finds Victor and nurses him back to health. While recovering, Victor tells his story of the monster to Robert. Robert then relays the story in a series of letters to his sister.

Alphonse Frankenstein- Alphonse is Victor’s father. He emphasizes the importance of family to Victor during his struggles.

Elizabeth Lavenza- Elizabeth is an orphan adopted by the Frankensteins. During their childhood, Victor and Elizabeth grow close. She is to be married to Victor.

Henry Clerval- Henry is Victor’s childhood friend. When Victor becomes sick in Ingolstadt, Henry nurses him back to health. Being unhappy working for his father, Henry makes the decision to become a scientist like Victor.

William Frankenstein- William is Victor’s youngest brother. He is the victim of murder by the monster. William’s death becomes a burden to Victor because he feels guilty for creating the monster.

Justine Moritz- Justine is a young girl that the Frankenstein family had adopted while Victor was growing up. She is blamed for the murder of William and sentenced to death.

Caroline Beaufort- Caroline is the daughter of Beaufort. She is taken in my Alphonse after her father’s death. She catches scarlet fever from Elizabeth and dies shortly before Victor leaves for Ingolstadt.

Beaufort- Beaufort is a merchant. He is a friend of Victor’s father.

Peasants- An old, blind man, De Lacey; the children, Felix and Agatha; and a foreign woman, Safie make up a family of peasants. By observing this family the monster learns how to speak and interact with others. When the monster tries to reveal himself to them with hopes of friendship they chase him away.

M. Waldman- He is a professor of chemistry who gets Victor started with science. He sympathizes with Victor’s dream of discovering the origin of life.

M. Krempe- He is a professor of natural philosophy. He advises Victor to start over with a new topic of study after observing Victor’s study of the alchemists.

Mr. Kirwin- He accuses Victor of murdering Henry.

Frame Story:
 * Frankenstein begins as a Frame Story in the form of a letter from a man named Walton, who is leading an expedition to the North Pole, to his sister Margaret. He starts the story by telling about his voyage thus far and then talks about his wish to find a companion to share his life with whom he can have intelligent conversations with and have somewhat of the same social status. Anyhow, he then tells his sister about how one day the ship became stuck in ice and his crew noticed a dogsled in the distance with a figure of a very large man on it. After a couple hours, Walton's crew find a frozen man out on the ice, who turns out to be a scientist named Victor Frankenstein. He is taken aboard and begins to recover in the captain's company. While recovering, Victor explains his presence in the North Pole and his past that ultimately lead him there. At this point, Walton's frame story narrative ends and Victor starts to takeover as the narrator. **

Timeline of Novel (From the Letters to Chapters 1- 24 and the Letters continued, not chronological order):

Letters:

Chapter 1: The stranger, who is later identified as Victor Frankenstein, begins to tell his story. He tells Walton about his family and his childhood. When talking about his parents, Victor describes to Walton that after Caroline’s father died Alphonse took it upon himself to look after her. A few years later Alphonse and Caroline married and conceived Victor.

Victor continues with how Elizabeth came to be a part of the family. While on a trip to Italy, Caroline comes across a poor family. She notices the young girl, Elizabeth, because she lacks the same physical characteristics of the other children in the family. When Caroline learns that Elizabeth is an orphan and the family is struggling to feed her along with their own children, she decides to adopt the young girl. Upon adopting Elizabeth, Caroline makes the decision that one day Victor will marry the girl.

Chapter 2: During their childhood, Victor and Elizabeth become best friends. Victor also becomes well acquainted with a boy from school, Henry Clerval. He continues to pursue a rather happy childhood with these too friends. During his teen years, Victor finds fascination in science. He specifically becomes interested in natural philosophy with the help of a book written by Cornelius Agrippa. Victor studies the work of alchemists Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus. However, when Victor sees the destruction of lightning and becomes more interested in electricity, the ideas of the alchemists soon seem worthless in Victor’s eyes.

Chapter 3: Just before Victor leaves his home in Geneva to attend a university, his mother, Caroline, becomes sick with scarlet fever. Caroline caught the disease from Elizabeth who she had been nursing back to health. On her death bed Caroline made Victor promise to marry Elizabeth. Victor leaves several weeks after the death of his mother to attend the university in Ingolstadt. Shortly after arriving there, he sets up a visit with the philosophy professor at the university. The professor basically tells Victor that he has wasted all of his time learning about the alchemists. This upset Victor greatly. Victor then attends a lecture by one of the chemistry professors at the university. After listening to the lecture, Victor decides to pursue a career in the field of science.

Chapter 4: Once Victor decided on a career in science, he started studying vigorously. It seemed as if his studies were all that mattered to him. His family and social life didn't seem to be a concern to him at this time. Victor starts becoming obsessed with the creation of life. He starts focusing his studying on anatomy and death and decay of human bodies. After learning all he can about the creation of life, Victor decides to create his own creature in the secrecy of his own apartment. Victor becomes even more obsessed and starts neglecting everything, his family, social life, and even his studies at this point. Victor's appearance was even taking a tole.

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

Chapter 7: Victor is informed by a letter from his father that his youngest brother, William, has been murdered. In distress, Victor immediately departs for Geneva. He does not arrive before the gates of Geneva are closed so he spends the night wondering around in the woods. He goes to the location that his brother’s body was found and finds the monster nearby. Victor is then convinced that the monster is responsible for the murder. When Victor finally arrives home the next day he learns that Justine has been accused of William’s murder. After the body was found, Justine was caught with William’s picture of his mother. Victor tries to convince others that Justine is innocent, but the evidence is too strong to be ignored. Victor refuses to explain how he knows she is innocent because he is afraid everyone will consider him insane.

Chapter 8:

Chapter 9: Victor’s depression increases after Justine’s execution. His father and Elizabeth are the only things keeping him from suicide at this point. In an attempt to cheer up Victor, Alphonse plans a family trip to the home at Belrive. Victor is cheered up some by the beautiful scenery in the valley of Chamounix.

Chapter 10:

Chapter 11:

Chapter 12:

Chapter 13:

Chapter 14: After observing the cottagers for quite some time the monster is able to piece together their history. De Lacey used to be a successful man in Paris. The children, Felix and Agatha, were also well respected in the community. Safie’s father was a Turk who was accused of a crime he did not commit and was sentenced to death. Felix met Safie when he visited the Turk in prison. Felix and the Turk’s daughter fell in love and began writing letters to each other. In the letters Safie tell Felix how her mother had influenced her independence and intelligence. Safie tells Felix that she is eager to marry a European man to escape the slavery in Turkey that her mother was not so lucky to get away from. Felix is able to coordinate an escape plan for Safie’s father, however, once the plan was discovered Felix, his sister, and his father were exiled from the country. They also lost all of their wealth and riches. As for Safie and her father, the two of them escaped but didn’t quite see eye to eye on what was going to happen after they got out of prison. The Turk wanted Safie to return to Constantinople with him, but Safie had other plans. She escaped from her father with a little money and knowledge of where Felix was. This is what led them to the cottage in Germany where the monster has been observing them.

Chapter 15:

Chapter 16:

Chapter 17:

Chapter 18:

Chapter 19: While traveling through England and Scotland with Henry, Victor becomes impatient and anxious to start creating the second creature he had promised the monster. Victor convinces Henry to stay with one of his friends in a Scottish town while he continues the tour of the country alone. Once Victor is on his own, he travels to a remote island in the Orkneys, where he plans to create the second monster. Victor uses a small shack to set up his lab. He works around the clock to create the new monster, but he finds it troubling to follow through with the work. His conscience is well aware of how unsatisfying the outcome of this project will be.

Chapter 20:

Chapter 21: Victor is taken to the magistrate of the town, Mr. Kirwin. Witnesses testify against Victor. They claim that before finding the body on the beach they saw a boat in the water that looked similar to Victor’s. Mr. Kirwin decides that Victor should see the body. He is hoping to see what effect the body has on Victor. He believes that if the sight of the body makes Victor react emotionally then he must be the murderer. Victor is horrified when he sees the body because it is Henry Clerval. From such a shock, Victor becomes ill. He spends the next two months recovering in prison. Mr. Kirwin pays Victor a visit towards the end of his recovery. He informs Victor that there is someone who wants to see him. Victor immediately fears that it is the monster, but he comes to find out that it is really his father. His father’s visit brings great happiness to Victor. Alphonse stays with his son until the court finds him innocent on account that the evidence was circumstantial. When Victor is releases from prison he joins his father in Geneva.

Chapter 22:

Chapter 23:

Chapter 24: Victor feels that he can no longer stay in Geneva. He has lost his whole family, and the memories in Geneva are too painful for him to deal with. Victor spends months tracking the monster. Along the way he finds clues and messages the monster has left for him. These soon anger Victor, but he continues to hunt the monster. His search leads him to the North, where he meets Walton and shares his story. Victor asks Walton to continue hunting the monster for him after he dies.

Letters:

Character Development of Main Characters: How did these characters change throughout the novel?

Victor: Victor’s life started out in happiness. His early years were very cheerful. However, he soon fell into a dark depression when his world began to be destroyed by the monster. The monster was shunned by Victor, which gave the monster reason to dehumanize Victor by killing all of those close to him. He was too proud to claim his mistake and that eventually lead to the destruction of his family.

Elizabeth:

the Creature: The creature tried to act civilized and fit in with the rest of the human society. However, with a lack of acceptance the monster becomes angry. This anger is the fuel for his revenge. The monster’s innocence was tarnished by the discrimination of civilization.