Frankenstein – The Modern Prometheus
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was born in Somers Town, Great Britain in 1797. Her father was a
well-known philosopher, William Godwin. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, a famous
author and feminist died giving birth to Mary.
Mary met her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, a young poet, at the age of sixteen.
Despite that fact that he was already married, the two traveled throughout continental
Europe together. In 1916 the two went abroad again and spent time with literary greats
such as Lord Byron and Polidori. While vacationing in the Alps, Byron suggested they
try to write ghost stories and Shelley’s most famous work, Frankenstein was born.
Later that year, Percy’s wife drowned herself and Mary and Percy were married. Mary
suffered much hardship when her half sister and two of her children died. After going
through bouts of depression, Mary and Percy moved to Italy with their only surviving
son. In 1822, Mary was forced to endure further hardship when her husband drowned in
a boating accident. While she was not sanctioned to write a biography of her late
husband, Mary kept his memory alive by publishing several editions of his writings
with added notes and prefaces.
Mary continued to write novels, the most famous being The Last Man (1826).
This book, a work of science fiction also dealt with human isolation.
Mary spent the last years of her life with her son and two good friends. She died
in 1851 at the age of 53.
List of Characters
Victor Frankenstein
The doomed protagonist of the story, Victor is ultimately destroyed because of his
curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Oblivious to the consequences of his actions until it
is too late, Victor spends the remainder of his life trying various ways to correct his
‘mistake’.
The Monster
The hideous creature formed by the hands of Victor Frankenstein but molded by
the fear, and rejection of society. Once sensitive and intelligent, driven by the beauty of
life and growth, Victor’s creation is forced to feel the bitter sting of scorn and disgust.
The overwhelming sensation of loneliness and denigration changes the creation’s spirit
and soul to the reflection of his shell: he truly becomes a monster. Frankenstein’s
monster turns to hatred and vengeance to give his life purpose. It is only after the death
of his creator, his father, that the creature feels some sense of closure and remorse.
Robert Walton
An arctic explorer who while trapped in the ice finds Victor and nurses him back to
health. Walton records Frankenstein’s tale in letters to his sister. Walton recognizes in
Frankenstein the pitfalls of unheeded scientific ambition and turns back from his own
quest rather than suffer a fate similar to that of Victor Frankenstein.
Alphonse Frankenstein
Victor's father, a compassionate man concerned primarily with the physical and mental
well-being of his family.
Elizabeth Lavenza
An orphan with whom Victor’s mother falls in love at first sight and later adopts.
Promised to Victor the two grow very close and satisfy themselves with the knowledge
that one day they will be married. Elizabeth, a kind and loving soul, is very much the
opposite of Victor, ‘busying herself with following the aerial creations of the poets’.
Her life is cut far too short at the hands of the monster.
Henry Clerval
Victor’s most cherished and beloved childhood friend, Henry's cheerful disposition is a
nice contrast with Victor’s stoic personality. Henry nurses his companion back to health
in Ingolstadt and even attempts to follow in his footsteps to become a scientist. Like
Elizabeth, Henry too falls at the hands of his friends nemesis.
William Frankenstein
The youngest and most darling of the Frankenstein family, William is the first victim of
the monster. Frankenstein’s creation happens upon William by chance at a time when
his rage had eased. William’s discountenance towards the monster rekindles the flame
and in combination with the knowledge of William’s relations his fury is fanned into a
burning inferno of hatred and the need for retribution.
Justine Moritz
A young girl neglected by her own mother and adopted by the Frankenstein family,
Justine is accused of William’s murder. The creation stumbles upon Justine resting in a
barn and frames her for the murder of William by placing a portrait normally in
William’s possession in the folds of her dress. Justine is found guilty and sentenced to
death for Williams untimely demise.
Caroline Beaufort
Daughter of Alphonse Frankenstein’s good friend, Caroline becomes Alphonse’s wife
soon after her father’s death. Full of love and thanks for her good fortune, Caroline
turns to altruistic means such as tending to peasants as a way to express her gratitude.
Caroline contracts Scarlet Fever from Elizabeth, an orphan child adopted from peasants,
and dies shortly before Victor departs for Ingolstadt to attend university. On her
deathbed, Caroline expresses her desire that Elizabeth and Victor should one day be
married.
Beaufort
Good friend to Alphonse and father to Caroline.
Peasants
A family of people comprising of a blind old man, De Lacey, his son, Felix, and
daughter, Agatha. The family resides in a small hut near the shack inhabited by the
monster. Frankenstein’s creation is educated by watching the family from a distance. As
the creation’s intelligence grows so does his desire for personal contact. Frankenstein
first approaches the blind man, but is confronted by Felix before he can reveal his true
nature to the old man. Felix, frightened by the grotesque appearance of the monster,
assumes that it is trying to harm his father and chases the monster off with stones and
threats of violence. This rejection is the catalyst for the monster’s murderous rampage.
Mr. Waldman
The professor of chemistry who sparks Victor’s interest in science. He dismisses the
study of alchemy as being unfounded but encourages Victor’s search for explanations
for the ‘big questions’ such matters the origin of life.
Mr. Krempe
A professor of natural philosophy at Ingolstadt. He refutes the study of alchemy and
urges Victor to start his studies anew.
Mr. Kirwin
The magistrate that charges Victor with the murder of Henry.
Summary
This dark tale of human misery and woe begins as a series of letters written by Captain
Robert Walton to his sister in England as he narrates the perils encountered in his
attempt to journey by ship over the North Pole. Walton confesses that the driving force
behind his dangerous voyage is for glory.
“You cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to
the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those
countries…”(p14)
“And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My
life might have been passed in ease and luxury but I preferred glory to every
enticement that wealth placed in my path.”(p15)
Early success enjoyed by Walton and his crew is soon overshadowed by disaster when
their ship is brought to a perilous halt by impassable ice and snow. It is amongst the
endless ice fields that Walton first catches sight of “the shape of a man, but apparently
of gigantic stature” (p23). The following day Walton and his crew are further shocked
to find another man, barely clinging to life, floating on a fragment of ice. Unbelievably,
this man refuses to accept the refuge of Walton’s ship without reassurance that the ship
will continue northward.
Walton is drawn to the stranger with admiration and respect for his eloquence and
cultivated mind. As Walton explains his ‘purpose’ in life, Victor feels the need to share
with him his own tragic tale, as one man’s passion seems to be the reflection of the
other.
“I was easily led by the sympathy which he evinced to use the language of my
heart, to give utterance to the burning ardor of my soul, and to say, with all
the fervor that warmed me, how gladly I would sacrifice my fortune, my
existence, my every hope, to the furtherance of my enterprise. One man’s life
or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge
which I sought… As I spoke, a dark gloom spread over my listener’s
countenance. … at length he spoke … ‘Unhappy man! Do you share my
madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me
reveal my tale and you will dash the cup from your lips!’ (p27)
Victor begins his tale from the beginning of his life. Born to Alphonse Frankenstein, a
Genovese man of nobility and respect, and Caroline Beaufort, the daughter of a
merchant and longtime friend of Alphonse, Victor enjoyed a blissful childhood with his
adopted sister, Elizabeth, his younger brother, William, and his friend Henry Clerval.
Elizabeth was welcomed into the Frankenstein family with all the ardor and love that
should be impressed upon a blood relative. Although the two grew up as siblings, the
bond shared by Victor and Elizabeth was nothing of the sort.
“Elizabeth was mine – mine to protect, love and cherish.” (p34).
At the age of seventeen, Victor entered the University of Ingolstadt to study natural
philosophy and chemistry. Before he left, his mother contracted scarlet fever from
Elizabeth and tragically passed away. On her deathbed, Caroline reiterated her desire for
Victor and Elizabeth to be together.
‘My children,’ she said, ‘my firmest hopes of future happiness were placed on
the prospect of your union.’ (p41)
This was a dream that both Victor and Elizabeth also hoped would become a reality.
However, before the two could be joined by marriage, it was decided that Victor would
attend university. And so, shortly after Caroline’s passing Victor left for university to
begin his pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Much to his own dismay, Henry was
not permitted to join his friend in his studies. Victor, therefore, made the voyage alone.
While attending classes at Ingolstadt, Frankenstein was taken under the wing of M.
Waldman, a professor of chemistry. It was under his tutelage that Victor began a
journey towards personal enlightenment; the search for the secret of life. This was to be
an arduous, self-decimating journey that ultimately led to his demise as well as the
demise of his loved ones. It is unfortunate that it is only with the aid of hindsight that
Victor understood the dangers involved in extending knowledge beyond that which we
should understand.
Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, 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. (p51)
Nevertheless, hindsight was not at Victor’s disposal during these times and so he
continued to immerse himself in the pursuit of his goal, to create life out of death.
Victor worked tirelessly in a feverish frenzy to complete his ambition, sacrificing his
own health to reanimate scavenged body parts. Finally on a dreary November night,
Victor fulfilled his dream. However, despite the sacrifices made, he was repulsed rather
than enthralled with his achievement.
“How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the
wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form.
(p55)
“I had desired it with an ardor that far exceeded moderation; but now that I
had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and
disgust filled my heart.” (p55)
Disgusted, Victor tried in vain to escape his moral anguish with the aid of a deep
slumber but was soon awoken to the face of the abomination he had brought to life. He
fled into the streets where he spent the night in restless torment. It was not until morning
when some cheer was brought to Frankenstein’s decaying soul. As he stumbled through
the streets, he happened upon his childhood friend and companion, Henry Clerval. With
great apprehension over what they might find, Victor took Henry back to his apartment
only to discover that the creature had vacated the premises. Victor was almost instantly
then taken by a nervous fever which confined him for a period of months. Ever faithful,
Henry took it upon himself to nurse Frankenstein back to health.
In an attempt to expedite his healing process, Victor later prepared to return to Geneva
and his family. Awakening from his delirium, Victor was greeted with correspondence
from Elisabeth. She wrote of his home in Geneva and entreated him to write back and
give news of his own life. This letter seemed to rejuvenate Victor from the decay, which
he had long suffered. This new zeal for life was short lived, however, as he soon
received a second letter, this time from his father, who explained with words of horror,
the fate of Victor’s brother William: murdered at the hands of an unknown assassin.
Grief-stricken, Victor rushed home. While passing through the woods near to where
William was killed, Victor caught a glimpse of the monstrosity that he had created.
Instantly, he realized that his brother was slain by his own creation and is carried into a
deeper state of depression.
“Alas, I had turned loose into the world a depraved wretch whose delight was
in carnage and misery; …I considered the being whom I had cast among
mankind and endowed with the will and power to effect purposes of horror,
such as the deed which he had now done, nearly in the light of my own
vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave and forced to destroy all that
was dear to me. (P74)
Victor’s anguish swelled to an even greater sea of torment when he was told that Justine
Moritz, a girl brought into their family and loved by all, was accused of William’s
murder and would surely suffer with her life. Victor attempted in vain to convince the
magistrate of Justine’s innocence, however evidence found in her possession was all
that was needed to condemn her to death.
Victor attempted to escape the surmounting grief, which threatened his very sanity and
left his home for the Alpine valleys. As Victor admired in awe the grandeur, which
surrounded him, he reflected once again upon the folly of trying to emulate the natural
forces of creation.
Why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute; it
only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to
hunger, thirst and desire we might be nearly free.(p92)
As Victor cleansed his soul in nature, the monster he created approached him. Still
hideous in appearance the creature had become quite articulate and even eloquent in
speech. Frankenstein’s monster proposed a truce with his enemy if Victor would comply
with his one wish.
All men hate the wretched; how, then must I be hated, who am miserable
beyond all living things. Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy
creature to whom thou are bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of
one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your
duty towards me and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If
you are to comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but
if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death until it be satiated with the blood of
your remaining friends. (p95)
I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy and I
shall again be virtuous. (p96)
But first the monster entreated Victor to follow him back across the ice to his hut where
he would share for his creator the tragic story of his life.
The monster recounts that his first days were filled with excitement and awe. He
seemed profoundly struck by the beauty and complexity of nature and quickly bettered
his own circumstances by mastering the use of fire, providing nourishment and securing
adequate housing. The monster’s first and subsequent encounters with humans were
anything but tolerable. Abused and tormented with a barrage of projectiles and verbal
ridicule, he found a small hovel in which he
Resolved to reside… until something should occur which might alter my
determination. (p102)
While in his shack, Frankenstein’s monster perceived a young girl, Agatha, and
followed her to her hut where she, her father, De Lacey, a blind old man, and her brother,
Felix resided. The monster watched the family interact and suddenly
…felt sensations of a peculiar and over-powering nature; they were a mixture
of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced… (p104)
The monster was deeply affected by the families caring disposition and began to mirror
their benevolence by anonymously aiding in their day-to-day activities. Keen to have a
better understanding of the family he took on the daunting task of learning to
understand and speak a new language. Frankenstein’s monster was successful in his
endeavor and thus was able to learn more about the family. He discovered how the
treachery and deceit of Felix’s girlfriend’s father had stripped the family of their wealth
and nobility and left them poverty stricken with nothing but the love of their family to
sustain them.
The creature explained that he
…learned, from the views of social life which it developed, to admire their
virtues and deprecate the vices of mankind. …benevolence and generosity
were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in
the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and
displayed. (p123)
Unfortunately, Frankenstein found three books forgotten in the woods: Paradise Lost, a
volume of Plutarch’s Lives, and Sorrows of Werther. The creature used these books and
learns to read. He was once again showered with new emotions; however, this time they
left him feeling low and dejected and full of gloom.
It was soon after this that the monster decided to start a dialogue with the family. Aware
of the fear and scorn his outward appearance caused, he decided to first approach the
blind old man, De Lacey, when the rest of the family was out.
Alas, their dialogue was cut short when Felix unexpectedly arrived and assumed the
abomination was attacking his father. Frankenstein’s monster fled the shack and was
consumed with feelings of rage and revenge against all mankind, specifically, his creator.
The monster began to travel towards his creator’s homeland of Geneva.
One day during his travels, the creation witnessed a young girl slip on a riverbank and
fall into the swift moving current. Feeling a relapse of benevolence and kindness, he
saves the girl but was rewarded with a pellet from a man’s gun. The agony of his wound
erased any
kindness that had warmed his dead heart and replaced with a venomous
hatred such, as the world had never known. Blaming his pain on his creator the monster
fortified his desire for revenge. It is thus with little surprise that when fate placed
William in the monster’s path he did not hesitate in squeezing the life out of his young
body. The being then stumbled upon a young girl, Justine, sleeping in a barn. He
realized that he would never feel the tenderness of her, or any woman’s adoration, and
in a fit of rage framed her for William’s death.
Victor listened as the creature finished his tale and made a further proposition that
would result in the end of his murderous rampage: the creation of a female counterpart
with whom he could enjoy the tranquilities of life in the deepest part of the Amazon,
away from the scornful eyes of humanity.
At first Victor vehemently refused the proposition, but the monster was eloquent and
persuasive in his argument. After much troubled consideration he acquiesced and parted
with the monster under the belief that he would create a mate for the fiend.
Victor first returned to Geneva and then headed to England with his friend Henry to
obtain materials and information necessary to create a female being. Victor soon left his
friend and traveled to the northernmost part of Scotland, the Orkney Islands where, for
the second time, he began in vain to outsmart nature.
Nearing the completion of his second abomination, Victor had doubts about the morality
of his actions. Looking out the window he caught a glimpse of the fiend's visage and
(a)s I looked on him, his countenance expressed the utmost extent of malice
and treachery. I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of
creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the
thing on which I was engaged. (p161)
Upon seeing this, the fiend charged into the room and warned him that
I shall be with you on your wedding night. (p163)
Later that night Victor took a boat and dumped the remains of the second creation into
the sea. The wind picked up and prevented him from returning to the island. In the
morning he found himself ashore near an unknown town. Upon landing he was arrested
and informed that he would be tried for the murder of a man discovered the previous
night. Victor denied any knowledge of the murder. However, he was still charged.
Victor’s misfortune turned tragic when he realized that the murdered man was none
other than his good friend Henry. When Victor spied the black mark of the fiend on
Henry’s throat he was sent into a feverish frenzy. Victor was kept in prison until his
recovery and then acquitted of the crime.
Victor then returned with his father to Geneva where Elizabeth greeted him and the two
began final preparations for their long awaited wedding. Still hearing the echo of the
monster’s threat reverberating off of every thought, Victor resolved to confront the fiend
on his wedding night in order to end his turmoil one way or another. Frankenstein
wrongly assumed that his creation meant to kill him on his wedding night and took
every precaution to shield his new bride from the immanent onslaught. Words could
therefore not describe the terror that possessed Victor when he heard screams emanating
from their wedding chamber. Victor entered the room a widower and swore vengeance
upon the beast he had created.
Fearing that his father would also be murdered at the hands of the beast, Victor returned
home to protect him. Victor’s father died soon after and Victor began his quest. He
tracked the creature northward following hints and trails left by the fiend in the hopes
that the chase would finally put an end to their misery. Victor almost caught the monster,
but the sea beneath them swelled and broke the ice leaving an unbridgeable gap between
them. It was at this point when Walton encountered Victor and took him aboard his
vessel.
The remainder of the tale is told through the words of Walton’s letters to his sister.
Victor, already disabled from his journey succumbs to his weakened state only after
Walton is convinced by his crew to return to England. He dies unable to fulfill his quest.
Walton leaves the room and when he returns, several days later, is shocked to see the
monster weeping over the body of Victor. The creature tells of his immense suffering
and solitude.
I was nourished with high thoughts of honor and devotion. But now crime has
degraded me beneath the meanest animal…. But it is even so; the fallen angel
becomes the malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had
friends and associates in his desolation: I am alone. (p213)
The creature asserts that with the death of his creator laying heavy upon his heart he will
travel northward collect his funeral pile and end his suffering by consuming his frame in
flames. With that Frankenstein’s monster departs and the tale ends.
Who Is The Real Monster in Frankenstein?
1. Frankenstein’s creation
It is of little wonder that this being is often described as the monster that adds true
terror to this tale. It can be argued, however, that although, his actions are the most
graphic and overtly villainous in the story, he may not be the monster that film
makes him out to be.
Like any child at birth, Frankenstein’s creation enters the world a blank canvas. His
soul and spirit are colored and stained by the benevolence and scorn to which he is
subjected. Hatred and disdain have the greatest impact on his life and lead to his
villainy.
There was non among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or
assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that
moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all,
against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable
misery
Nevertheless, the kindness that was imprinted upon him during his formative years
remains with him throughout the story and helps to keep his rage confined only to
those who are friends and family of Victor, the man whom he views as the source
of his anguish.
This is not to say that the vicious murders of Victor’s family and friend are not
monstrous in nature. On the contrary, these actions are most certainly unforgivable.
The physical and psychological scars caused by his calloused hands are the work
of a monster. However, Victor’s creation has the intelligence and understanding to
realize that no satisfaction or closure is to be gained from his actions. Rather it will
only lead to further destruction of anything that was once human about him.
After the murder of Clerval… I discovered that he, the author at once of
my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for
happiness;…then impotent envy and bitter indignation filled me with an
insatiable thirst for vengeance. I recollected my threat…I knew that I was
preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave… of an impulse
which I detested yet could not disobey. Yet when she died…I had no
choice but to adapt my nature to an element which I had willingly
chosen.(p.212)
So, is Victor’s creation a monster? Possibly, but it was not nature that created the
monster; the malignancy present in his actions was the by-product of nurturing or
the lack thereof from the world around him.
2. Victor Frankenstein
Just as his creation is a monster for his overt actions against individuals, Victor
Frankenstein is also a monster for his overt actions against mankind and more
importantly nature.
Frankenstein is an example of man’s insatiable quest for knowledge and the
enlightenment that it is thought to bring. Frankenstein’s blatant disregard and lack of
respect for the power of nature and its delicate balance could be followed by nothing
but chaos and destruction. It is only after looking upon his creation that he realizes
the horrific atrocity fashioned by his hands.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the
wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form? His
limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful.
Beautiful! Great God! …I had worked hard for nearly two years for the sole
purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. … now that I had finished, the
beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my
heart. (p.55)
Frankenstein did not consider the ramifications of his actions before embarking
upon his scientific quest. He did not reflect on the consequences of what he was
doing. Instead he acted upon the impulsive instinct to achieve a predetermined goal.
Indeed by his own words, Walton too was a man moved by the thrill of discovery.
and to say, with all the fervor that warmed me, how gladly I would sacrifice
my fortune, my existence, my every hope, to the furtherance of my enterprise.
One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement
of … knowledge. (p27)
Acquiring knowledge just to see how far it can take us will ultimately lead to our
own downfall. Before we progress, we must first try to understand where the road
will take us and the effect that such a journey will have on our future.
Although Victor’s arrogance in rebelling against nature led to monstrous results, his
most vile action was not in creating life, but rather in creating life and not taking
responsibility for his actions. After the being is brought to life, Victor focuses upon
the outwardly appearance of his creation and flees in terror like a coward.
His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries
beneath; ..his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the
dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and
straight black lips. (p55)
It is through Victor’s lack of moral consideration for what he was doing and his
subsequent scorn towards and abandonment of the disfigured being that the real
beast within the being is created. Surely, had Frankenstein not forsaken his creation,
but rather given it the warmth and love that any child deserves, it would not have
grown into the murderous villain that it did. It is therefore poetic justice that Victor’s
life should be tormented in the ensuing aftermath.
3. Society
Despite his kind and benevolent disposition, Frankenstein’s creation is only judged
by his outward appearance. Regardless of repeated attempts to show consideration
towards his fellow beings, he is only met with fear, disdain and reproach. This shows
two things. First, by nature, man judges anything first and foremost by appearance.
And second, man fears that which it does not understand. These two primitive
characteristics remain apparent even in today’s ‘evolved’ and ‘enlightened’ world.
Who then is the monster? Those who showed prejudice and hatred towards
something different from the norm, or that which rebelled against the norm in
reaction to the prejudice and hatred with which it found itself subjected to.
Questions:
1. As we move further into the 21st Century the scientific community seems ever willing
to corrupt nature through cloning and gene tampering. Was Shelly a visionary? Is the
chaos and destruction evident in Frankenstein inevitable as our own society continues
towards scientific enlightenment?
2. Give examples of foreshadowing in Frankenstein and explain how it adds to or
detracts from the story.
3. Why is Frankenstein also titled The Modern Prometheus?
4. Discuss the shift in Narrative perspective. Explain the effect that different characters
have on such things as tone, direction and foreshadowing?
5. Feminists often praise this story. Why?