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Book beginning: page 15

Basic points of the story

• The whole story is told as a recap of Victor’s life, trying to impart wisdom which is so effective because of the sympathy his suffering provokes.
• The novel shows that people are born the way they are: Walton had no formal education growing up but had a natural urge to learn (p16) and therefore turned to books and learning of his own will; The monster was born with a hideous appearance and could not escape a life of deformity through both mentality and actions, no matter how good he was to begin with.

Customs of the time

• The importance of marriage, even planned from an early age as Victor and Elizabeth’s was, was common for this era.
• The pace of life was a lot slower before. Journeys took longer and made more stops, nowadays, you usually go straight to your destination and back.

The story

• Mary Shelley has taken the opportunity in this novel to relate an allegory “that may direct you if you succeed in your undertaking, and console you in case of failure” (p30).
• As Victor and Clerval journey towards England in the story, Victor tells Walton “and you, my friend, would be far more amused with the journey of Clerval, who observed the scenery with an eye of feeling and delight” (p154). However true this may be as Clerval’s story would be more light hearted, it is Victor’s that holds our attention.
• The reader should be able to assume that the story is quite accurately told, given that the version that reaches us is supposedly the one from Victor to Walton. However, it is the written copy taken from notes jotted down by Walton which are “corrected and augmented” (p210) by Victor that we are reading. And given that Victor was said to be in and out of a state of delirium, the reader must wonder with what accuracy the story has been told.

Victor’s character

• Victor never really takes responsibility for his actions, seen when he blames his father for not “taking pains” to explain why the old sciences of Cornelius Agrippa were dangerous, as they were “real and practical” (p39). However, on the next page he does say that “if my incantations were always unsuccessful, I attributed the failure to my own inexperience and mistake, than to a want of skill or fidelity in my instructors” which is a round the houses way of taking blame. However, the level of responsibility is not the same, a failed classroom experiment cannot be compared to real life choices.
• Victor does seem to live in a bit of a fantasy land since he said when he was younger he did not have many friends (p37), then he does not appear to have made many at Ingolstadt and even when he says that Clerval had rendered him social once more, there is still no indication of actual friends (p70). However, further down the page he says he once again became the same happy creature that was “a few years ago, beloved by all”.
• Victor always knows what he should do but very rarely does it, after Justine’s death he knew he “should have been the first to hide [his] grief, and console [his] friends” but all he could offer were “looks of despair” (p91).
• Victor felt extremely peaceful on water, when at his home in Belrive he said he felt free when he went out on his boat (p91). It is therefore quite reassuring that he died at sea in peace.
• By the time Justine had died everyone could see Victor’s dark side, including Elizabeth who tells him to “banish these dark passions” (p93).
• Victor shows an extremely selfish side on his wedding day when he says to a melancholy Elizabeth “you are sorrowful, my love. If only you knew what I have suffered […] you would endeavour to let me taste the quiet and freedom from despair” (p193). Given the amount of time he has spent distant and dejected, you would think he could excuse her for the few times she is disheartened, and encourage her through more light hearted thoughts to brighten up as she had always done for him.
• After so much agony, Victor finally tells his story twice, the first time to a magistrate after Elizabeth’s death (p199-201), and a second time to Walton once all of his loved ones have died (with the exception of his brother Ernest).
• Victor mainly focuses on describing his own suffering, however, he does mention the suffering he causes both his father and Elizabeth, mainly the former by his low spirits and the latter with his absence.

Victor’s life philosophies

• When Victor speaks of his mother’s death he lingers over a thought as to “why should I describe a sorrow which all have felt, and must feel?” (p43). It is as though he has accepted death as such a normal part of life that this is why there is so much of it in the story.
• The whole narrative is motivated by science and ambition which ruins lives. At the end, victor recommends “seeking happiness in tranquillity, and avoid ambition” (p217).

Self-destruction

• Victor’s downfall was caused by the creation of the monster which he made conscious of the fact it was unnatural. This is understood when he decided it was necessary to distance himself away from his loved ones to finish his project (p55).
• Victor was aware of the terrible consequences which would come from destroying the female counterpart, (made at the request of his original monster (p147)). Regardless though, he tore it to pieces (p166).
• Victor never shows much concern for actually looking after his health, especially on his journey coming back from Ireland to Geneva, he says he is still weak from his illness yet he is lying on the deck at midnight with a fair wind coming from the Irish shores (p183).
• In the end, Victor turned to drugs to be able to sleep and “gain the rest necessary for the preservation of life” having no problems taking double the usual quantity if he so needed (p184).

Obsession

• Is it possible to keep falling in and out of fits of madness without eventually staying there?
• Once Ernest is the sole remaining family Victor has left, shouldn’t his main concern be his brother’s preservation, instead of seeking the monster?
• Victor spent so much time “defending his person” in the time leading to the wedding that he never showed any signs of excitement for the event (p192).
• Did Victor ever stand a chance of catching the monster to destroy him? The monster was better equipped for any hardships of weather, he was faster and stronger, and overall in better health.

The monster’s evolution

• The monster’s start in life was quite a normal one as he says “it is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being” (p102), mirroring how humans too cannot remember the first stages of their lives. However, he was brought to life knowing how to walk (p102) although he did not posses the faculty to talk (p58).
• From beginning to end the monster never belonged anywhere, had no name or home, unless the reader considers his hovel as a temporary one.
• The first things the monster learnt about were pain and misery (beginning of chapter XI).
• The monster was a quick and eager learner, both street smart and book smart (p105).
• The monster caught on very quickly how to measure time, talking of “several revolutions of the moon” (p112) and instantly talking of night and day, and cold and warm weather for the seasons.
• Some indication of the monster’s original benevolence could be when he talks of trying to imitate the songs of the birds. Birds always fly from danger and only sing when they are happy, so if they were singing in his presence it must mean he posed no threat.
• When staying in the hovel, the monster came across some books which he took possession of (p127). Does the fact that he now owned luxurious and intellectual items make him a step higher in the world?
• Several times throughout the novel the monster explains daydreams that he has had, which is not only a very human thing to do but also shows how he fantasised about the good life.
• As the monster said: he may have been different had the de Lacey family he imitated and learnt from been different (p129). This refers as much to if they had been more violent, as to if they had accepted his appearance when he made contact with them.

The monster

• There are many times the monster contradicts himself, one of these is when he describes the de Lacey family as having “every luxury” (110/11) including “delicious viands when hungry” (p111). But then in the following paragraph he states “their nourishment consisted entirely of the vegetables of their garden, and the milk of one cow” as a sign of their suffering from poverty.
• The monster did not mind being invisible but he did not want to be rejected. Although being the invisible helping hand (p113) was not his ideal state, he bore it well, but rejection quickly drove him to sinful acts.
• Originally the monster does not kill for food as he says he can survive on acorns and berries (p146), however, when he turns from his once good nature he is seen leaving hares for Victor to replenish his energies and carry on in his pursuit of the monster (p205). Although one could argue that if he had killed a human then killing an animal for food is quite expected, he supposedly turned to murder as he had “declared everlasting war against [humans]” (p136). But what was his qualm with other creatures, had they not continued to accept his presence with their singing, for example? Had he really given up so completely?
• The monster certainly never learnt moderation, everything he says and does is extreme, not only in his dedication to learning when watching the de Laceys, or the method of revenge on Victor, but also how he would “make peace with the whole kind” should any one being feel emotions of benevolence towards him (p145).
• When speaking of the female counterpart, the monster states that in her he looks to find someone that will meet him with sympathy and this will disperse any evil passions he might have (p147). This marks his ultimate goal as finding someone to feel sorry for him and presumably give him the sympathy he requires when feeling dejected.
• The reader has to trust that the monster will commit suicide purely based on his word, since he was described as having powers of eloquence and persuasion (p200), did the monster actually go through with it or did he just continue his journey into “darkness and distance” (p223).

Secondary characters

• Victor’s friends and family seem quite stereotypical, or at least quite simple in character description. Each one represents something missing from Victor: his father, respectability and integrity (p31); his mother, tenderness (p33); Elizabeth, calm (p36), gentle (p38); Clerval, noble spirit, generous, kind and tender (p38); Ernest, full of activity and spirit (p64); William, sweet and gentle (p71).
• As such a loving man as Victor’s father was, and the unconditional love that he shows even in situations regarding law-breaking, it is no wonder that he accepted Elizabeth into his home as a little girl.
• Safie breaks the mould of dark features being a symbol of a bad character, she is one of the most angelic and loved characters in the novel.

Character comparisons

• A vast contrast between Victor and Clerval is in their choice of studies, Victor opted for science being attracted by the unknown, whereas Clerval wanted to be the “complete master of the oriental languages” (p69). The former is a field which is in constant evolution and the latter quite a stable field of knowledge that shows slow and steady evolution. Also, Victor’s application of his studies isolated him whereas Clerval’s choice would have brought him closer to new groups of people.
• Safie and the monster share a common moment in life: Safie as an Arabian coming to the Western world and the monster being born as an adult into it, they are both “utterly ignorant of the customs of the world [but] fell into good hands” (p127). Although this quote is originally about Safie, it is true that the monster was lucky to learn his customs and language from imitating the de Lacey family.
• Most of the time Victor and the monster have the same wants and needs: both want to be in loving relationships, to be cared for and kept safe, and they both think killing is the best form of revenge. However, we see how it is automatically acceptable for Frankenstein to want these things, but it is debatable if the monster should.

Hero complex

• Does Victor have a hero complex? When he ponders the thought of telling others of the monster’s existence he says: “what use would be pursuit? Who could arrest a creature capable of scaling the overhanging sides of Mont Salêve?” (p77). He later goes on to hunt the monster alone, but if he judged others could not do it together, why did he believe he could do it by himself?
• Whenever Victor talks of confronting the monster, he always does so in such heroic terms, for example in chapter XXIII he says he resolved to “sell [his] life dearly, and not shrink from the conflict until [his] own life, or that of [his] adversary, was extinguished” (p194).

Thinking ahead

• The monster put himself out there emotionally which is brave but did he have a plan if everything went wrong with the de Laceys?
• How do we know that with time the monster would not want more? Since he states that the gratification of a female counterpart as ugly as himself, would be small (p145).
• The first monster’s creation took Victor two years to complete, so why did he tell Clerval “I may be absent a month or two” (p162) when parting to create the second, would he not have expected it to take a lot longer?

Authority figures

• There is conflict as to who the master is and who the slave is (p167, p220), but it would seem that the monster’s words would be the most accurate: Victor is the creator, but the monster is the master (p167). If Victor had have fulfilled his role as a parent, then he would most likely have held all the power, however, forfeiting this role left the monster open to rebellion. Of course, there is still no way of knowing what would have happened under different circumstances.

Love and marriage

• The de Lacey family is a good example of human nature: they show happiness, sadness, hard work, and family values, but on a down side they also represent a need to always want more. To the less fortunate, the monster in the case of this novel, he could see “no cause for their unhappiness” (p110) and would have been content with a fraction of what they had, yet still he often saw them sad. However, as the story progresses the monster saw how joy could take the place of sadness (p118), and for at least their remaining days in the cottage, the de Lacey family was fulfilled. This change was of course caused by the appearance of Safie which helped lead the monster to believe his happiness also lied with a female companion.
• Is the story of Adam and Eve also encouragement for the monster to believe that his happiness lies with a female counterpart, and that simply being forced together in the world will automatically mean you will fall in love with one another?
• Would the female counterpart not deserve better than a mate who describes her co-existence as a “small gratification”? (p145). She may be as physically ugly as himself (as per his request), but he wished people to accept him for being good, could he not have loved her for the same reason? Also, did he really believe their lives could not be happy (p146), requesting her existence simply not to be alone?
• When Victor wanted to be happy he thought “with melancholy delight, of [his] beloved cousin” Elizabeth (p182).

Religion and Science

• Victor is a man of science but still believes in God and the afterlife.
• There are many religious references in the story, and even more when the monster reads Paradise Lost. If anything, the monster becomes quite Christian, he certainly follows their concepts of Heaven and Hell.
• God induced curiosity in Victor for the sciences. It was after a grand thunderstorm that seemed to come “from various quarters of the heavens” (p41) that he really became acquainted with the laws of electricity. And although the origin was pure in nature, it was the utter destruction of a tree “entirely reduced to thin ribands of wood” (p41) that interested Victor, a scene that should have alerted him to the dangers of applied science.
• Victor managed to succeed in his experiments of the human anatomy in part because he was not affected by “supernatural horrors” (p51) and could therefore frequent graveyards at night to procure the body parts needed.
• Justine’s mother was a highly religious woman who believed that the death of her favourite children was judgement from God for her ill treatment of Justine (p66). This character may have been introduced to highlight the difference between the older generations’ religious ways and the new scientific tendencies of the younger generation. However, it brings attention to the ongoing connection between Christianity and the younger generation who have not altogether forsaken religion, as in trying moments they all turn to its beliefs.
• It would seem Victor’s journey in pursuit of the monster was particularly watched over by some higher entity. But, also, the monster’s first journey saw a lot of “luck” when it came to finding things (p103, p104, p127).
• When the monster is describing his future with a female counterpart, he says “the sun will shine on us as on man” (p146), which could be a symbol of God’s approval.
• The beauty of the monster is that he has the same questions as humans but his can be answered. He wants to know what he is and where he came from, as he is a science experiment these questions can be answered.

Society / Civilisation

• The monster was attracted by civilisation, he did not want to be wild (p106).
• When the monster comes across the de Lacey family he starts to leave his primitive stage behind and become more human. He says “I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature: they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food” (p108). This shows an evolution from basic instinctual feelings needed for survival, to human emotions of love, which he achieved through approaching society.
• It would seem that it is not just the monster who is isolated but also the humans to a certain extent. Walton, for example, is off on a sailing excursion alongside an ever dwindling crew (p213); the Frankenstein family chose a life of seclusion upon the birth of their second son, Ernest (p37), although it is stated that they received “congratulatory visits” for Victor’s engagement (p191) and “after the ceremony was performed, a large party assembled” for celebrations (p192); the de Laceys lived as a family but rarely had visits from anyone (p112); and that’s not to mention the “rock” Victor inhabits when in Scotland that included only five inhabitants (p163).
• As happy as the de Lacey family supposedly was, one day when their father was left alone in the house, he picked up his guitar and at first with an illuminated countenance played a few songs until gradually he fell into sadness (p132). This could show what happens when someone is left alone for too long and may be a reflection on the monster’s life.
• When finding himself in Ireland, it would seem that the magistrate Victor encounters after Clerval’s murder, wanted to help him, and it is the masses that go against him (end of chapter XX & chapter XXI).

Responsibility and justice

• Upon Clerval’s arrival at Ingolstadt, after Victor finishes the monster’s creation, Victor explains his declined appearance by saying how he had been “deeply engaged in one occupation” but hoped “that all these employments are now at an end, and that [he is] at length free” (p60). This is a seemingly odd thing to think after you have just created a life, as 1) he should realise that a live and active being roaming the world is not an easy thing to detach yourself from; and 2) shirking all responsibility to become “free” is not the most likely way to solve a problem.
  
  It also questions the amount of thought he put into the project outside of it being a science experiment, as he clearly thought he could just toss it aside like any other former experiment he had done. He took no pains to learn what it would mean to actually become a father and much less of a whole new species as he intended. He was also clearly not mentally mature enough for such a venture as his reaction was not only to run away (p58) but then to simply hope the monster had not come back (p61). Was he honestly naïve enough to believe that this would be the end of the issue?

• When Justine is falsely accused of murder and Elizabeth insists on her innocence, Victor’s father tries to reassure her by saying she should “rely on the justice of our laws” (p81), showing how inefficient the judicial system really is.
• Is it just chance that led Victor to be acquitted of his crimes and Justine to be sentenced to death? Did their economical status and family backgrounds have any influence?

Gothic elements

• There are moments that appear to posses magic, luck, higher power, and coincidence.
• Gothic elements: thunder storms, churchyard, excursions at night, corpses, madness, whispering winds, and ruined castles.
• Victor’s time in the mountains empowered him, and although a man of science, it gave him a strong sense of God’s existence: “I ceased to fear, or to bend before any being less almighty than that which had created and ruled the elements” (p94).
• The description Victor gives of the hut he occupied whilst constructing the second monster is the perfect Gothic location: a remote area, with only five inhabitants, waves crashing against the island, barren lands, suffering, dilapidated architecture (p163).
• Scotland/Britain was a better setting than Switzerland for such a dark job as creating a second monster (p164), with its lower and less majestic land and cloudy therefore gloomier weather.

Diversity

• The scenery presented in the novel serves its Gothic nature, but when comparing Britain to Switzerland, it seems as though not all the world is as equally grand (p164). However, this gives the sense that the Earth provides for all types of people and circumstances, and without this, there would not have been a darker, more remote dwelling for Victor’s second experiment.

Appearance

• The monster was originally so good on the inside that he could not believe he was so hideous on the outside, because his appearance did not reflect who he believed himself to be. It feels as though he assumed he would look like the perfectly formed de Laceys as they were his embodiment of what was ‘good’.
• The monster says “when I looked around, I saw and heard of none like me” (p120), which although it is true he was unique, there have been plenty of humans to think the same about fitting into society.

Set backs

• The monster was just starting to get on with his life when the seasons changed and he felt that his chief delights of “the sight of the flowers, the birds, and all the gay apparel of summer” had deserted him (p131).

Counting your blessings

• Although only once, the monster did receive his wish to experience the feeling of “the voice of kindness” whilst conversing with the old de Lacey (p135).
• Should the monster have stayed in the shadows and enjoyed his lot, rather than present himself to the de Laceys?

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Oxford World Classics, 1998.