Frankenstein

Study Guide by Course Hero

in letters to his sister. In turn, Victor quotes the Monster's

What's Inside narration, also in the first person. Finally, Elizabeth Lavenza
and Alphonse Frankenstein relate part of the story through
their letters to Victor.
j Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1
TENSE
d In Context ..................................................................................................... 1 Frankenstein is told in the past tense.

a Author Biography ..................................................................................... 4 ABOUT THE TITLE

h Characters .................................................................................................. 4
k Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 8
c Chapter Summaries .............................................................................. 12
g Quotes ........................................................................................................ 32
l Symbols ..................................................................................................... 34
m Themes ....................................................................................................... 35
b The 1818 and 1831 Editions .............................................................. 38
e Suggested Reading ............................................................................. 38
The novel's full title is Frankenstein; or, The Modern
Prometheus. The first part of the title, Frankenstein, refers to
Victor Frankenstein, the scientist—not, as is often
misunderstood, the Monster he created. The subtitle refers to
the Greek god Prometheus, who created the first human. After
Zeus (the king of the gods) took fire away from humans,
Prometheus returned it to them. As punishment for these
actions, Zeus had Prometheus chained to a rock for eternity
and sent an eagle to eat his liver. The liver grew back each
night, and each day the eagle returned, condemning
Prometheus to eternal torture. The subtitle links Victor and
Prometheus; both defy heaven in taking the power of creating
life, reserved for heaven alone, and suffer tremendously as a
result.

j Book Basics d In Context

AUTHOR
Mary Shelley
The Genesis of Frankenstein
YEAR PUBLISHED
1818; 1831 (revised edition) What prompts a 19-year-old to write a horror story about
science run amok? Whatever caused Mary Wollstonecraft
GENRE
Shelley to formulate the story, the impetus for doing so was
Horror
something of a contest, as she explained in her preface to the
PERSPECTIVE AND NARRATOR 1831 edition of the novel. Stuck inside because of the incessant
Frankenstein is told through the first-person point of view. rain while on a tour of Europe, Mary, Percy Shelley, and their
Using the first person, Robert Walton, the frame narrator, friends Lord Byron and John Polidori passed the time reading a
quotes Victor Frankenstein's narrative, also in the first person, book of German ghost stories. Byron suggested they each
Frankenstein Study Guide
write a horror story, and the others agreed. While Mary
struggled to find an idea for a story that would "awaken thrilling
horror," another conversation among the friends a few days
later sparked her novel. On that occasion they discussed
galvanism, or using electricity to animate muscle, as Italian
physicist Luigi Galvani had done with a frog. That night she had
a vivid dream of a "pale student of unhallowed arts" kneeling
beside "the hideous phantasm of a man," which he stirred to
life. The scientist quickly regretted "his odious handy-work"
and hoped the life he had stirred would die out again. But he
was wakened from his sleep by the creature at his bedside
"looking at him with yellow, watery, and speculative eyes." Mary
was frightened awake, but she then realized that the terrifying
dream was exactly the kind of idea she sought. The next day
she began writing the story that became Frankenstein.
Gothic Literature
Frankenstein fits in the tradition of gothic literature—stories
about mystery, horror, and the supernatural—that had been
launched in the mid- to late 18th century by The Castle of
Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole and popularized in the
1790s by the novels of Ann Radcliffe. It is known that Percy
Shelley read two of Radcliffe's gothic novels in the years 1814
and 1815; while it is not certain that Mary did, it is likely.
Typically set in eerie, isolated places, such as castles,
monasteries, or wild expanses of nature, gothic stories usually
include violence, suspense, and mystery. The gloomy setting is
ideal for the brooding heroes, monsters, and deranged people
in attics who often populate these novels.
Romantic Movement
Frankenstein is also a work in the tradition of the romantic
movement. Romantic writers took as their topics a deep
connection to nature, the depth of human emotion, and the
conflict between the individual and society. Percy Shelley,
along with William Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, and
John Keats, were the foremost romantic poets. Wordsworth
captured the essence of romantic poetry in the preface to his
collection Lyrical Ballads, calling it "emotion recollected in
tranquillity." Characteristics of romanticism in Frankenstein
include humans' emotional tie to nature and attraction to the
sublime, the term the romantics used for the powerful and
awe-inspiring aspects of nature, as opposed to the merely
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In Context 2
beautiful.
Another characteristic of romanticism is attraction to a heroic
figure interested in breaking the boundaries of traditional
society and achieving a lofty ideal. Some romantics viewed
French emperor Napoleon I as such a figure until his conquest
of other countries made him seem more tyrant than hero.
Scientific Revolution and
Enlightenment
The romantics also rejected the exaltation of scientific thinking
and reason, hallmarks of the Scientific Revolution, which began
in the 15th century, and the Enlightenment, which began in the
17th century. The Scientific Revolution promoted the ability of
the human mind to understand the laws of nature and even,
perhaps, to control them. Enlightenment thinkers believed in
the power of reason to find new solutions to centuries-old
social and political problems and build a better world.
Romanticism was marked by a fascination with scientific
advances mixed with a sense of the world having secrets that
were unknowable—though they could perhaps be intuited.
Romanticism also rejected rationality, order, and balance in the
arts and Enlightenment thinkers' emphasis on reason.
Individual experience and subjective perceptions were valued
over social harmony and objective principles. Faith in human
progress through the application of reason—a hallmark of the
Enlightenment—did have some parallels in romantics' thinking
as well. Some romantics, including Percy Shelley, embraced
the republican and revolutionary impulses introduced by the
French Revolution and believed that a better, more equitable
age was about to dawn.
Another aspect of the Enlightenment relevant to Frankenstein
was the interest of thinkers from this movement in questions of
the state of nature. Political philosophers discussed the state
of nature as the human condition prior to the formation of
social groups, and they viewed this existence in varying ways.
To Thomas Hobbes, the state of nature was insecure and
threatening, and humans needed to form society to gain
security. To Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the state of nature was
more peaceful, with humans working to ensure survival but
also cooperating with others. John Locke and Rousseau were
also concerned with how humans learned and developed
intellectually and morally. Locke thought the human mind was a
blank slate that accumulated knowledge and formed moral
Frankenstein Study Guide
impulses as a result of experience. The Monster in
Frankenstein can be seen as living in the state of nature and as
a creature that develops as a result of his experiences and
self-education.
Mary's Authorship
Much debate took place in the past over, first, Mary's
authorship of the novel and, second, the extent of Percy's
influence on it. The fact that Percy provided the preface to the
first edition, his reputation as a writer, and Mary's being
unknown as a writer all contributed to the belief that he had
written the novel when it was first published. That Mary's other
works did not enjoy success reinforced that view. Even when
her authorship was finally established, some critics speculated
that Percy's editing strongly shaped the work. Indeed, one
modern scholar has pointed to a few thousand edits made by
Percy as evidence that he left his stamp on the book. This
scholar also points out that William Godwin, Mary's father, read
and annotated the manuscript. In the 21st century, scholars
agree that the inspiration and execution were Mary's, though
Percy encouraged her to write the book and read and
annotated her drafts.
Critical Reception
Mary published Frankenstein anonymously in 1818, and critics
assumed the novel had been written by a man, in part because
of the two male narrative voices. The novel was widely
reviewed. Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), one of the most popular
novelists of the era, set the tone when he praised the author's
use of language but found some of the novel's events less than
believable. Other critics found the work offensive.
Conservative writer John Wilson Croker (1780–1857), writing in
the Quarterly Review, concluded by stating that readers were
left "in doubt whether the head or the heart of the author be
the most diseased." Some critics complained that the novel
was irreligious and immoral because Shelley had not
condemned Victor Frankenstein for trying to usurp God by
creating life, despite his repentant words and death. Others
strongly objected to what they saw as its pardoning of the
Monster's behavior: a reflection of Godwinian ideas that the
root of evil was injustice.
In 1822 the second edition of the novel was published. In 1831
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In Context 3
Mary heavily revised the third edition of the novel to make it
less offensive. The new edition made Victor even more
regretful about his actions and more religious in outlook. She
also split the first chapter in two and changed Elizabeth's
background so that she was no longer Victor's cousin.
By the 1850s only one edition remained in print, and sales were
low. One reason for the paltry sales was that the copyright
holder—after 1831, a publisher, not Mary—insisted on
publishing it only in a more expensive format that made it less
accessible to a broader public. It was not revived until the
1880s, when the book was no longer in copyright. Even then,
when the novel was reissued in an inexpensive paperback
version, editor Hugh Reginald Haweis stated his hesitation to
publish it because "the subject is somewhat revolting" and "the
treatment of it somewhat hideous." While sales were never
robust, the story remained popular in large part because of
many stage adaptations, and the ominous specter of
Frankenstein's monster was employed by thinkers throughout
the Victorian age to warn against any reform or change that
they deemed potentially destructive.
Influence
In the 21st century, Frankenstein is regarded as a classic of
romantic, gothic fiction. It is also recognized as one of the first
science fiction novels. The work's influence extends far
beyond the world of literature, however. Frankenstein and the
Monster are firmly embedded in popular culture, having
sparked an entire genre of novels, films, and Halloween
costumes. In 2016 a ballet based on the book premiered in
London.
The most famous film adaptation remains the 1931 version, in
which Boris Karloff plays the Monster. Sequels include The
Bride of Frankenstein (1935), starring Elsa Lanchester as the
title character, and The Ghost of Frankenstein, starring Lon
Chaney Jr. The character of the Monster and the novel have
inspired many parodies as well, including the butler Lurch in
The Addams Family (a television show from the 1960s that
later inspired films and a Broadway play), Young Frankenstein
(1974), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and even
episodes of the children's television program Sesame Street.
Frankenstein Study Guide Author Biography 4

was only 24 years old, Percy drowned.

a Author Biography
Needing to support herself and her only surviving child, Mary
wrote five more novels and a novella, but none were as
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin might have seemed destined to
successful as Frankenstein. She also wrote magazine stories,
become a writer from her birth in London on August 30, 1797.
biographies, and travel books, and she collected and edited
Her father, William Godwin, was a noted philosopher and
editions of Percy's poetry and prose. Several men wanted to
political writer who argued, in An Enquiry Concerning Political
marry her, but she remained devoted to her husband's
Justice (1792), that a central government was by its nature
memory. She carried Percy's heart—which a friend had
corrupt and tyrannical. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was
grabbed out of his funeral pyre—in her pocketbook for the rest
an early feminist and novelist whose controversial book A
of her life. She died in London on February 1, 1851, at age 53.
Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) argued that women's
lives—and society as a whole—would improve if women were
given an education equal to that of men. Mary grew up
surrounded by some of the most important writers of the time, h Characters
including Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth.

Mary had an unhappy family life. Her mother died less than two
weeks after giving birth to her, and Mary detested the woman
her father married four years later. Denied any formal
schooling, Mary taught herself by reading widely in her father's
library. She also wrote, noting in the 1831 edition of
Frankenstein that in childhood her "favorite pastime, during the
hours given me for recreation, was to 'write stories.'"
When Mary was 15 years old, she met poet Percy Bysshe
Shelley. He was handsome, charming, intellectually alive, and
committed to political liberalism like her parents—and married.
Nonetheless, she fell in love with him. In 1814, when she was
nearly 17 and he 21, he abandoned his wife, and the couple fled
to Europe. A year later Mary had her first child, who died a few
days later. The couple settled in Switzerland, and in the
summer of 1816 Mary began writing Frankenstein, which she
published two years later. That work came in the midst of
tragedy. Mary's half-sister Fanny committed suicide in 1816,
and later in the year Shelley's wife, Harriet, devastated by her
husband's affair with Mary, killed herself. In December Mary
and Percy married. Frankenstein was published in 1818.
The couple's life was not easy, as Percy, despite being from a
wealthy family, was in conflict with his father. Though
Frankenstein's first edition sold out, that was only 500 copies.
Mary had published the novel anonymously, and because she
was so young, relatively unknown, and married to Percy
Shelley, people believed he had written the runaway hit. The
fact that he had written the preface increased that conviction.
Added to the couple's troubles were the deaths of three of
their children and Percy's inability to remain faithful. Financial
and emotional struggles continued. Then, in 1822, when Mary
Victor Frankenstein
The product of a loving and wealthy Swiss family, Victor is
highly ambitious and determined to leave his mark on the
world. As a teen he studies alchemy, an outdated
pseudoscience. At this point Victor is still relatively naive,
captivated by the allure of science. Victor is horrified by his
creation: a monster of hideous appearance and proportion. In
an attempt to atone for his ambition and excessive pride,
Victor becomes obsessed with tracking and killing the Monster
yet succeeds only in isolating himself from all human contact.
Victor and the Monster serve as doubles of each other,
revolving in opposite ways around many of the book's themes.
Their relationship is not a simple matter of one character being
good and the other evil, however. Rather, the two shift back
and forth in terms of morality, with the actions of each being
more moral at some times and more objectionable at others.
The Monster
The Monster is an eight-foot-tall giant Victor Frankenstein
forms and brings to life. The Monster is composed of various
body parts scavenged from cemeteries and morgues, so he is
hideous: his yellow skin "scarcely cover[s] the work of muscles
and arteries beneath," and he has "watery eyes" that seem
almost of the same color as the "dun white sockets" in which
they are set as well as a "shriveled complexion and straight
black lips." Born innocent, the Monster is baffled when Victor
violently rejects him. Highly intelligent and eloquent, the

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Frankenstein Study Guide Characters 5

Monster educates himself, learning to read and write French,
but all his learning cannot help him find what he most desires:
companionship. After Victor rejects him, the Monster
alternates between acts of horrific violence (killing Victor's
brother) and touching kindness (rescuing a drowning girl,
helping impoverished peasants). When Victor tears apart the
mate he had agreed to create for the Monster, the Monster
kills Victor's best friend and Victor's wife. No one will accept
him because of his appearance. He is doomed to a life of bitter
loneliness and isolation.
Robert Walton
Walton is the narrator of the frame story that begins and ends
the novel. He plays an important role in the plot by confirming
the Monster's existence, because he spoke with him, and
allowing readers to know what happens to the Monster after
Victor's death. He also plays valuable thematic roles. Seeking
to accomplish "some great purpose" in life, Walton sets off to
explore the Arctic. Walton seeks two things: fame from
exploring the Arctic and a friend. His ambition parallels
Frankenstein's, while his yearning for friendship parallels the
Monster's. He believes he has found that friend in Victor
Frankenstein, but the latter dies soon after Walton and his
crew rescue him. Finally, Walton serves as Victor's foil, the
differences between him and Victor helping highlight Victor's
characteristics.
Frankensteins adopt after taking custody of her from a
peasant family that could no longer afford to support her.) She
and Victor grow up good friends as well as siblings (and
cousins), and they marry when they are adults. She is pure
goodness, as compassionate as the Monster sometimes is, but
is innocent and incapable of his violence or of Victor's
challenge to morality. The Monster strangles her on her
wedding night.
Alphonse Frankenstein
Compassionate and caring, Alphonse Frankenstein and his
wife, Caroline, treat everyone well. Alphonse dies soon after his
niece/daughter Elizabeth is killed, crushed by the weight of too
much sorrow.
Justine Moritz
A loyal servant and help to the family, Justine is an innocent
casualty of Victor's creation. She accepts her fate with
remarkable calm. She, like Elizabeth, also serves as a foil to the
Monster. Also like Elizabeth, she is given up by her family, but
both find a loving home. The Monster, abandoned by his
creator, is left without one.

Henry Clerval
Henry is Victor's closest friend, an easygoing, helpful, and
charming young man whom Victor met in childhood. Henry
studies languages at the university and nurses Victor through
his breakdowns, setting aside his own studies to do so. He
displays the attentive, caring, devoted behavior of a true friend.
The Monster kills him after Victor breaks his promise to create
a companion female monster.

Elizabeth Lavenza
The daughter of an Italian gentleman and Alphonse
Frankenstein's sister, Elizabeth has a "gentle and affectionate
disposition" even as a child. (In the 1831 edition, she is the
orphaned daughter of a Milanese noble whom the

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Frankenstein Study Guide Characters 6

Character Map

The Monster Frames for murder

Eight-foot-tall lonely,
hideous monster

Kills Kills

Henry Clerval Elizabeth Lavenza

Creator
Handsome, generous man Kind, gentle woman

Best Cousins
friends and spouses
Victor
Frankenstein Servant
Scientist; creates
the Monster

Servant

Tells story

Robert Walton Justine Moritz

Father
Arctic explorer Frankenstein family servant

Servant

Alphonse Frankenstein
Public servant

Main Character

Other Major Character

Minor Character

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Frankenstein Study Guide
Full Character List
Character Description
Victor Frankenstein is the scientist who
Frankenstein created the Monster.
The Monster is the eight-​foot-​tall
The Monster
monster Victor Frankenstein creates.
Walton is the Arctic explorer whose
Robert Walton letters to his sister open and close
the novel.
Victor's closest friend, Henry is a
Henry Clerval
fellow student at the university.
Elizabeth Victor's cousin, Elizabeth is also his
Lavenza adopted sister and, later, his wife.
Alphonse
Alphonse is Victor's father.
Frankenstein
One of the servants in the
Frankenstein household, Justine is
Justine Moritz
framed for the murder of William
Frankenstein.
Agatha is a French exile and the
daughter of M. De Lacey, whom she
Agatha De Lacey
treats with great kindness and
deference.
Felix is a French exile and the son of
M. De Lacey. He is in love with a
Felix De Lacey Turkish woman, Safie, and rescues
her and her father at great personal
danger.
The head of the family of exiles the
Monster hopes to join, M. De Lacey
is old, blind, and poor. Descended
M. De Lacey from a good family in France, he lost
his fortune, social standing, and
home when he helped Safie's father,
who later betrayed him.
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Characters 7
Caroline is Victor's mother, who dies
of scarlet fever after nursing her
Caroline niece/daughter Elizabeth through
Frankenstein the same illness and expressing her
long-​held hope that Victor will marry
Elizabeth.
Ernest
Ernest is Victor's younger brother.
Frankenstein
William William is Victor's youngest brother
Frankenstein and the Monster's first victim.
Kirwin is a judge in charge of Victor's
Mr. Kirwin
trial in Ireland for the death of Henry.
An arrogant science professor at the
University of Ingolstadt, Krempe is
M. Krempe
one of Victor's teachers and mocks
him.
The magistrate is a criminal judge in
Magistrate Geneva to whom Victor relates his
story about the Monster.
Nugent is a witness in Victor's
Daniel Nugent
murder trial in Ireland.
The nurse cares for Victor while he is
Nurse
in prison in Ireland.
The beautiful Turkish woman whom
Felix De Lacey loves, Safie leaves
Safie Italy after her father's betrayal of the
De Laceys and makes her way to
that family.
A treacherous Turkish merchant,
Safie's Father Safie's father is helped by Felix De
Lacey but then betrays his family.
Margaret is Robert Walton's sister
Margaret Saville and the person to whom he
addresses his letters.
A kindly chemistry professor at the
University of Ingolstadt, Waldman
M. Waldman supports Victor's ambition and
teaches him a great deal about
chemistry.
Frankenstein Study Guide
k Plot Summary
Frankenstein takes place in the 1790s. It's a wild scenic ride,
beginning in St. Petersburgh (spelling later changed to St.
Petersburg), Russia, and then shifting to the Archangel, Russia;
the waters of the Arctic Ocean; Geneva, Switzerland;
Ingolstadt, Germany; Mont Blanc, between Italy and France;
Germany; the Netherlands; London; the Orkney Islands off the
coast of Scotland; and finally back to the Arctic Ocean.
Robert Walton, an explorer headed for the North Pole, opens
the story by relating his adventures in letters to his sister
Margaret Saville. Walton and his crew see a manlike giant
driving a dogsled in the distance. Soon after, they see another
man, skeletal and nearly frozen to death, also driving a
dogsled. They rescue the latter figure and learn that he is
Victor Frankenstein and has been chasing the huge creature.
As Victor regains his strength, he tells Walton his story.
Victor takes up the narration. He and his younger brothers,
Ernest and William, enjoyed a happy childhood in Geneva,
Switzerland, thanks to their loving and wealthy parents,
Alphonse and Caroline, who adopted Alphonse's sister's
daughter, Elizabeth Lavenza. Elizabeth and Victor were both
five years old at the time. They became close friends. Victor's
other close companion was Henry Clerval, a classmate who
enjoyed stories of knights in shining armor, a contrast to
Victor's obsession with science.
The family's happiness dimmed when Elizabeth became ill with
scarlet fever and Caroline contracted the illness while nursing
her. Before dying she communicated her great wish: that Victor
and Elizabeth marry. After recovering from the loss of his
mother, Victor left home to study science at the University of
Ingolstadt in Germany. The top chemistry student, he was
determined to discover "the principle of life." Victor studied day
and night, dug up corpses from cemeteries, and set up his own
laboratory. Stitching together body parts from various corpses,
he made a creature 8 feet tall. Using electricity, he gave the
Monster life, but it was terrifically strong and grotesquely
hideous. Repelled by his gruesome creation, Victor rejected
the Monster.
Later, Victor was relieved to find that the Monster has
disappeared. Exhausted from two years of nonstop work and
the horrid results, Victor collapsed. Henry nursed Victor back
to health.
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Plot Summary 8
Returning home more than a year later, Victor was shocked to
learn of the murder of his brother William. A servant, Justine
Moritz, was blamed for the crime after a locket belonging to
William was found in her pocket. Although Justine was hanged
for the crime, Victor was sure that the Monster committed the
murder, seeking revenge for Victor's rejection. Victor did not
reveal his suspicions, because he did not think that anyone
would believe him.
Victor went hiking at Montanvert to help deal with his guilt and
grief, but the Monster found him and recounted his own
history. The Monster explained that he had found refuge in an
abandoned cottage. There he spied on a family in a
neighboring cottage, the De Laceys, learning to speak and to
read by observing them through a window. The Monster grew
very fond of the family for their kindness to each other. Finally
he got up the courage to approach the family, but they
rejected him and fled from their home. Furious, the Monster
burned their home to the ground and both murdered Victor's
brother William and framed Justine for the crime. Bitterly lonely
and isolated, the Monster told Victor that he would leave his
creator in peace only if Victor created a mate for him. Victor
reluctantly agreed.
Victor resumes his narration of events. Victor and Henry
traveled together to England, where they parted ways.
Suspecting that the Monster was shadowing him to make sure
that he kept his word, Victor set up a new laboratory in the
isolated Orkney Islands. There he began building the female
monster, but just before he gave her life, he tore the body
apart, fearful that she and the male would mate and create a
race of monsters. The Monster, watching through the window,
became enraged and threatened that he would be with Victor
on his wedding night. The Monster then strangled Henry,
leaving evidence (through witness sightings) that Victor was
responsible. Victor was found innocent after a trial, but his
health became shattered. He returned to Geneva, recovered,
and made plans to marry Elizabeth.
On Elizabeth and Victor's wedding night, the Monster killed
Elizabeth. The shock proved too much for Victor's father, who
died soon after. Determined to get revenge, Victor tracked the
Monster around the world, ending near the North Pole.
The story ends where it began, with Walton listening to Victor's
story. Walton's voyage is brutally hard, and the sailors want to
turn back, but Victor wants them to push on so that he can
continue to track the Monster, reminding them of their goals
Frankenstein Study Guide Plot Summary 9

for the voyage. With the voyage endangering their lives, Walton
agrees with the men to turn around, and Victor dies soon after.
Walton is shocked to see the Monster appear and mourn over
Victor's corpse. The Monster explains that he killed Victor's
family and Henry because of his rage at being shunned by all
humans—even his creator. The Monster has found no comfort
in his actions, however, and promises to kill himself. At the
conclusion Walton watches the Monster spring "from the
cabin-window ... upon the ice-raft" that lies close to the vessel.
He is "soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and
distance."

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Frankenstein Study Guide Plot Summary 10

Plot Diagram

Climax

7
10 Falling Action
Rising Action
6
11
5

4 12

3 Resolution

2
1

Introduction

Introduction Climax

1. Robert Walton meets Victor, who tells his tale. 9. Victor sets off to find the Monster and kill him.

Rising Action Falling Action

2. Victor builds the Monster, brings it to life, and flees. 10. Victor is rescued by Walton.

3. The Monster kills William; Justine is blamed and executed. 11. Victor dies.

4. Victor meets the Monster, who tells his history.

5. Victor builds the Monster a mate, then destroys it.

Resolution
6. The Monster vows to return on Victor's wedding night.
12. The Monster mourns Victor and jumps off Walton's ship.
7. The Monster kills Henry.

8. Victor marries Elizabeth, whom the Monster kills.

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Frankenstein Study Guide Plot Summary 11

Timeline of Events

November 17

Victor brings the Monster to life; horrified, he flees.

Spring, following year

The Monster takes refuge in a hut and starts learning

from the De Laceys.

Winter, following year

Rejected by the De Laceys, the Monster burns down

their home and sets off.

May, same year

The Monster kills William Frankenstein and frames

Justine Moritz, who is convicted and hanged.

August, same year

The Monster convinces Victor to make him a mate.

Spring, 2 years later

Victor destroys the female monster; the Monster vows

revenge.

Spring, same year

The Monster kills Henry and frames Victor, but he is later

exonerated.

Summer, same year

Victor and Elizabeth marry; the Monster kills Elizabeth on

her wedding night.

August 5, 2 years later

While his ship is trapped in ice, Walton rescues Victor.

September, same year

Victor dies; the Monster appears on Walton's ship,

mourns Victor, and leaves.

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Frankenstein Study Guide
c Chapter Summaries
Prefatory Matter
Summary
The title page contains the subtitle The Modern Prometheus
and an epigraph taken from John Milton's epic poem Paradise
Lost, which recounts the story of the creation of man and
woman, the fall from the Garden of Eden, and the earlier fall of
Satan from heaven and his role in bringing about the fall of
Adam and Eve. The epigraph, quoting Adam, reads, "Did I
request thee, Maker, from my clay/To mould me man, Did I
solicit thee/From darkness to promote me?" The Dedication
"respectfully" offers the book in honor of William Godwin, the
philosopher and writer who was also Mary Shelley's father.
An anonymous brief preface connects the novel to the
research into the origin of life by British physician Erasmus
Darwin (1731–1802) and German scientists. While presenting
the novel as a complete fiction, the preface explains that the
supernatural tale gives the author an opportunity for
"delineating human passions" that would not have been
possible in a more realistic story. The preface also has a
sketchy account of the visit to Geneva and storytelling contest
that caused Mary Shelley to write the novel.
The 1831 edition has a more extensive introduction written by
Mary Shelley, in which she declares her authorship and gives a
fuller account of the writing of the book. She describes the
rainy weather that forced her, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and
John Polidori to stay inside and read ghost stories to one
another. This pastime led to the idea of each of them writing a
similar story. After a conversation about galvanism, she had a
vivid dream of a scientist who had brought a horrible
"phantasm of a man" to life and quickly recoiled at this "odious
handy-work." Awakened by the nightmare, Mary began writing
Frankenstein. She explains that she saw the tale as only a
short story at first but that Percy encouraged her to expand it
and explore the matter further. She closes the introduction by
explaining that, while Percy encouraged her in many ways, the
novel and its execution are hers alone and owe nothing to him
in detail.
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Chapter Summaries 12
Analysis
The prefatory matter of Frankenstein, which includes the
subtitle, epigraph, and dedication, as well as Percy's
anonymous 1818 preface and Mary's introduction to the 1831
edition, provide insight into the text and its themes. The
subtitle introduces the perspective of the creator, referring to
the Greek god Prometheus, who created humanity. The
epigraph introduces the perspective of the created with a
plaintive call pointing out that the created life has no choice in
coming into existence. Paradise Lost, published in 1667,
describes the fall of man, according to the Old Testament
account in Genesis, as filtered through the thinking of Milton, a
17th-century Puritan. Milton describes Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden, the temptation by Satan, and their expulsion.
The epic also tells the story of Satan's fall from heaven. The
two elements thus introduce the ideas of creator and created,
responsibility and power. Because Prometheus, Adam, and
Satan were all punished for their actions, these elements also
introduce the ideas of sin and guilt.
The Monster can be seen as Adam, a sinner thrown out of the
Garden of Eden and forced to make his way in the world.
Victor is God, the Monster's maker, but he is also Satan, as he
has brought evil into the world. The quotation can also be read
as the Monster's cry of anguish at his state. After all, he never
asked Victor to create him. Because Victor—like all
humanity—is descended from Adam and Eve, this is his lament
as well. In this reading, he regrets being created because it set
him on the path to his sin of creating the Monster and
unleashing evil.
The dedication connects the novel to the ideas of Godwin, a
major liberal thinker and writer who was considered dangerous
by conservative thinkers who dominated the cultural scene.
The dedication no doubt gave fuel to the conservative critics
who objected to the morality of the novel.
While the preface was presented anonymously, it became
known that Percy had written it, contributing to the idea that he
had penned the novel itself. His preface also draws a
Godwinian moral from the novel: "Treat a person ill, and he will
become wicked." While that made sense to Godwin, Mary, and
Percy, to conservative critics such as John Wilson Croker this
view was outrageous and immoral. They believed that "wicked"
behavior was absolutely and without exception blameworthy
and should be censured and punished.
Frankenstein Study Guide
Mary uses the 1831 Introduction to clarify the identity of the
book's author because there had been some speculation that
her husband, Percy, had written it. Beyond pride of authorship,
survival no doubt had something to do with her decision. Percy
had died in 1822. While Mary would work on editing and
publishing his poems, she had her own literary ambitions.
Establishing herself as the true creator of Frankenstein could
help convince publishers to bring out other works of hers in the
future.
Letters 1–4
Summary
Letter 1
Robert Walton, preparing to explore the North Pole, relates the
progress of planning for his expedition in a letter dated
December 11, 17—, to his sister Margaret Saville, in London.
Walton has made it to St. Petersburgh, Russia, and he
describes his excitement about being the first to reach the
Pole, solve scientific mysteries, and benefit humanity. Six years
before he started training for the arduous journey by serving
on whale boats to the North Sea and enduring great physical
hardships. As a result, Walton feels entitled to success.
Letter 2
In his letter of March 28, from Archangel, Russia, Walton
describes securing a ship and hiring sailors, but he is lonely,
writing, "I have no friend, Margaret." He praises the other ship
officers but says they are not friend material for him. He hopes
a friend will help him learn, feeling self-conscious because he is
self-educated, and yearns for someone to celebrate his
victories and soothe his defeats. He keenly anticipates the
future, describing a "trembling sensation, half pleasurable and
half fearful," that fills him as he considers what is to come.
Letter 3
In a very brief letter from July 7, Walton writes that the ship is
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Chapter Summaries 13
well under way and is nearing the North Pole. He and the crew
have occasionally seen sheets of ice float by, and they have
weathered two wind storms and a broken mast, but nothing
significant has happened. He reassures his sister that he will
"not rashly encounter danger."
Letter 4
On August 5 Walton writes to his sister explaining recent
events. On July 31 his ship got stuck in the ice floes. That same
day Walton and his crew saw the strangest thing: a "gigantic"
figure of a man traveling by dogsled on the ice floes. The next
morning they found another man, this one of normal size, also
on a dogsled. Although the man was close to death, he would
not agree to come aboard Walton's ship until Walton verified
that they were traveling to the North Pole. A few days later,
when the stranger had recovered sufficiently to speak, he told
Walton and Walton's lieutenant that he has been chasing
someone also traveling by dogsled. The stranger got excited
when Walton said he thinks they saw such a man. Walton is
delighted to have found a possible friend, though the man's
"spirit had been broken by misery."
By August 13 Walton writes that his fondness for the stranger
has increased. They talk about the business of the ship,
Walton's goal to reach the North Pole, Walton's childhood, and
Walton's desire for a friend. The stranger tells Walton, "But I—I
have lost every thing, and cannot begin life anew."
On August 19 Walton writes that the stranger promises to tell
Walton his story "the next day," when Walton is free to listen,
and calls Walton "my friend." Walton plans to "record" the
stranger's story.
Analysis
The connection to Paradise Lost continues in the letters. Some
critics have noted that both St. Petersburgh and Archangel, the
places Walton uses to prepare for his voyage, are biblical
allusions or references. St. Petersburgh was named after St.
Peter, one of the chief apostles of Jesus; an archangel is the
highest rank of angel. If Victor Frankenstein can also be seen
as Adam (created), fallen mortal man, then Walton is an angel
who takes care of Frankenstein as he is dying.
Frankenstein Study Guide Chapter Summaries 14

Walton's four letters have several purposes in the novel. First, adventure to come.
they serve as a frame narrative. This literary device is just what
its name suggests: a frame in which the main story is set. That Walton is self-educated connects him to Mary Shelley. It

People select a frame to set off the picture it encloses; in the also links him to Victor and the Monster, as readers learn over

same way, authors create frame narratives to underscore the the course of the novel. Victor educated himself about

main story they surround. In Frankenstein Walton's story offers alchemy; the Monster reads classics to learn more about

parallels to Victor's. Both men are exceedingly ambitious and humankind.

driven to leave their mark on the world. However, in this frame

Finally, the letters introduce one of the novel's primary themes:
the men's stories turn out very differently, as the novel's ending
human companionship. Walton is bitterly lonely and isolated,
reveals. Walton's fate contrasts to Victor's. This makes Walton
craving a friend. He tries to blunt the edge of that loneliness in
a foil, or contrast, to Victor. His need for human companionship
writing his sister. When Victor appears, Walton quickly warms
contrasts with Victor's frequent failures to stay in touch with
to him, seeing the chance to form a friendship.
his family. His scientific idealism and curiosity parallel Victor's,
but the decisions he makes at the end show more caution than
Victor showed.
Chapter 1
Second, the letters give Frankenstein a veneer of realism,
although the novel is the wildest fiction. Without Walton's
conversations with Frankenstein and especially with the Summary
Monster, Frankenstein's wild story would not have any
verifiable proof. Here Victor Frankenstein begins his story and takes over the
narration. He recounts his early years. Victor traces his family
Third, the letters introduce Walton, who reflects the
background, birth, and childhood, explaining that his ancestors
emotionalism, individualism, and imagination prized among
and father were active, distinguished members of the
those in the romantic movement. Other factors also link Walton
community in Geneva, Switzerland. Victor's father, Alphonse,
to romanticism.
helped a merchant friend of his, Beaufort, who had fallen on
hard times. When Beaufort died, Alphonse helped his daughter
In his second letter, Walton tells his sister he will "kill no
Caroline. Although Alphonse was considerably older than
albatross," an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem
Caroline, they married two years after Beaufort's death. Their
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." In that poem, an old
union was happy, and Victor was their first child.
sailor tells the story of what happened to him decades ago.
His ship was locked in the ice. The crew spotted an
When Victor was four, the Frankensteins took in Elizabeth
albatross, a large seabird, thought to be a good luck symbol.
Lavenza, the daughter of Alphonse's deceased sister, and
However, the old sailor (then a young man) shot the bird,
adopted her as their own child. She and Victor grew up as
sending a curse down on the ship. As a result, the ship was
close friends. Mrs. Frankenstein decided that Elizabeth and
stranded in the ocean, and everyone but the old sailor died
Victor should marry when they reach adulthood.
of thirst. As punishment, the old sailor must travel the globe
to share his story to teach people to respect all of God's Victor and Elizabeth had a delightful childhood, adored by their
creatures. While Walton vows not to commit the old sailor's loving, intelligent, indulgent parents. Even from childhood,
crime, he plays this part, in a way. He bears the burden of Victor showed a scientific curiosity. When he was nine, Victor
telling Frankenstein's story, although he did not commit the met Henry Clerval, a schoolmate. Although Henry was outgoing
crime. and interested in chivalry and romance, while Victor was
The North Pole, as with any exotic location, held great introspective and interested in science, the two boys soon
interest to readers, but especially to romantics, who bonded and became lifelong best friends. Victor had two
celebrated nature. The region held mystery , which explains brothers; Ernest is six years younger than Victor, and William
Walton's conviction that the Pole holds more than "frost and was an infant when Victor reached 15. "Such was our domestic
desolation," as he says. "What may not be expected in a circle," Victor says, "from which care and pain seemed for ever
country of eternal light?" he asks, setting the stage for the banished," a strong hint that these happy times are about to

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Frankenstein Study Guide Chapter Summaries 15

end.
Victor started reading the works of Cornelius Agrippa,
Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus when he was 13. This reading
sparked his deep love of learning. Two years later, at 15, he
saw an electrical storm, which develops his interest in
electricity
Analysis
As Victor narrates the story of his childhood, he introduces
some of the novel's most important concerns:
One is the role of women in the early 19th century. Caroline
Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza are both passive
figures, taken care of by men. Alphonse rescues Caroline,
an orphan, from poverty and loneliness, and the husband
and wife later do the same for Elizabeth. Given Mary
Shelley's background as the daughter of the foremost
feminist of the era, this portrait of passive women who must
be cared for by men is surprising. In contrast, her acute
awareness of the pain of a child losing a parent colors these
plot points. The two women's circumstances also introduce
Victor also notes that he reads books that concern "the raising
of ghosts or devils," a possibility that excites him. Finally,
Victor's interest in electricity foreshadows the way he will bring
the Monster to life. These details also make Victor's later
obsession with his creation understandable.
That Victor's mother wanted him to marry Elizabeth, a cousin in
this edition, is not so unusual for the time. It may seem strange
that two children raised as siblings would marry, but they did
not, of course, share the same parents. Elizabeth was adopted.
It is notable, though, that Mary Shelley changed Elizabeth's
status in the 1831 edition, making her no relation to Alphonse
Frankenstein when she is taken into the home. This might have
been meant to blunt any possible criticism that could be
leveled at their relationship.
Chapter 2
Summary
When Victor was 17 years old, his parents decided that he

the tenuousness of human connections, which can be should attend the University of Ingolstadt in Germany. Before

quickly lost through death, another issue that connects the he could enroll, however, Elizabeth became ill with scarlet

Monster to the human characters. fever. While taking care of Elizabeth, Caroline contracted the

The chapter highlights the importance of education. disease and died. On her deathbed, Caroline asked Elizabeth

Alphonse saw to the education of his children and exposed to promise to care for the younger children. She also made

Victor to many disciplines and to the works of established, Victor and Elizabeth promise to marry.

renowned authors. Victor thus learned as Mary Shelley had

After recovering from his mother's death, Victor headed off to
done, largely in the library of his father. Later, the Monster
college. There, he says, he will be alone to "form my own
will also absorb knowledge by reading a treasure trove of
friends, and be my own protector." Victor describes two of his
books, and as we saw in the first letters, Walton is self-
professors, M. Krempe and M. Waldman. Krempe, who teaches
taught as well. Victor notes that his father did not give him
natural philosophy, had a "repulsive countenance" and was
much guidance in his learning, though, and suggests that
critical of the time Victor wasted studying the alchemists.
this lack of supervision or discussion helped lead him to
Waldman, in contrast, was kindly and supportive. With
make his later mistake of making the Monster.
Waldman as his mentor, Victor decided to study chemistry.

This chapter also lays the groundwork for Frankenstein's

creation of the Monster, making his invention of the Monster
seem logical and even possible. Shelley does this by having
Analysis
Victor read the work of Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and
Victor's comment that at university he was "alone" continues
Albertus Magnus. These were alchemists, ancient scientists
the theme of human companionship. While he admits to the
who tried to find the "philosopher's stone," a substance that
need to make friends, Victor is perfectly content to be alone;
would turn inexpensive compounds such as mercury into gold
he believes he is "totally unfitted for the company of
or silver, extend life, create life, and achieve immortality.
strangers." The same contentment with loneliness is not true of
Obviously, their alchemical work has long been discredited.
several of the other characters in the novel, especially the

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Frankenstein Study Guide
Monster and Walton, Victor's foil. In this duality, Victor and the
Monster can be seen as doubles, two halves of the same
person, in this regard as they were as creator and created: the
introvert and the extrovert, the one desiring to be left alone
and the other craving companionship, although the Monster,
like Victor, is unfitted for company. His tragedy is the clash
between his desire for human companionship and his rejection
by humans.
Chapter 3
Summary
For two years Victor was a dedicated and determined
chemistry student, working hard and making speedy progress.
He says, "In M. Waldman I found a true friend." He didn't return
home, even for visits, because he was "engaged, heart and
soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries." He did indeed make
some significant discoveries relating to "the improvement of
[laboratory] instruments," which brought him fame and respect
among his professors and classmates, and he considered
going home to Geneva.
Victor was especially interested in studying the human body
and the question of from "whence ... did the principle of life
proceed?" To that end, he dug up corpses from the cemetery
and removed bodies from morgues to experiment upon. After
much hard work, he had a breakthrough, "discovering the
cause of generation of life." As he tells Walton, "I became
myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter."
He hoped that soon he would be able to bring dead bodies
back to life.
But Victor realized that acquiring such knowledge is extremely
dangerous. His unbounded ambition has cost him his
happiness, and he cautions his audience, Walton, to beware of
"becoming greater than [your] nature will allow." Nonetheless,
Victor says, he started to build a giant man-shaped creature,
about eight feet tall, from various scavenged body parts. He
was sure that this new species would celebrate him as its
creator and look upon him as a father; he set a long-term goal
of "renew[ing] life" in the dead. He spent the entire summer at
work, ignoring everyone at school and the beauty of nature,
becoming ill, and not even answering letters from his family
back home in Geneva.
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Chapter Summaries 16
Analysis
Victor Frankenstein's realization that he has overstepped his
bounds parallels the story of Faust, a famous literary figure.
Faust was a brilliant scholar who made a pact with the Devil,
trading his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly delights. In
some versions, Faust goes to hell; in others, Faust is saved.
The Faust legend has come to symbolize someone who
foolishly and disastrously gives up his or her integrity and
morality to gain power and success. This is what happens to
Victor, because in assuming the power of creating life, the
power that belongs only to God, Victor will cause disasters for
his family and closest friend. Victor uses his intelligence in a
way that results in evil rather than for good, and tragedy
ensues. All this lies ahead, of course. For the present, Victor
tells Walton that he will not reveal the secret of reanimation
that he discovered, hinting at dark and tragic events that he will
relate later in his tale, building suspense for what will follow.
In his flashback, Victor is arrogant about his power, too,
another sin. He believes that the new species he creates will
be grateful to him and others will celebrate him as well. In
effect, Victor is setting himself up as a god. Since this entire
section is a flashback, Victor is speaking on Walton's ship. He
is close to death, which he realizes. Therefore, he is able to
look back on his life and realize his error and its consequences.
That is why Victor warns Walton not to make the same mistake
that he did, not to acquire too much knowledge and become
"greater than his nature will allow." Too much knowledge is
dangerous, Mary Shelley suggests.
Chapter 4
Summary
Victor relates to Walton his success. He brought the Monster
to life in November. The process by which the Monster was
animated is not described in the book. Rather than being
delighted at his success, as he had proudly anticipated, Victor
was horrified. He intended to make a "beautiful" creature, but
the Monster was "a catastrophe." "But now that I had finished,"
he tells Walton, "the beauty of the dream vanished, and
breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." He rushed out of
his laboratory and paced back and forth in his bedroom.
Physically and mentally exhausted, he finally collapsed into
Frankenstein Study Guide
brief sleep. In a nightmare, he kissed Elizabeth, who then died
and transformed into Victor's dead mother. The Monster came
to his bed, and Victor ran off.
All night he paced in the courtyard "in the greatest agitation."
The next morning, Victor went into Ingolstadt and walked
aimlessly through the streets. He thought of lines from
Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Henry Clerval,
who had come to the university to study, found Victor and took
him back to his apartment. The Monster had fled, to Victor's
enormous relief. Victor had a nervous breakdown, becoming
"lifeless" in a fit, and Henry nursed him back to health through
the winter, as Victor "raved incessantly" about the Monster,
and into the spring. In addition, Henry convinced Victor to write
to his father, reassuring him that he is fine. Henry also told
Victor he had brought a letter from Elizabeth.
Analysis
This chapter is heavy with gothic elements: a spooky setting; a
tense, fearful mood; the appearance of madness or illness; and
a grotesque dead/undead monster." Shelley also includes a
six-line quotation from Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient
Mariner," the poem Walton alludes to earlier in the novel, which
adds another layer of connection between Walton and Victor.
The first line quoted, "Like one who, on a lonely road,"
continues the theme of human companionship. The lines "Doth
walk in fear and dread" and "Because he knows a frightful
fiend/Doth close behind him tread" reinforce the terrifying
mood characteristic of gothic novels. All the lines describe how
Victor is acting as he hurries on "with irregular steps."
In addition to classifying it as a gothic novel, some critics claim
Frankenstein is the first example of science fiction, a type of
writing that deals with technology and the potential results of
scientific experimentation. Shelley does not describe the
scientific process Victor uses to make the Monster come alive;
she is not concerned with the process (which, of course, does
not exist), only with the results. Describing the process would
slow the narrative and reduce suspense; it could also explain
how to replicate Victor's discovery, which Victor wants to
prevent. Significantly, Victor does not name his creation. He
refers to it as the "wretch" and the "creature." Names convey
importance, individuality, and identity. By denying his creation a
name, Victor is denying it an identity. It is therefore ironic that
in popular usage, the Monster is identified using Victor's last
name. The Monster becomes him.
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Chapter Summaries 17
Chapter 5
Summary
As the flashback continues, Victor relates that Henry gave him
Elizabeth's letter, which was filled with family news and events,
including information about Justine Moritz, who had moved into
the Frankenstein house when she was 12 because her mother
rejected her. Justine, whose behavior and appearance
Elizabeth saw as similar to Caroline Frankenstein's, was
working as a servant in the household, and Elizabeth reminded
Victor that he always enjoyed Justine's company. Elizabeth
related that, while Victor was at school, Justine's mother
forced her to return home to take care of her and treated the
girl poorly. When Justine's mother died, Justine returned to the
Frankenstein home and resumed her duties. Elizabeth also
described their youngest brother, William, a charming child.
The letter cheered Victor greatly, and he wrote back.
Recovered from his breakdown, Victor introduced Henry to his
professors, who all praise him lavishly. However, Victor found
hat he had developed a violent hatred of chemistry—he cannot
even look at his laboratory instruments—so he joined Henry in
his study of languages and "the works of the orientalists."
Victor remained in Ingolstadt that summer and then, because
of poor weather, stayed until the following May. At that time,
Victor and Henry took a two-week vacation, a walking tour of
Ingolstadt, and delighted in the beauty of nature and the
comfort it offers.
Analysis
Justine serves as another foil to the Monster. Like the Monster,
she is rejected by her parent (a mother, in this case). However,
unlike the Monster, she finds a family in the Frankenstein
home, where she works as a servant but is treated well. In a
similar way, Henry is a foil to Victor, as Henry's cheerful, open
nature stands in contrast to Victor's more brooding, closed
self-absorption. Further, Henry is hearty and well, while Victor
is often frail and ill, haunted by his creation.
This chapter also brings in elements of romanticism and the
theme of connection to nature. Victor says, "A serene sky and
verdant fields filled me with ecstasy. The present season was
indeed divine; the flowers of spring bloomed in the hedges
Frankenstein Study Guide
while those of summer were already in bud." The walk in
natural beauty revives Victor; as the passage reveals, nature
has restorative powers, which is a common idea in the
romantic movement. His joy in nature is a contrast to the horror
and anguish he feels over the Monster.
Chapter 6
Summary
Victor's relation continues. His happy mood abruptly ended
back in Ingolstadt on receiving a letter from his father,
informing him of the tragic news that his brother William had
been strangled. The police cannot find the locket that
Elizabeth had given William. That locket contained a miniature
portrait of their mother, Caroline Frankenstein. Victor's father
implored him to come home at once. Victor left Ingolstadt, but,
"dreading a thousand nameless evils," he lingered in Lausanne
for two days, where he was brought to tears by seeing the
beauty of Mont Blanc. Arriving in Geneva, he found the city
gates closed, forcing him to wait outside the city overnight. He
"resolved to visit the spot where" William died. On his journey,
Victor realized that he had not been home for almost six years.
Watching a "beautiful yet terrific storm," Victor saw "in the
gloom a figure which stole from behind a clump of trees." A
flash of lightning revealed the figure to be the Monster, whom
Victor had not seen since bringing him to life two years before.
Victor suspects the Monster has murdered William.
Victor went home the next morning. He cried with his brother
Ernest, who explained that since the missing locket was found
in Justine's possession, she was assumed to be the murderer
and was being tried that day. Victor assured Ernest, their
father, and Elizabeth (upon whose beauty and womanhood
Victor comments) that Justine was innocent, but he cannot
explain his reasons for asserting this because doing so would
reveal his creation of the Monster.
Analysis
Two years have passed since Victor created the monster and
saw him, lulling him into a false sense of security that the
monster has fled for good and Victor's secret is safe. William's
murder, however, smashes that security and propels the plot
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Chapter Summaries 18
forward. It can be no coincidence that Victor's brother is the
victim; it is clearly the work of the Monster, getting revenge for
being rejected by his maker. The fact that Victor sees the
Monster at the murder scene, near the Frankensteins' home,
reinforces this point.
The lightning that reveals that the figure is definitely the
Monster recalls Victor's interest in electricity and its apparent
connection to bringing the creature to life. It also adds to the
eerie gothic mood. The lightning evokes light, a symbol of
learning and knowledge. Lightning comes during powerful
storms, and that association foreshadows an ominous future
for Victor due to the Monster's presence. Of course, the storm
also parallels Victor's grief: he weeps over the death of William
with Ernest, and the sky weeps as well. Victor calls the storm
William's "funeral dirge."
Victor's reflections about the Monster further distance him
from his creation. "Nothing in human shape," he thinks, "could
have destroyed that fair child," his brother. Only a monster or
fiend, something capable of evil, could do so.
Victor's pause in Lausanne reinforces him as a romantic,
seeking solace in nature. On this occasion, though, it does not
work. While the two days there calm him, the sight of Mont
Blanc and its nearby lake, rather than bringing comfort, makes
him feel worse. He wonders if they are meant to "prognosticate
peace, or to mock at [his] unhappiness."
Chapter 7
Summary
As Victor's story continues, Justine's trial took place later that
morning, and the entire family attended. Victor, terribly
agitated, rationalized that he does not confess to the truth
because he wasn't in Geneva when the crime took place and
he thought no one would believe his wild tale. Justine, in
contrast, was calm. The testimony presented in court made it
appear that Justine was indeed guilty. Justine told the court
that she was innocent and relayed her accounting of the
events of the evening that William was killed. However, since
she had no proof to persuade the court of her assertion, she
hoped that her good reputation would suffice.
Elizabeth tried to convince the court that Justine could not
Frankenstein Study Guide
have committed the crime, and her words were heard with
approval from the spectators, but only because they admired
Elizabeth. Nothing she said can shake the belief in Justine's
guilt. Victor "rushed out of the court in agony" before the
verdict, saying Justine's "tortures did not equal mine"; he can't
sleep that night. The following day, he learned the court had
found Justine guilty and sentenced her to death by hanging.
Victor then learned Justine confessed, which he told Elizabeth.
This news upset Elizabeth deeply.
Before the sentence was carried out, Justine told Elizabeth
and Victor that she had confessed to the crime even though
she was innocent, because her priest threatened her with
excommunication if she did not. She believed that a
confession, even a false one, would help her obtain salvation.
She faced her death calmly, comforting Victor and Elizabeth.
Victor felt "despair" and "agony" and calls himself the "true
murderer." She was to be hanged the following morning. Victor
was devastated, as two members of his family will have now
died because of the monster he created.
Analysis
Justine's fate is an example of the passive role of women in the
early 19th century. She is docile and submissive, quietly
marching to an unjust death and unready to challenge the
court's decision or her priest's advice to submit a false
confession. Elizabeth's words on Justine's behalf at the trial
are ignored, another example of how women were disregarded
and treated as inferior to men. Only Victor, a man, has the
power to prevent Justine's death, and he chooses not to
exercise that power. He is also self-absorbed enough to
consider his suffering worse than Justine's, and Shelley does
present him as far more agitated than her.
Justine's death will move Victor's situation one step deeper on
his downward path. Perhaps he could have ignored the death
of one family member, but the deaths of two clearly indicate
that the Monster is determined to enact his revenge on his
creator. Victor is torn by grief and guilt, horrified at what he has
wrought. Adding to that sense of horror is the fact that Justine
has been linked by Elizabeth to Victor's mother. Her death is as
though he has killed his mother again.
Justine's false confession serves as a counterpoint to Victor's
secret truth. She humbly and willingly confesses her guilt to a
crime she did not commit in hopes of gaining salvation. He
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Chapter Summaries 19
shamefully harbors the truth of his own real crime, punishing
himself with shame and guilt and removing any hope of
relieving himself of their burden. Justine's calm, stoic
acceptance of her fate contrasts with Victor's fevered
agitation—an agitation that will only grow worse in future
chapters as more tragedy strikes.
Chapter 8
Summary
As Victor explains to Walton, his mood sank even lower, as he
was "seized by remorse and the sense of guilt, which hurried
me away to a hell of intense tortures, such as no language can
describe." His father advised him not to yield to " immoderate
grief," but Victor's guilt prevented him from doing that. The
Frankensteins traveled to Belrive, where Victor secretly sailed
the lake at night and thought about killing himself. Victor
believed the Monster determined to "commit some signal
crime" of "enormity," and his hatred of "this fiend" became
violent. Elizabeth, also grieving, attempted to comfort him, but
Victor believed himself to be the true murderer. Hoping to
cheer and relieve Victor, his father suggested they take a trip
to the valley of Chamounix, a familiar place from Victor's
childhood. Victor recognized the "wonderful and sublime"
beauty of the Alps, including "the supreme and magnificent
Mont Blanc," and enjoyed the physical exertion. But he could
not shake his feelings of remorse and gloom. The chapter ends
with him awake at night while his family sleeps, watching a
storm with lightning playing above Mont Blanc.
Analysis
Victor says that "solitude was my only consolation—deep, dark,
deathlike solitude." His condition parallels that of the Monster,
as readers later learn, and Victor's anger makes him appear
monstrous: "my eyes became inflamed." The two have one
critical difference: Victor chooses solitude, but the Monster
has it thrust upon him. Victor can rejoin society at any time he
chooses, and the care others show for him is evidenced by his
father's idea of traveling in nature to restore his spirits and by
Elizabeth's attempts to talk him into a better mood. The
Monster, in sharp contrast, has no one who loves him, no one
who likes him, and no one who can ever bear to look at him.
Frankenstein Study Guide
Details in this chapter reflect both the theme of connection to
nature and the gothic genre. Victor's descriptions of the
scenes they see show the romantics' love of nature. He
describes "immense mountains and precipices overhanging us"
and "the magnificent and astonishing character" of the valley
and the "sublime of the mighty Alps." Romantics drew a
distinction between the beautiful, which reflected harmony and
goodness, and the sublime, which could be terrible but
reflected power and inspired awe. The sublime was nature
untamed, what moderns call "wild nature." The visit to Mont
Blanc reflects a trip that Mary and Percy had taken to the area
in 1816, which inspired Percy to write a poem that year about
the mountain. In the poem, he celebrates the mountain as a
symbol of grandeur but also of freedom. Finally, the gothic
mood is reinforced by the "ruined castles" they also see, as
well as by the storm that Victor watches that night. Despite the
restorative power of nature, he is so troubled he cannot shake
the ominous future that overhangs him.
Chapter 9
Summary
Victor explains that he and the others spent a day in nature,
near the Arve River, and Victor's "grief" was "subdued and
tranquillized." The following morning, Victor felt his depression
recurring and decided to return to nature, this time climbing in
the mountains and glaciers that partly cover them. Moved by
the "solitary grandeur" of the scene, Victor quotes to Walton
the last eight lines of Percy's poem "Mutability." Returning to
his narrative, he explains that he arrived on the top of the
glacier around noon and rested before walking on the glacier
for two hours. Looking at the magnificent scene of Montanvert,
a glacier, and Mont Blanc, he felt "something like joy."
He then saw what he assumed to be a man running toward him
"with superhuman speed." As the figure came closer, Victor
realized it was the Monster. Victor violently rejected the
Monster, calling him "Devil" and saying, "Begone, vile insect! Or
rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust!" Victor tried to
attack and kill the Monster, but he was too slow. Nevertheless,
the Monster convinced Victor to hear what he has to say. The
Monster said to him, "I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather
the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed."
He asked Victor to help him, to make him "happy," and
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Chapter Summaries 20
described his lonely "wretchedness." He threatened Victor,
saying that Victor must know his story and choose if the
Monster will disappear or "ruin" his life. Finally, Victor agreed to
hear him out. Victor realized that "for the first time, also, I felt
what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and
that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his
wickedness." Victor also hoped to confirm his suspicion that
the Monster was his brother's murderer. They went to the
Monster's hut so the Monster could tell his story.
Analysis
The Monster's plea that he should be Adam but instead is the
"fallen angel" is an allusion to both Genesis and Milton's
retelling of it in Paradise Lost. According to the Bible, Adam is
the first human God created. The "fallen angel" is Lucifer, the
angel God cast out after he tried to seize control of heaven.
Lucifer becomes Satan, the ruler of hell, saying in Paradise
Lost, "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."
The Monster is "fallen." He should have been Victor's finest
creation ("I ought to be ... Adam"), but instead he has
become Victor's greatest failure. Of course, the Monster is
not like Adam until he has a mate, as Adam had. Equating
himself with Adam, then, foreshadows his demand that
Victor make a mate for him. He calls himself a "fallen angel,"
but that is Lucifer (Satan), who challenged God and thus fell
from heaven. The Monster initially does nothing wrong, but
Victor punishes him.
Victor is God. The Monster is suggesting that Victor should
have cared for him as God does for all his creations. Thus,
the fault lies with Victor, not with the Monster, for all of the
evil the Monster has done. Victor, in feeling "for the first time
... the duties of a creator," recognizes this responsibility. He
is always held back, though, by his horror at the Monster. A
harmonious relationship between the two is impossible.
Earlier in the novel, Victor feared the Monster because of his
hideous appearance. He is now aware of the Monster's great
strength and stamina. The fact that the Monster speaks and
alludes to Paradise Lost shows that he has acquired language
and great learning, both of which make him a far more
formidable foe than his mere brute strength and endurance
did. Victor rightly fears the Monster's intelligence and cunning.
Frankenstein Study Guide
Chapter 10
Summary
The narrative voice shifts, as now the Monster is telling the
story—which is, really, Walton's recounting of Victor's retelling
of the Monster's story. (The Monster's story continues through
Chapter 15.) He returns Victor to the day of his creation, saying
he first awoke to find himself "desolate" and became aware of
light and darkness, hunger and thirst. He was in a forest. The
next day, he was "cold" and guided by a "gentle light," the
moon, he "found a huge cloak." Over time, he recognized
different sensations and developed a longing for language. He
was overjoyed to find a fire to warm him; soon, he realized how
to maintain the fire and use it to cook food. He spent much of
his time foraging for food to relieve his constant hunger. On
one search for food, the Monster found an old man living in a
small hut, chased the man off, and stole his breakfast. He set
off again and arrived that evening at a village, where the people
recoiled at his appearance and chased him away. The Monster
next arrived at a small hovel, a squalid shed attached to the
back of a cottage. Happy to have shelter, the Monster stole
bread and a cup and then realized that he could see into the
cottage and so spy on its inhabitants. These are the De Lacey
family—a father who is blind, as the Monster realizes in
Chapter 11, and his children, Felix and Agatha—who treat each
other with great love and kindness. The Monster saw the old
man play music and the young man read.
Analysis
The kindly way the De Lacey family interacts contrasts to the
hatred the Monster faces. The De Laceys' love for each other
increases the Monster's misery, as he sees what he is missing.
They enact the positive aspects of humankind, serving as a
kind of ideal and model the Monster can aspire to. That the
names Felix and Agatha mean "luck" and "good," respectively,
adds more luster to their existence. Seeing the old man
embrace his daughter, Agatha, the Monster says, "I felt
sensations of a peculiar and over-powering nature: they were a
mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before
experienced ... and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear
these emotions." No one treats the Monster well; no one cares
whether he lives or dies. Indeed, even Victor, his father and
Copyright © 2018 Course Hero, Inc.
Chapter Summaries 21
creator, actively wants the Monster to die. Thus, the theme of
human companionship is clearly evident here.
In his story, the Monster reveals a powerful and sensitive
personality completely at odds with his monstrous appearance
and the terms—"wretch," "fiend," "demon," and "devil"—that
Victor constantly uses to refer to him. Readers may feel great
pity for the Monster, a sensitive soul cast out of society. That
Victor retells the Monster's account honestly and with no
attempts to excuse himself does cast the creator in a
somewhat sympathetic light. He grants the Monster a certain
dignity of equal treatment in this regard.
The Monster's story also provides insight into one way of
envisioning the first human. The Monster becomes aware of
himself with no socialization or training; he is like John Locke's
tabula rasa, or blank slate. He must learn on his own, as Adam
had to; neither had a parent available to provide instruction or
guidance. There are some differences, though. Adam, living in
Eden, clothed himself and Eve after they ate of the forbidden
fruit and realized their nakedness. The Monster seeks clothing
because he is cold. He, unlike Adam, is not a sinner at this
point. He is like a child, innocent and free of sin or guilt.
Chapter 11
Summary
The Monster was especially impressed by the gentle way the
De Lacey family members treated each other, but he noticed
they are not as happy as he had first assumed. It took the
Monster a while to realize the cause of their sadness: they are
very poor. Moved by their plight, the Monster stopped stealing
their food and anonymously gathered wood for them, relieving
them of this burdensome chore. The Monster learned that
language exists and then, slowly, learned to start to speak
French by listening to the family speak it. This continued for
the winter, during which time the Monster also "ardently longed
to comprehend" writing. The Monster also caught his first
glimpse of himself, reflected in a pool, and was shocked at his
grotesque appearance.
As the weather improved with the coming of spring, the
Monster continued secretly assisting the De Laceys and
decided that he might be able to make the De Lacey family
happy again—and that they would then accept and "love" him.
Frankenstein Study Guide
He practiced speaking and found his mood lifting, saying, "My
spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature
... the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of
joy."
Analysis
Accustomed to great hardship, the Monster at first cannot
understand how the De Lacey family could be sad when they
appear to have everything that anyone could want: food,
shelter, and love. Once he comes to understand their situation,
he helps the De Laceys in every way he can and even dreams
of restoring them to total happiness, showing his innate
kindness and compassion. The Monster shows himself to be
more humane, more full of compassion, than Victor, his human
creator. Who is the real monster?
The Monster's thirst to learn ennobles him. Watching the De
Laceys converse, he realizes that language is the key to
humans connecting with one another. He calls language a
"godlike science," the vehicle for forging human bonds. His
pursuit of knowledge contrasts with Victor's and Walton's.
They both pursue knowledge to push the limits of science and
to gain fame for themselves. The Monster seeks the ability to
speak so that he can connect to other creatures. He wants to
learn to read to open new realms of understanding, to improve
himself, not to enhance his status.
The Monster's happiness when spring comes underscores the
romantics' belief in the power of nature and the link between
nature and people's moods. He celebrates nature's glory when
he cannot celebrate his own. This provides a further
connection between him and Victor, who also finds joy and
peace in nature. The Monster, like his creator, is a romantic.
Chapter 12
Summary
One day, the Monster saw a beautiful young lady arrive at the
cottage, to Felix's great delight. She is Safie, the woman Felix
loves. Safie does not speak French, so Felix used a book called
Ruins of Empires by the Comte de Volney to teach her the
language. From listening to their lessons over two months, the
Monster learned to speak and read French too; he also learned
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Chapter Summaries 22
about world history and mused on the nature of humanity.
"Was man, indeed," he thinks, "at once so powerful, so virtuous
and magnificent, yet so vicious and base?" These thoughts
prompted the Monster to look inward, and he realized that he
had nothing that would gain mankind's respect: "no money, no
friends, no kind of property." He asked of himself, "Was I then a
monster?" This knowledge tortured the Monster, and he
yearned to once again be ignorant, knowing only the feelings
of hunger, thirst, and cold. He also longed for "friends and
relations," for another "being resembling" him, and for
interaction with others.
Analysis
Again, the Monster's situation parallels Victor's, as they both
seek education and then come to realize that knowledge
changes a person. Knowledge is desirable, but too much
knowledge or knowledge used unwisely brings misery, as
Victor's abuse of science to exceed the powers of humanity
shows. More knowledge also makes the Monster unhappy,
when he learns about what he does not have. Knowledge used
for good, however, is beneficial, as is shown by the Monster
helping the De Laceys (or as in the appreciation of Victor's
improvements to the scientific instruments at Ingolstadt).
Speaking through the Monster, Shelley explores the mixture of
good and evil in everyone and in humanity as a whole.
Both Victor and the Monster are set apart from humanity: the
Monster by his hideous appearance and Victor by his
monstrous creation, the effort of keeping it secret, and the
tragedy it causes. The link between the Monster and his
creator is central to Frankenstein. Part of the impact of the
novel is the fact that Victor never realizes how similar he and
his Monster really are, which in this chapter is shown by the
Monster's thirst for knowledge, paralleling Victor's, and
recognition that knowledge sometimes can bring pain as well
as pleasure.
Mention of Ruins of Empires is significant. The book was a
radical denunciation of the religious and political status quo in
the world and was published two years into the French
Revolution. It protests the tyranny of hierarchies and demands
their destruction. Godwin knew the work; a friend of his made
the first English translation. Percy Shelley knew it as well, and it
influenced his political thought.
Safie's arrival and reception provide a contrast to the Monster.
Frankenstein Study Guide
She is accepted, in part because she is beautiful. Victor
rejected the Monster because he is hideous (and the De
Laceys will in a few chapters do the same). This differential
treatment exemplifies the injustice of humankind that the
Comte de Volney describes on an individual scale.
Chapter 13
Summary
Here, the Monster recounts the history of the De Lacey family.
Some years before, they were wealthy and distinguished in
Paris, France, but the family was ruined by Safie's father, a
Turkish merchant. Running afoul of the French government,
Safie's father was unjustly jailed and sentenced to death. Felix,
present at the trial by chance, decided to help the merchant.
Felix went to the prison, where he met the beautiful Safie. Felix
refused the merchant's offer of both money and marriage to
Safie in return for his rescue, although he hoped to marry Safie
anyway. The Monster cites letters between Felix and Safie in
his possession that will corroborate the story he is relating and
says he will show them to Victor.
The Monster then returns to the narrative of the De Laceys'
story. The night before the execution of the merchant was
scheduled to take place, Felix helped him escape from prison;
after those two and Sadie escaped to Italy, Felix and Sadie's
relationship grew. However, Felix's involvement in the escape
was uncovered by authorities, and M. De Lacey and Agatha
were imprisoned for five months. Felix hurried home to Paris,
leaving Safie in a convent, but his family was ruined, their
fortune confiscated by the government and their reputation
shattered. The De Laceys had to leave France for Germany.
The Turkish merchant betrayed Felix by ordering Safie home
to Turkey, but she managed to escape to return to Felix, which
explained her arrival at the cottage.
Analysis
The Turkish merchant suffers an unjust
punishment—imprisonment and a death sentence. The De
Lacey family suffers an unjust punishment—the loss of their
money, land, and reputation. The Monster suffers an unjust
punishment—the loss of all human companionship and comfort.
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Chapter Summaries 23
In addition, all are outsiders: the merchant because of his
nationality, the De Laceys because of their exile, and the
Monster because of his appearance. Felix's courage in helping
the merchant contrasts Victor's cowardice in not helping
Justine; Felix's sympathy for Safie contrasts Victor's deep
loathing of the Monster.
The offer of Safie to Felix in marriage in return for her father's
freedom is another example of female powerlessness. Like
Victor's mother had once been, like Elizabeth and Justine had
been as children, Safie is at the mercy of a dominant male.
Felix is unusual in being "too delicate to accept" that offer and
in hoping they can develop love. That desire parallels the
reality for Victor and Elizabeth, but it also contrasts with the
Monster, who wants to be given a mate but never is.
The Monster's stated intention to show Victor the Felix-Sadie
letters reinforces the idea of evidence and proof set up in the
Walton framing story. He wants to be believed; it is important
to him to be seen as credible.
Chapter 14
Summary
Continuing his narration, the Monster relates that one evening
he found a suitcase of books (Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives,
Sorrows of Werter) that he read and thought about deeply. He
was especially moved by Milton's Paradise Lost, which he read
as accurate history rather than a work of imagination. He
contrasted himself with Adam; when he thought about the love
the De Laceys showed for each other, he identified with Satan
and felt envious. He also read some of Victor's journal tracing
the Monster's formation; he had it because it was "in the
pocket of the dress which [he] had taken from [Victor's]
laboratory." He shows Victor the pages and tells his creator
they made him ill, feeling worse off than Satan because he was
"solitary and detested." He wanted to show himself to the De
Laceys but waited "for some months."
Meanwhile, the De Laceys, whom the Monster had come to
see as his own family, were happier since Safie's arrival. The
Monster again compares himself to Adam, but he has "no Eve"
and his creator has "abandoned" him. Autumn's bleakness
meant he was no longer soothed by nature.
Frankenstein Study Guide
That winter, gathering his courage, the Monster waited until M.
De Lacey was alone. Since the old man is blind, he could not
see the Monster. The Monster told the old man of his isolation
and yearning to be accepted by his "friends," not specifying
that he meant the De Laceys. The old man offered to help. Just
as the Monster was about to admit these friends are the De
Laceys, he heard Safie, Felix, and Agatha returning. He told M.
De Lacey, "You and your family are the friends of whom I seek.
Do not desert me in the hour of trial!," and the three arrived
back at the cottage. Agatha fainted, Safie fled, and Felix beat
the Monster with a stick. The Monster ran from the cottage.
Analysis
The Monster reads Milton's Paradise Lost, one volume of
Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Greeks and Romans, and Goethe's
Sorrows of Werter, all major texts, the last a key document of
the romantic movement. He says, "I learned from Werter's
imaginations despondency and gloom: but Plutarch taught me
high thoughts." However, all the skill the Monster acquires in
language and communication is frustrating, as he has no one to
communicate with. The Monster pours out all that he has
learned, drawing on all his language and communication skills,
when he meets Victor and tells his story.
As he becomes educated, the Monster thinks about his
condition and yearns for a mate. Drawing on his reading of
Paradise Lost, he says, "Like Adam, I was apparently united by
no link to any other being in existence." However, the Monster
realizes that his similarity to Adam ends there, for God created
Adam as "happy and prosperous," while Victor Frankenstein
made the Monster "wretched, helpless, and alone." The
Monster's despair makes him more human and again incites
readers' sympathy, giving the novel its deep humanity.
The Monster's conversation with M. De Lacey makes use of
the common literary device of the blind person who sees more
clearly than the sighted. When the Monster asks his assistance
in helping him befriend the family (who are really the De
Laceys), the old man says, "There is something in your words
which persuades me that you are sincere." The blind man, who
does not see how horrific the Monster looks, is the only person
who can perceive his true nature.
When Felix and Agatha De Lacey reject him, the Monster
learns that the De Laceys were not as kind and tolerant as he
had supposed. Instead, they are as flawed as the rest of
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Chapter Summaries 24
humankind. He has romanticized the family, making them into
the ideal family he wishes he could join, showing his desperate
desire for human companionship and relief from isolation and
loneliness.
Chapter 15
Summary
That night, in a fury, the Monster declared "everlasting war"
against all humans, especially Victor Frankenstein. Later,
calmed by "pleasant sunshine," the Monster decided that he
had acted too quickly and, after napping, returned to the
cottage, where the following morning he saw Felix negotiating
with his landlord to leave. The unhappy Monster says, "I never
saw any of the family of De Lacey more." The Monster's
feelings of hatred and desire for revenge flared again. That
night, he burned the De Laceys' cottage to the ground and set
off, hoping to reach Geneva. He traveled a long time,
developing a desire for "justice" from and then "revenge" on his
"heartless creator," finding pleasure only in nature. Along the
way, the Monster saved a "young girl" from drowning, but her
male companion shot the Monster in the shoulder. The
Monster spent weeks recovering, his physical pain increased
by his mental anguish. He vowed revenge against humanity for
the "outrages and anguish" they had caused him.
Two months later, near Geneva, the Monster was awakened
from a nap by a beautiful child. Believing the child too young
and innocent to fear him, the Monster grabbed the boy. Instead
of accepting him, the boy screamed, "Monster! Ugly wretch!"
certain the Monster wished to eat him or tear him to pieces.
The boy proclaimed that his father, Mr. Frankenstein, will
"punish" the Monster. Hearing the child's identity, the Monster
said, "You shall be my first victim," and strangled him. The
Monster took the portrait the child was wearing. When he saw
a young woman (Justine), he decided to punish her in place of
other people who have rejected him and secretly placed the
necklace on her. He was fully aware that the innocent young
woman would be blamed for the murder of the boy. The
Monster relates that he then wandered for some time, hoping
to see and confront Victor. The chapter closes with his
demand that Victor end his solitude by making him a mate.
Frankenstein Study Guide
Analysis
This chapter brings the stories of the Monster and Victor
together, as the Monster explains how he killed William and
what he did to frame Justine for the crime. This murder is a
counterpoint to the kind deed the Monster performed earlier in
the chapter—saving another girl from drowning—and the unjust
punishment he received. His anger at that injustice, reminding
him of his rejection by the De Laceys and his treatment by the
boyfriend of the drowning girl, his rage at William
Frankenstein's horror upon seeing him, and his desire for
revenge on Victor, awakened by hearing the name
"Frankenstein," all spur him to violence.
The Monster takes the written word as all-powerful, believing
what he reads is literally true. He extends this to assume that
he will be able to use language, threats, and violence to
persuade Victor to make him a mate. The Monster's naïve
belief in the power of language foreshadows the failure of his
plea. That faith also provides an ironic commentary on Mary
Shelley's act of penning the novel. If language is too weak to
persuade, why does she write? Or is language capable of
changing minds—Victor, after all, complies initially with the
Monster's demand—but not necessarily changing society?
The power of language appears in the William story as well.
The Monster's words cannot persuade the boy that he is not a
threat. In determining to kill him by strangling, the Monster says
he acts to "silence him." If his words will not be heard, he will
ensure that William's words are not heard, either.
The pleasure that the Monster finds in nature in the chapter
reinforces the theme of connection to nature inspired by the
romantic movement. It also once again underscores his
connection to Victor in this regard. His desire to "reanimate"
the drowning girl connects him to Victor as well; he hopes to
animate life.
Chapter 16
Summary
The Monster has finished his story, and Victor becomes
narrator again, continuing the events of the past. The Monster
indicated to him his willingness to repent, saying he "would
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Chapter Summaries 25
make peace with" humans if he could have some positive
emotion from one of them. But he also repeated his demand
for a mate, explaining, "I am malicious because I am miserable,"
and threatening, "If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear." The
Monster vowed to destroy Victor if his demand were not met. If
Victor complies, however, the Monster promised to leave with
his mate, never to be seen again. The Monster argued with
eloquence, and Victor finally agreed to his demand.
Immediately, Victor and the Monster part ways; overnight,
Victor slowly and unhappily returned to Chamounix. His family
was shocked by his "haggard and strange" appearance, but
after they returned to Geneva, Victor offered no explanation.
The chapter concludes with him describing his "despair" and
eventual "calm." Thinking of suicide at first, he is calmed by
nature.
Analysis
The monster yearns for a mate. The reasonableness of his
request and the eloquence of his plea make a strong argument
that everyone needs human companionship. "Shall each beast
have his mate," he pleads with Victor, "and I be alone?"
Creating a mate for the Monster is the least that Victor can do
for him, yet Victor is torn by indecision. His senses are
conflicted: he says when listening to the Monster, "I
compassionated him ... but when I looked upon him ... my heart
sickened." When Victor finally agrees, he is plunged back into
depression, which shows that he is still conflicted about his
choice. If Victor's story recalls the Faust legend, this episode
reintroduces it. Victor has called the Monster "the Devil." In
agreeing to make him a mate, he is making a pact with the
devil, as Faust had done.
Nature, of course, revives Victor, reinforcing the theme of
connection to nature. The romantic can always find renewed
energy and lifted spirits by communing with nature.
Chapter 17
Summary
Not eager to begin his work, Victor relates, he procrastinated
in Geneva and found "returning tranquility" on the lake.
Meanwhile, Mr. Frankenstein pressed Victor to marry Elizabeth.
Frankenstein Study Guide Chapter Summaries 26

Victor agreed, reassuring his father that he indeed loved her as friendship is cruelly denied to the Monster.
a future wife, not as a sister. Reluctant to marry before he
created the Monster's promised mate, Victor decided to first Victor's conversations with his father and Elizabeth about

go to England to do research, find some information he needs, marrying her reinforce the recurring idea of passive females.

and keep his family safe by staying away.
Worried about Victor's mental health, his father and Elizabeth
arranged for Henry Clerval to accompany Victor. Although this
interfered with the solitude Victor felt he needed to complete
his task, he was happy to travel again with Henry and hoped
that Henry's presence would keep the Monster away. Victor
set off in August, with the understanding that he and Elizabeth
would marry when he returned, although he told her the trip
would take two years.
Victor and his father settle the question of Elizabeth's
marriage; she is not consulted. Similarly, Victor alone decides
that this wedding will only occur after he returns. She has no
choice in the timing, either. Females are pawns; males are the
decision makers.
Chapter 18

Victor and Henry traveled though Germany and Holland on the

Summary
Rhine before arriving in London. Henry was especially
Victor and Henry lived in London during the winter. Their
delighted at the scenery; Victor was preoccupied by the task
touring and stay in London failed to rouse Victor from his
set for him by the Monster. In his account to Walton, Victor
depression, although Henry enjoyed himself. In Henry, Victor
remembers his "beloved friend," praising Henry's "imagination"
sees himself before he created the Monster, as Henry was still
and "sensibility," and quoting from two romantic poems: "The
eager to learn and experience new things. Victor had by then
Story of Rimini" by Leigh Hunt and "Tintern Abbey" by William
lost his joy and interest in new adventures and new
Wordsworth. He expresses to Walton his sadness that Henry is
learning—he was tormented by the results of his earlier
now dead.
unbridled pursuit of knowledge. At the end of March, Victor
and Henry traveled through the English countryside to

Analysis Edinburgh, Scotland, responding to a friend's invitation. When

they reached Perth, Victor—conscious of his "horrible

In Victor's discussion of Henry, Shelley includes a six-line curse"—suggested that he and Henry part.

excerpt from William Wordsworth's 1798 poem "Tintern

On his own, Victor set up a laboratory on a remote island in the
Abbey," one of the most famous romantic poems. Typical of
Orkneys. The island was so isolated that it had only three huts;
Wordsworth's poems, "Tintern Abbey" describes nature's
Victor took the one that was empty. He set to work making the
ability to touch an individual and prompt powerful emotions and
female monster, but every day, that work seemed to him more
profound reflections. Henry is deeply moved by the beautiful
and more terrible. Sometimes he could not even enter the
scenery, which he "loved with ardor." However, thinking of this
laboratory for days. Nevertheless, he made progress, despite
landscape now, while on the ship with Walton, brings sadness
being plagued by disgust over the work. Henry, living
to Victor, as it reminds him of Henry. This sadness actually
elsewhere, had no idea what Victor was doing.
contrasts with the theme of Wordsworth's poem, which
establishes that the pleasures in nature he felt as a youth can
be recollected and experienced again later in life. Nature can
Analysis
still conjure powerful emotions in Victor, possessor of the
romantics' affinity with nature, but sometimes the burden of his
Many themes come together in this chapter. The theme of
actions and their results weighs too heavily on him, and
scientific idealism is evident and made complicated through
nature's restorative powers are ineffectual.
Victor's reluctant work on the female monster. Here, unlike the
case with the burst of energy and passion that Victor first
This scene also reinforces the theme of human companionship
experienced, the theme is combined with the theme of
(friendship) and its importance. Despite his fears and
disillusionment. Aware of the "horror" of his actions, Victor
depression, Victor enjoys Henry's company, while the joy of
cannot feel excitement or joy in his work. The theme of

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Frankenstein Study Guide
curiosity is also reinforced in this chapter, where Henry's
continued thirst for knowledge is contrasted by Victor's
remorse over the results of his unbridled curiosity. Finally,
Victor's decision to be alone and to work in an extremely
secluded location shows the theme of human companionship.
Henry and the Monster crave companionship (as does Walton),
while Victor wants only to be alone.
In addition, qualities of the gothic novel are shown in Victor's
work building the female monster, from the eerie, isolated
location to the dark mood attached to those scenes. Of
course, as with the male monster, Shelley does not describe
the nuts-and-bolts construction of the female monster, leaving
these details to the reader's imagination.
Chapter 19
Summary
Victor recounts that as he worked on making the female
monster, he thought back three years to when he had built the
male monster. He worried about the possible outcomes of
making this new creation, fearing the two creatures would
mate and create a "race of devils" that would make human life
"full of terror." Looking up from his work, Victor saw a figure at
the hut's window; the Monster had followed Victor and Henry
through their travels. In a fit of terror and fury, Victor ripped the
female figure apart. The upset Monster left, and Victor
departed from his lab for his other room, where he remained
looking out the window.
Hours later, the Monster entered Victor's room and berated
Victor for breaking his promise. The Monster threatened
Victor, promising vengeance even if it results in his own death.
He delivered an even more terrifying threat: "I go; but
remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night." The
Monster then left. Victor, anticipating that the Monster's words
meant his own death, felt sad about Elizabeth mourning him.
Following an unhappy night, Victor received a letter from
Henry, asking him to meet him at Perth so they could travel to
India together. Victor cleaned up his lab and left two days later,
taking a boat off the island. After dumping the rest of the
female's body parts into the water, he fell asleep in the boat.
The wind pushed the boat out into choppy water, and he woke
up lost. After a fitful night, he managed to reach the Irish shore,
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Chapter Summaries 27
joyful at being alive. Landing, he was puzzled that the local
people treated him with great hostility. Victor was then
arrested and taken to seen Mr. Kirwin, a magistrate, to explain
another man's murder. He breaks off the story here, explaining
that the "frightful events" take "fortitude to recall."
Analysis
This chapter furthers the themes of scientific idealism and
curiosity, as Victor acts against curiosity and discovery,
deciding to destroy the female monster rather than risk the
potential for even greater disaster. He fears that perhaps the
female won't go along with the Monster's plan to leave or that
the two creatures might hate each other and create havoc.
Their mating might have even more dire repercussions. Related
to this interpretation is the view that Victor, in taking the role of
creator, usurps the female role of motherhood. In a male-
dominated world, in which men control the creation of new life,
women become unnecessary. Victor's fear that the female
monster would mate with the male monster and produce
offspring is a fear that women will again wrench the role of
motherhood back to them. If she never comes alive, that threat
is removed, and Victor's power as creator and mother remains
intact.
The Adam and Satan symbol gets a twist in this chapter. The
Monster tells Victor, "You are my creator, but I am your
master;—obey!" Here the Monster takes the role of Satan. As
Satan, before his fall, challenged the divinely mandated order
and revolted against God, seeking control of heaven, the
Monster challenges the supremacy of the creator.
Victor's destruction of the female monster can also been seen
as one culmination of the recurring theme of the passive
woman. In this view, women are meant to be protected,
managed, and controlled by males. If they show the slightest
potential for power, they must be destroyed.
Chapter 20
Summary
In front of the magistrate and several witnesses, Victor learned
that the body of a handsome young man washed ashore.
Initially, the men assumed the victim had drowned, but they
Frankenstein Study Guide
soon discovered that he had been strangled. Victor's reaction
to the strangling news caused suspicion, as does his arrival by
boat and his horrified reaction to seeing that the murdered
man was Henry Clerval. The villagers assumed, based on
circumstantial evidence (including seeing a man in a boat), that
Victor was the murderer; Victor figured it was the Monster.
The accusation and his grief at the loss of his best friend sent
Victor into terrible illness, which lasted two months. During this
time and in delirium, he confessed, in his own language, that he
was the murderer and fantasized that the Monster was coming
for him. Regaining some of his health, he realized that he had
been imprisoned and that a nurse was sent to watch over him.
She and a doctor treated his illness. Mr. Kirwin, the magistrate,
became sympathetic to Victor's plight and explained he had
sent for Alphonse Frankenstein to be at his son's side. After
Alphonse arrived and told Victor that the family was well, Victor
began to improve physically.
At a grand jury hearing, Victor was exonerated when it was
proved that he was not at the scene—he was in his laboratory
on the Orkney Islands. Fearing the Monster intended to
destroy the rest of his family, Victor hurried home with his
father. Tormented by fears the first night on the ship, he took
laudanum, a drug, to help him sleep, but even double the usual
quantity did not give him peace.
Analysis
By killing off Victor's friends and family, the Monster shows
Victor what it feels like to suffer loss, to be lonely and isolated,
deprived of companionship. It is perhaps the worst punishment
the Monster could inflict. The theme of isolation and human
companionship, woven through Frankenstein, is especially
apparent in this chapter. Victor suffers for two months alone.
He is heartened by the appearance of his father, but even his
presence cannot lift the sense of guilt and despair that Victor
feels—nor can it dispel his sense of foreboding, that more
death and suffering is to come. The created being has once
again proven to be a force of destruction. Victor's triumph over
death has led to death.
Victor's arrest and trial recalls Justine. She, innocent of a
crime, is found guilty; Victor, who is ultimately guilty, is declared
innocent. Justine issues a false confession. Victor confesses in
his delirium, and that confession is both untrue (he is not
directly responsible for killing Henry; the Monster is) and true
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Chapter Summaries 28
(by creating the Monster and rejecting him, he is ultimately
responsible). Justine suffers the human punishment of death;
Victor goes unpunished by his fellow humans, although the
Monster sees to it that he suffers. Indeed, Victor punishes
himself, saying, "The cup of life [i]s poisoned for ever," and he
feels no difference between being in nature or prison. But he
wishes to die, hoping for an end to his misery and suffering
and, presumably, feeling that his death will cause the Monster
to stop killing those Victor loves.
Victor's repeated collapses suggest that his health issues may
be a response to stress, as his physical and psychological
breakdowns coincide with encounters with the Monster. By
this time, Victor is in such debilitated mental condition that he
has "fits" and "paroxysms of anguish," is suicidal, and needs
help to keep from hurting himself.
The themes of disillusionment and connection to nature
combine here. Victor is so overcome with disillusion that prison
is as welcome to him as "the divinest scene in nature." Here he
is Adam, fallen in sin and expelled from the Garden. Nature no
longer provides a balm to his soul or a boost to his spirits.
Nature is dead to him.
The light and darkness symbol appears in this chapter as well.
When Victor is exonerated and released from prison, the sun is
shining. Rather than reveling in the light and feeling joy,
however, he sees "nothing but a dense and frightful darkness."
Rather than the cheerful sun, he see two orbs, which are eyes.
Sometimes they are Henry's and sometimes the Monster's.
Victor has fallen into the darkness and feels despair.
Chapter 21
Summary
Victor relates to Walton that he and his father then went to
France. During this trip, Victor told his father he was
responsible for the deaths of William, Justine, and Henry; his
father viewed Victor as mad. In Paris, Victor received a letter
from Elizabeth, asking if he had fallen in love with another
woman, explaining that she loves him and would understand.
Victor recalled the Monster's ominous warning and wrote back
to Elizabeth to saying he is dedicated to her but has "one
secret ... a terrible one."
Frankenstein Study Guide
Returning home to Geneva, Victor passed in and out of
madness; Elizabeth helped him. He assured his father that he
loved only Elizabeth and was ready for marriage. Victor again
remembered the Monster's warning, but as he tells Walton, "I
thought that I prepared only my own death, I hastened that of a
far dearer victim." Victor and Elizabeth married. He armed
himself, and they left on their overnight honeymoon, planning
afterward to go to Cologny. While sailing past the "beauty of
the scene," landscape including Mont Blanc, Victor had his "last
moments ... of happiness" and Elizabeth told him to "be happy."
At sunset, they reach Evian.
Analysis
The novel builds to its climax as Victor fears the Monster will
kill him on his wedding night. The climax is foreshadowed and
suspense is built by Victor's statement to Elizabeth that he has
only "one secret," "a dreadful one," which will "chill your frame
with horror" when it is revealed. He promises to tell her the day
after they wed but does not intend to fulfill the promise, since
he believes the Monster will kill him first. While Victor carries a
gun, such weapons are not likely to prove effective against the
Monster, who is possessed of speed, strength, and endurance
beyond those of an ordinary human.
Victor's delay in revealing his secret to Elizabeth continues
behavior he has shown throughout the novel. He is full of self-
loathing over his secret, which is as ugly to him as the Monster
is in appearance. He has a genuine wish to not mar Elizabeth's
happiness before the wedding, but his inability to be truthful
also deprives her of any freedom of choice in relation to him.
She is in darkness as to his character and actions, acting only
on partial information. She does not press him for details,
however, showing a lack of the curiosity that impelled him to
ruin. Of course, Elizabeth, the passive female, is also complicit
in her powerlessness. Her letter to Victor confesses that she
places his happiness above her own. As much as she loves him
(more than he loves her, some readers may suspect), she will
give him up if he loves someone else. Elizabeth gives Victor all
the power and authority in their relationship.
Chapter 22
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Chapter Summaries 29
Summary
Victor continues his relation. He and Elizabeth walked along
the shore near the inn where they were staying. Back at the
inn, an hour after it started raining, Victor convinced Elizabeth
to go to bed. He stalked through the halls with his gun, on
guard for the Monster. Suddenly, Victor heard a "shrill and
dreadful scream," and he quickly grasped what had occurred.
On hearing a second scream, he rushed to their room to find
Elizabeth strangled. He fainted. People at the inn tried to
console him, but he returned to Elizabeth and confirmed she
was dead. Victor saw the Monster outside, grinning, and shot
at him but missed, and the Monster got away. Victor and
people from Evian went looking for the murderer, and then the
others continued without him.
Crying for the dead, Victor feared for Alphonse and Ernest and
rushed back to Geneva. Soon after Mr. Frankenstein heard the
news, he died of a fit caused by grief. Following his father's
death, Victor says, "I lost sensation." Thought mad, he was
placed in a cell for months.
Regaining sanity, Victor vowed revenge, and one month later
told the local magistrate the story of the Monster. The
magistrate was polite but, while drawn in with a "half kind of
belief," clearly didn't fully believe Victor's story or intend to act
on it, concluding Victor was still somewhat insane. Victor left.
Analysis
When Victor and Elizabeth arrive at the inn, "the wind, which
had fallen in the south, now rose with great violence in the
west ... the clouds swept across it [the moon] swifter than the
flight of the vulture and dimmed her rays." Victor says that the
night is "dreadful, very dreadful." The foul weather creates a
gothic mood, while the word choices enhance it and provide
foreshadowing. For example, the violence of the wind
foreshadows the murder to come; the idea of the "vulture"
foreshadows death and characterizes the Monster, who is
made of the kind of carrion vultures eat; the phrase "dimmed
her rays" foreshadows Elizabeth's death and the end of any
potential for Victor's happiness.
The misunderstanding underlying Victor's reaction to the
Monster's threat "I shall be with you on your wedding-night!" is
finally revealed. Victor assumes in his egotism that the Monster
will kill him. It never crosses his mind that the Monster intends
Frankenstein Study Guide
to kill Elizabeth instead. Her murder makes much more sense,
however, because Victor destroyed the Monster's mate by
violently tearing apart the body before finishing it. This is the
climax of the novel, as the Monster has stripped Victor of his
family, his friend, and his bride. As a result, Victor begins to
lose his humanity and becomes like the Monster, isolated and
lonely, devoted only to revenge. It is also fitting that the
Monster strangles Elizabeth; he kills her with his hands, just as
Victor tears apart the Monster's intended mate.
As he relates his story to the magistrate, Victor says, "I do not
doubt that he [the Monster] hovers near the spot which I
inhabit," indicating he believes the Monster is somewhere
nearby, hiding but dangerously present. It seems the Monster
knows where Victor is at all times, adding another mysterious,
supernatural or gothic element to the book. Victor's ability to
sense the Monster, in turn, furthers the linkage between the
two of them (a twisted kind of companionship). The Monster is,
in a sense, Victor's double, or shadow self. As a shadow, he
has a special bond to Victor. This tradition, called
doppelgänger ("double goer") for the first time in 1796, comes
from the ancient German concept that each living creature has
an exact copy. The twin may exist as a phantom or as a real
human.
In this chapter, Victor finally—for the first time—confesses the
full truth of what he has done. The magistrate, lacking proof,
cannot believe his fantastical story; Victor being mad is the
only way to explain his account. The bulk of the novel, of
course, is Victor telling his story in detail to Walton, who will
eventually see proof that confirms it.
Elizabeth's live body made dead by the Monster contrasts with
the dead body that Victor brought to life to form the Monster.
She is "lifeless and inanimate"; Victor had animated the lifeless
body of the Monster but can do nothing for her. She is pale,
with "bloodless arms." The Monster's yellow skin "scarcely
covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath."
Chapter 23
Summary
For months, Victor chased the Monster across the globe, the
desire for revenge keeping him alive. He first spent the night in
the Genevan cemetery, where the Monster overheard and
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Chapter Summaries 30
"mocked" him for making a vow to "pursue the daemon." Victor
went on the Rhone, to the Mediterranean Sea and the Black
Sea, to Russia, but the Monster was always one step ahead.
Victor ate food left by what he thought were benevolent
"spirits" (later revealed as the Monster) and dreamed about his
dead family and friends. The Monster goaded Victor with
messages carved into trees and cut into stone. Victor and the
Monster reached the Arctic. Victor, learning from Russian
villagers the Monster had stolen food and a dogsled to take
him over the ice floes, bought a dogsled and followed. Victor
was not sure how much longer he could survive the brutal
conditions, but he pressed on nonetheless. After days of
pursuit, Victor saw and then got tantalizingly close to the
Monster, but they were ultimately separated by the cracking
ice.
About to die, Victor was found and rescued by Robert Walton.
He explained why he needed a northbound ship: to continue
after the Monster. Knowing he is still close to death, after
finishing his narrative, Victor makes Walton swear that if he
(Victor) dies, Walton will kill the Monster.
Analysis
In effect, Victor has become the Monster, willing to die to enact
his revenge. He has become stripped of his humanity and has
only a tenuous grip on reality and sanity.
One message the Monster leaves for Victor during their chase
across the north reads, "My reign is not yet over," a reference
to Satan's statement in Paradise Lost "Better to reign in Hell
than to serve in Heaven." This connection elevates the struggle
to an epic, Biblical level. Furthering this connection, Victor tells
Walton, "The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil." Of
course, if Victor has become the Monster, that makes him like
Satan too, reinforcing that symbolic connection.
The Monster's leaving both food and messages for Victor
throughout the chase reflects his dual nature. The food
sustains Victor, keeping him alive—the Monster provides more
support to his creator than that creator ever gave him—but it
also reinforces the taunting tones of the messages he leaves.
The Monster is toying with Victor, leading him on. He indeed
has become Victor's master—or at the least the master of this
situation.
Gothic elements are brought into this final part of the novel
Frankenstein Study Guide
through several details. They include the fierce, isolated Arctic
environment and the Monster's supernatural tracking abilities,
as he leads Victor on a chase to the roof of the world.
Walton, in Continuation
Summary
The novel closes as it began, with letters Walton writes to his
sister. In the first of these final letters, dated August 26, Walton
tells his sister that he believes Victor's story because he and
the crew saw the Monster before rescuing Victor and because
Victor has shown Walton the letters that Felix and Safie sent
each other. Walton asked Victor to explain how he made the
Monster, but Victor refused to tell him: "Are you mad, my
friend? ... whither does your senseless curiosity lead you?" In
addition, Victor edited and corrected Walton's notes of his
story. During the week that Victor told his story, he and Walton
discussed various subjects, and Victor tried to teach Walton
the lessons he has learned as a result of his overwhelming
ambition. Walton repeats to his sister his own longing for a
friend.
In the letter of September 2, Walton explains that the ship is
trapped in ice, and he fears the sailors will mutiny. On
September 5, Walton writes that the crew insisted on turning
back before the ice crushes the ship and expresses his
concern that he may not be able to turn them down. Victor
succeeded in quelling the mutiny, urging the men to "return as
heroes." Walton relates that he told the men that he would not
lead them farther north if they really didn't want to go, but he
hopes that their courage will return. On September 7, Walton
briefly relates to his sister his agreement to turn the ship
around if it is not crushed by the ice.
In his final letter, dated September 12, Walton says they started
sailing south the previous day and tells of Victor's end. Prior to
dying, Victor said that he believes himself "justified in desiring
the death" of the Monster and "refusing, to create a
companion." He acknowledged that in making the Monster he
became responsible to it but believes now that should have
recognized his "paramount" duty to his fellow humans. He
changed his instructions to Walton, telling the other he need
not pursue the Monster to kill him but asking Walton to
execute that deed if he should encounter the Monster by
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Chapter Summaries 31
chance. Then he died.
After describing his grief, Walton writes, "I am interrupted," and
then finishes the letter, explaining what follows. The Monster
burst into Victor's room to mourn the loss of his creator and to
beg his forgiveness. The Monster told Walton the rest of his
story, describing how he killed Henry and Elizabeth and chased
Victor across the world. After explaining how he "still desired
love and fellowship," only to meet the "injustice" of constant
rejection, the Monster said he will leave the ship, travel to the
most northern part of the world, and kill himself. The Monster
then jumped overboard and vanished into the "darkness and
distance," ending the novel.
Analysis
To complete the story frame, Walton concludes the novel. The
story of his expedition contrasts with Victor's catastrophic
pursuit of knowledge. Walton agrees to turn the ship around to
avoid it being crushed by ice. He chooses prudence rather than
the destructive path of insatiable curiosity.
Victor endorses this approach in the narrative of the final
chapter in his warning not to pursue knowledge too far. While
he contradicts this position in the speech Walton recounts in
the September 2 letter, when Victor urges the crew to
persevere, this change might be seen more as reflecting
Victor's agitated state of mind. His last words to Walton include
this warning: "Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition,
even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing
yourself in science and discoveries." This recalls the novel's
themes of scientific idealism and curiosity: how using scientific
learning for evil purposes leads to catastrophe.
Sharing with Walton the lessons he has learned about
excessive ambition, Victor makes an allusion to Paradise Lost
and the Bible, saying, "Like the archangel who aspired to
omnipotence, I am chained in an eternal hell." Like the Monster,
Victor has become Satan, cast out of heaven, doomed to
everlasting torture. Of course, the image of Victor chained also
brings to mind the Prometheus myth, reminding readers of the
book's subtitle.
With Victor's death, Walton has lost his friend, the friend he so
greatly desired. The bond the two men form during the course
of Victor's relation reinforces the theme of human
companionship through the importance of friendship. Victor's
Frankenstein Study Guide Quotes 32

death reinforces the theme of loss and the sorrow that results.
While Victor has become the Monster, the Monster becomes
Victor—the compassionate human—when he begs for Victor's
forgiveness. He also becomes ennobled when he tells Walton
of his resolve to kill himself and end the terrible cycle of
violence.
Throughout his long final speech, the Monster shows his
eloquence again and again. He does so in confessing his guilt:
"Your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard
myself." He also does so in speaking of his early awakening to
consciousness of the world, saying he saw life as precious
when he first "felt the cheering warmth of summer, and heard
the rustle of leaves."
The symbol of light and darkness makes its final appearance at
the novel's close. In the opening letters, Walton expressed
excitement at the prospect of exploring in the Arctic, where
the sun shines around the clock for part of the year. At the
book's close, the Monster drifts away on a chunk of ice into
darkness.
how dangerous is the acquirement
of knowledge, and how much
happier that man is who believes
his native town to be the world,
than he who aspires to become
greater than his nature will allow."
— Victor Frankenstein, Chapter 3
Victor warns Walton to not exceed the boundaries of human
knowledge, to rein in his ambition, and to resist the drive for
fame. He speaks based on his "example" of making the
Monster, when he assumed the powers of God, those "greater
than his nature," resulting in tragedy for all involved. There is
dramatic irony in this warning about the dangers of pursuing
knowledge being preceded by the directive "Learn from me."
Some lessons are worth learning.

g Quotes "How can I describe my emotions

at this catastrophe, or how
"What may not be expected in a delineate the wretch whom with
country of eternal light?" such infinite pains and care I had
endeavored to form?"
— Robert Walton, Letter 1

— Victor Frankenstein, Chapter 4

Frankenstein begins with four letters written by Walton to his
sister. He expresses his excitement at the prospect and
At the moment of giving life, Victor is repulsed by his creation,
possibilities of exploring the Arctic Circle, where the sun does
so much so that he can scarcely bear to look at him. After
not set for half the year. The light symbolizes the joy of gaining
nearly two years of hard work and years of studying, Victor is
knowledge, the search for which drives both Walton and Victor
appalled rather than delighted at what he has wrought, seeing
(as well as the Monster). Each search has unexpected results:
something that was intended to be "beautiful" as repulsive.
Walton, failing in his intended journey, learns the stories of
Victor's disgust moves him to reject the Monster; this sets the
Victor and the Monster; Victor succeeds in his experiment yet,
rest of the plot into motion, as the Monster seeks revenge for
in so doing, creates misery, terror, and death for many,
this and other rejections also based on his awful appearance.
including himself.

"My country! My beloved country!

"Learn from me, if not by my
who but a native can tell the
precepts, at least by my example,

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Frankenstein Study Guide Quotes 33

delight I took in again beholding "'Hateful day when I received life!' I

thy streams, thy mountains, and, exclaimed in agony. 'Cursed
more than that, thy lovely lake!" creator! Why did you form a
monster so hideous that even you
— Victor Frankenstein, Chapter 6
turned from me in disgust? God, in
After William's murder, Victor seeks comfort in nature, where pity, made man beautiful and
his soul becomes refreshed and his sorrows wash away. The
belief in the power of nature was central to the romantic
alluring, after his own image; but
movement and to the theme of connection to nature that my form is a filthy type of yours,
appears throughout the novel.
more horrid from its very
resemblance.'"
"My abhorrence of this fiend
cannot be conceived." — The Monster, Chapter 14

— Victor Frankenstein, Chapter 8 The Monster recounts to Victor the self-loathing he felt after
reading Victor's journal entries describing his creation. The
speech not only reveals the Monster's wretched isolation and
Frankenstein can be read as a revenge novel, with the Monster
anguish but also Victor's error in creating the Monster and
seeking revenge on Victor for rejecting him and Victor seeking
taking no responsibility for him. Unlike the humans created by
revenge on the Monster for murdering his family members,
God, whom the monster believes to be perfect, the creature
friend, and servant. Victor's hatred of the Monster becomes all-
formed by a human is a crude, malformed mockery.
consuming, and he dies in his quest for vengeance. It is also
notable that Victor, in hating the Monster, also hates himself.

"My companion must be of the

"The more I saw of them, the same species, and have the same
greater became my desire to claim defects. This being you must
their protection and kindness; my create."
heart yearned to be known and
— The Monster, Chapter 15
loved by these amiable creatures."
Finishing his narrative, the Monster demands that Victor create
— The Monster, Chapter 14 a mate for him to relieve his burning isolation and loneliness.
This connects to the theme of human companionship. Victor is
The Monster reveals his deep desire for human companionship more comfortable being alone than the Monster is. The
and acceptance as he recounts his feelings after observing the request also reinforces similarities to Paradise Lost and the
De Laceys. The passage reflects the eloquence he often biblical book of Genesis; like Adam, the Monster asks his
employs to express his thoughts and feelings, which belies his creator for a mate.
characterization as a monster.

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Frankenstein Study Guide
"I am malicious because I am
miserable. Am I not shunned and
hated by all mankind?"
— The Monster, Chapter 16
Tortured by loneliness, the Monster is trying to convince Victor
to make him a mate. The Monster is terrifying, but, like all living
beings, he requires companionship. He explains that his
behavior is caused by his unhappiness through loneliness. If he
can be happy, accepted by a companion, he will act morally.
But, if Victor does not agree to the Monster's demand, the
Monster vows to cause fear and commit acts of
"inextinguishable hatred."
"It is well. I go; but remember, I
shall be with you on your wedding-
night."
— The Monster, Chapter 19
After Victor destroys the Monster's mate, the Monster delivers
this threat. Victor—and perhaps the reader—assumes that this
means the Monster will murder Victor on his wedding night.
Victor marries Elizabeth even though he worries about the
threat. Instead, the Monster intends to destroy Victor's
happiness—and does, by killing his mate, Elizabeth, as Victor
has killed the Monster's incomplete mate by destroying it. The
importance of this quotation is underscored by Victor's
frequent recounting of it.
"'Are you mad, my friend?' said he,
'or whither does your senseless
curiosity lead you? Would you also
create for yourself and the world a
demoniacal enemy? Or to what do
your questions tend? Peace,
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Symbols 34
peace! learn my miseries, and do
not seek to increase your own.'"
— Victor Frankenstein, Walton, in Continuation
Victor delivers the same warning to Walton that he had before
beginning to tell his story: do not seek knowledge that goes
beyond the limits of human power. The quotation reflects the
themes of curiosity (use care in pursuing knowledge) and
disillusionment (Victor has clearly become disillusioned by his
experiences).
"Oh, Frankenstein! generous and
self-devoted being! What does it
avail that I now ask thee to pardon
me?"
— The Monster, Walton, in Continuation
The Monster, mourning over Victor's corpse, asks forgiveness
for destroying all that Victor had loved. The Monster's grief and
desire for absolution show his remorse and humanity. They
also contrast with Victor's feelings just before his death, in
which he is devoted to the goal of revenge. The Monster has
become more human, or at least more humane, than his human
creator. The Monster's characterization of Victor as
"generous" might seem generous on the Monster's part, given
Victor's behavior toward the Monster, though "self-devoted"
seems correct.
l Symbols
Light and Darkness
Light is a positive symbol in Frankenstein, representing hope,
knowledge or learning, and discovery. Walton introduces the
symbol when he describes the North Pole as a place where
Frankenstein Study Guide
"the sun is ever visible ... a region of beauty and delight." He
asks his sister, "What may not be expected in the country of
eternal light?" showing his optimism in science and exploration.
When Victor realizes he can create life, he says, "Until from the
midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me—a light
so brilliant and wondrous, yet so simple." As these examples
show, light is associated with knowledge and
discovery—positive things.
As Victor's words about the flash of insight that led him to
recognize how to create life show, darkness represents
ignorance. Later in that conversation, Victor tells Walton that
he hoped his discovery would "pour a torrent of light into our
dark world." When Victor returns home to Geneva after his
brother William's murder, it is during a dark, stormy night that
he sees the Monster. That vision convinces him that the
Monster is linked to the murder; his darkness (ignorance of the
Monster's involvement) is dispelled by light (the flash of
lightning that reveals the Monster). Darkness is also a symbol
for evil. Elizabeth's letter to Victor recounting the news of
William's death speaks of "the dark side of human nature."
Finally, darkness symbolizes emptiness and despair, as shown
by the descriptions of Victor's dark depressions. It is into
darkness that the Monster disappears as the book closes.
Fire
Fire is the dual-edged sword of light; it can sustain life by
heating food, providing warmth, and ensuring protection from
wild animals. But fire also causes pain, death, and destruction,
as shown when the Monster uses fire to destroy the De
Laceys' cottage. The Monster discovers the dual nature of fire
when he says, "When night came again, I found, with pleasure,
that fire gave light as well as heat; and that the discovery of
this element was useful to me in my food." Overcome by
pleasure at the warmth, the Monster says, "I thrust my hand
into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of
pain." The Monster also intends to use the destructive power
of fire to destroy himself, thereby eliminating any memory of
him from the world. As with scientific knowledge, fire can both
help and harm. The fire symbol also recalls the Prometheus
myth, as he brought fire to humans.
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Themes 35
Adam and Satan
The Monster is both symbolized by Adam, the first man, and
Satan. Victor creates him, and he is the first—and only—of his
kind. Mary Shelley brings in allusions to Milton's epic poem
Paradise Lost, the biblical story of the fall of humanity, from the
beginning of the novel, and the Monster seems identified with
Adam in the cited lines that serve as the novel's epigraph. The
connection is carried out in several aspects of the book,
including the Monster's explicit identification of himself with
Adam when he recounts his history to Victor and says, "I ought
to be thy Adam." In addition, like Adam, the Monster is curious
about the world and desires a mate. In contrast, the Monster is
also Satan, cast out of heaven. Like Satan, the cast-aside
Monster lives in hell (what the world has become after he is
rejected). He is also like Satan in being fallen; Victor hoped to
make him beautiful and magnificent. Instead, he is hideous, a
lesser version than the creator wished. The Monster's fallen
state can also be seen—from Victor's perspective—in violent
revenge.
In this interpretation, Victor is allied with God, the creator.
Victor makes the monster; he gives it life. But Victor rejects his
creation, abandoning any responsibility for it. (God punishes his
creation, Adam, for disobedience.) Here the Adam-Satan
symbol takes a twist, for the Monster who murders is also
capable of kindness and compassion. He feels the De Laceys'
love and essential goodness; he saves the life of the drowning
girl. Victor, however, shuns his creation. It could be argued that
he casts the Monster out, as God cast Adam out of the garden,
but Victor is actually the one who flees after creating the
Monster. In a sense he, too, is Adam, ashamed and horrified at
having partaken of the forbidden fruit of hoisting himself into
the role of creator. The plaintive epigraph could be his words,
as well as the Monster's, as he laments being brought into the
world and allowed to do evil.
m Themes
Frankenstein Study Guide
Curiosity
Both Victor and Walton are driven by curiosity to explore new
possibilities or new worlds. Even as a child, Victor saw the
world "as a secret , which I desired to discover." Indeed, their
curiosity carries them to obsession with these quests. In both
cases obsession leads to danger. Victor's curiosity drives him
to create a monster that generates many deaths. Walton's own
curiosity drives his ship into the ice, where it can be crushed
and destroyed, putting the entire crew in danger of death.
However, he listens to the pleas of his men and agrees to
withdraw. The Monster, too, is curious, initially hoping to learn
more about humankind and then driven by intellectual curiosity
to seek as much learning as he can glean from books. Victor's
and the Monster's curiosity connects to the Adam and Satan
symbol. Like Adam, both are curious for knowledge, and both
suffer as a result.
All three are, to some extent, self-educated, exemplifying that
curiosity. Victor has read authors who studied books on
alchemy, a pseudoscience of the Middle Ages whose
practitioners sought to convert common minerals into gold and
silver to cure diseases and to extend human life. Walton
explains in one of the early letters that he is self-taught, and
the Monster's insatiable curiosity leads him to read books he
finds. The novel suggests, however, that self-education has
limits and dangers. Victor laments that his father did not direct
his learning more, suggesting it might have led him away from
his errors. Walton finds his self-education lacking and wants a
friend in part to learn more. The Monster accepts what he
reads as truth, even believing Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost
to be historical fact. That the self-educated Mary Shelley
creates these three characters who show the limits of self-
education suggests her own ambivalence about the lack of
formal schooling and recalls her mother's arguments that
women should be educated in the same way as men.
Scientific Idealism
In the late 18th century, Galvani captivated Europe with his
experiments on the effects of electricity on dissected animals.
He proposed that the animals' bodies had "animal electricity," a
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Themes 36
position disputed by Alessandro Volta, who posited that the
bodies were conducting electricity from one metal to another.
Galvani's nephew, Giovanni Aldini, supported his uncle's
position and carried out experiments applying electricity to the
corpses of criminals. An eyewitness account described one
result, conducted in London's Newgate Prison in 1803: "On the
first application of the process to the face, the jaws of the
deceased criminal began to quiver, and the adjoining muscles
were horribly contorted, and one eye was actually opened. In
the subsequent part of the process the right hand was raised
and clenched, and the legs and thighs were set in motion."
Electricity was but one of the areas of scientific discovery in
the late 1700s and early 1800s that seemed to promise great
improvements in human life. In the introduction to the 1831
edition of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley referred to galvanism
(named for Galvani) in connection with reanimating life, though,
in the novel itself, Victor's process is not described. His
youthful interest in finding the source of the "principle of life"
shows his idealistic belief that such profundities can be
uncovered. His success in animating the Monster, however,
highlights Shelley's view that scientific experimentation, carried
too far, can produce tragedy.
Walton reflects the theme of scientific idealism as well. What
could be more idealistic than the North Pole he imagines, as
described in his first letter to his sister? He sees the area not
as the "seat of frost and desolation" but as a "region of beauty
and delight," where "snow and frost are banished." He also
hopes to make a glorious discovery and thereby gain fame;
scientific idealism is tied to ego. By the end of the novel, he has
become chastened by Victor's account. Survival trumps
scientific idealism, and he agrees to turn the ship around.
Disillusionment
Victor is clearly disillusioned by his actions in making the
Monster. What he thought would be a magnificent scientific
breakthrough and a "new species [that] would bless [him] as
its creator and source" becomes a hideous creature he
variously calls "monster," "fiend," and "demon" and that
murders, or at least indirectly causes the death of, nearly
everyone Victor holds dear. The Monster is disillusioned as
well. First, he is rejected by his creator. Then, watching the De
Frankenstein Study Guide
Laceys, he becomes convinced of humans' fundamental virtue
and moral superiority. But this belief in humanity's goodness
and his hope for acceptance are crushed by the rejection he
constantly receives.
When Elizabeth hears of Justine Moritz's confession, she is
disillusioned, as she was firm in her belief in Justine's
innocence. When she hears Justine's explanation that the
confession is a false one, her faith in the woman is restored.
She is the only character whose disillusionment is resolved.
Loss
With her own birth the cause of her mother's death, and with
the writing of this novel carried out in the context of the death
of her half-sister, Percy's first wife, and Mary and Percy's son,
Mary Shelley had a keen sense of human loss and the suffering
and grief it causes. That sense pervades the novel. Elizabeth
loses her mother as a child, as Mary had, and also loses her
adoptive mother, who dies of an illness Elizabeth survives (in a
way, another parallel to Mary). The loss of Caroline
Frankenstein also prompts the eventual marriage of Victor and
Elizabeth (as Harriet Shelley's death opened the door for
Mary's marriage to Percy.)
Many losses lead to others. For instance, William's death is
followed by the innocent Justine's execution. The deaths of his
wife, son, eldest son's best friend, and adopted daughter drive
Alphonse Frankenstein to death; so much loss could not be
borne. Victor experiences the losses of virtually his entire
family—only Ernest survives—as well as his best friend. Walton
loses the possibility of having Victor as a friend at the end of
the novel, though his loss pales in comparison to those of
others.
The Monster loses the attentions and affections of his creator,
a father figure; he loses possible affection from the De Laceys;
and he loses his chance at happiness with the destruction of
the female monster. Loss is everywhere in Frankenstein. The
guilt that wracks Victor and, eventually, the Monster results
from their knowledge of their own role in causing that loss to
others.
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Themes 37
Connection to Nature
Several characters in Frankenstein—Victor, Henry, Walton, and
the Monster—are emotional, imaginative, and deeply moved by
nature, characteristics of the romantic movement. In Chapter
17, for example, Victor describes how Henry "was a being
formed in the 'very poetry of nature.' ... The scenery of external
nature, which others regard only with admiration, he loved with
ardor." Shelley follows these lines, which quote romantic
essayist and poet Leigh Hunt, with a quotation from
Wordsworth's "Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey"
(1798 ), a poem that embodies the romantic movement's sense
of nature's power to affect the human soul. Shelley mentions
Mont Blanc, the highest of the alpine mountains and an
important symbol for romantics, as the focus of this
connection to nature several times in the novel. She and Percy
Shelley had taken a trip to Mont Blanc during their travels
through Europe, and Percy wrote a poem presenting the peak
as eternal and inspiring that was published in Mary's account
of their journey. Coleridge had also written a poem praising the
mountain.
Human Companionship
Walton yearns for a friend, writing to his sister, "But I have one
want which I have never been able to satisfy," the lack of which
he sees as "a most severe evil." He is without a friend. The
Monster also yearns for human companionship, attempting to
befriend the De Lacey family, William, and Victor. The Monster
convinces Victor to build him a mate to relieve his anguished
loneliness. When Victor changes his mind and destroys the
female monster, the Monster retaliates by killing those Victor
loves, Henry and Elizabeth, making him feel the pain of bone-
deep loneliness. The Monster is motivated to act as he does
largely out of loneliness; he commits his most horrible acts only
after he is denied human companionship. The parallels
between the Monster and Walton in their yearning for
companionship suggest that man and monster are more similar
than either would recognize
Walton does have a friend in his sister, though. She is someone
he can confide in and even to whom he can relate the dark
Frankenstein Study Guide
truths he has seen and heard. In this relationship he may be
more fortunate than Victor, despite the scientist's closeness to
his father, to Henry, and to Elizabeth during their lives. Walton
is able to share the horrors he has experienced; Victor's
anguish is caused in part by the fact that he harbors his
actions of forming the Monster as a secret. Until meeting
Walton—when he knows he is dying—Victor tells no one what
he has done. Unable to unburden himself, Victor lacks
companionship, too, even as he has family and friends.
Injustice
Injustice is another theme of the novel. Victor's and other
humans' rejection of the Monster is a clear example, but, over
the course of the novel, the Monster shows he is not
blameless—he is guilty of several murders and of successfully
framing an innocent victim, Justine. His behavior might reflect
the Godwinian view that social institutions are by nature unjust.
The De Lacey family story reveals other examples of injustice,
as the De Lacey father and sister are unjustly punished for the
actions of Felix. The Monster's behavior also reflects the
Godwinian view that injustice breeds crime, as Percy Shelley
points out in his preface to the first edition and as the Monster
himself says. In his last speech, delivered to Walton before he
departs, he complains about having been spurned in his search
for human companionship and adds, "Was there no injustice in
this?"
Of course, individual humans can be unjust as well. Victor
compounds his scientific hubris with the error of injustice. He
rejects the Monster rather than accepting responsibility for
him, and this aspect of the novel reflects William Godwin's
social views. Safie's father acts unjustly toward Felix, and the
De Laceys and the boyfriend of the drowning girl all treat the
Monster unjustly.
b The 1818 and 1831
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The 1818 and 1831 Editions 38
Editions
There are two major editions of Frankenstein. The 1818 edition
is the original text published by Mary Shelley. The 1831 version
includes Shelley's account of how the book came to be written
but also has several textual changes. The chief changes are
these:
Chapter 1 is expanded and split into two chapters. For this
reason, the numbering and final count of chapters can vary
from one version of the book to another.
The story of Elizabeth Lavenza's origin changes. In the 1818
edition, she is the daughter of Alphonse Frankenstein's
sister, making her Victor's cousin. While it was not unheard
of for cousins to marry, some readers might have reacted
negatively to that circumstance. In the 1831 edition, then,
Shelley changed Elizabeth's situation, making her a poor
orphan Alphonse and Caroline—chiefly at Caroline's
direction—take into their home. This change also adds to
the credit of Caroline because of her kindness toward the
girl.
In describing the lightning strike that destroyed a tree and
first alerted him to the power of electricity, Victor says in the
1831 edition that a scientist visiting the family discussed
electricity and galvanism. Galvanism was thought at the time
to have the power to animate animal muscle. The addition
suggests that this might have been the secret power that
Victor used to bring the Monster to life.
The 1831 edition has more comments critical of Victor's
decisions and actions, as Shelley attempted to respond to
the harsher conservative critics who had objected to her
novel on moral grounds.
Many readers have come to know the novel by reading modern
editions based on the 1831 version. Scholars argue that the
original from 1818 more closely reflects Mary's original vision.
e Suggested Reading
Bloom, Harold, ed. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. New York:
Chelsea, 2007. Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. Print.
Botting, Fred. Making Monstrous: Frankenstein. Criticism
Theory. Manchester: Manchester UP, 1991. Print.
Brennan, Matthew C. "The Landscape of Grief in Mary
Frankenstein Study Guide The 1818 and 1831 Editions 39

Shelley's Frankenstein." Studies in the Humanities 15.1 (1988):

33–44. Print.

Mellor, Anne K. Mary Shelley: Her Life, Her Fiction, Her

Monsters. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 2nd ed. Ed. J. Paul Hunter. New

York: Norton, 2012. Norton Critical Editions. Print.

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