Frankenstein
Characters
• Robert Walton
• Victor Frankenstein
• The creature
• Elizabeth Lavenza
• Henry Clerval
• Alphonse
Frankenstein
• Caroline Beaufort
Frankenstein
• Justine Moritz
• William
• Ernest
• M. Waldman
• M. Krempe
• Margaret Saville
• De Lacey family:
De Lacey, Felix,
Agatha
• Safie
• M. Kerwin
Setting
• St. Petersburg to Archangel
• North Pole
• Geneva (Switzerland)
• Chamonix (mountain in the Alps)
• Ingolstadt
• Scotland (Orkney Islands)
Style
• Gothic Novel – setting, characters,
plot, and supernatural
• Romantic elements – nature,
rebellion, and unbridled emotion
• Frame Story – story within a story
• Allusions – Paradise Lost, “Rime of
the Ancient Mariner,” et. al.
Themes
• Knowledge
(danger)
• Nature
• Nurture
• Role of Women
• Beauty
• Nature of
Humanity
• Illness
Timeline
Robert
Walton
Victor
Frankenstein
The
Creature
Victor
Walton
Robert Walton Letters 1-4
• Writes letters to sister Margaret
• Headed to N.Pole – 2 reasons
• Encounters a gigantic man on a
sledge
• Picked up a gaunt man on the ice
• Hopes this man will be his bosom
friend
Robert Walton Letters 1-4
• Discusses his plans for his scientific
discovery
• Because of his zeal for scientific
discovery, the man decides to tell his
story
Victor Frankenstein ch. 1-10
• Discusses father’s parentage
• Maternal grandfather, Beaufort
• Mom, Caroline Beaufort
• His early childhood spent traveling
• Adoption of Elizabeth Lavenza
• Reading of the Agrippa et. al books
Victor Frankenstein ch. 1-10
• Mother dies
• F. goes to school in Germany
• Studies hard for 2 years
• Works to create life for 2 years
• Night in November, creature was born
• F. horrified at what he’s done
Victor Frankenstein ch. 1-10
• Clerval studies w/F. for 2 years
• Receive a letter, William murdered
• Arrive in Geneva during a storm
• F. sees the creature that night
• Justine accused of the murder
• She’s condemned and hanged
Victor Frankenstein ch. 1-10
• Family is desolate
• F. blames himself
• He goes to the Alps to restore his
essence
• While scaling the peaks, he
encounters the creature
• The creature wants him to listen to
his story
The creature ch. 11-16
• Creature describes his first moments
in the woods around Ingolstadt
• Encounters fire
• Enters old man’s dwelling who flees
• Enters a village, they attack him
• Hides in a hovel connected to a house
The creature ch. 11-16
• Watch family
• Family is sad but has love
• Safie joins them
• Felix teaches her (& creature) French
• Creature finds/reads 3 books
• Decides to reveal himself to family
The creature ch. 11-16
• Encounters old man who’s curious
• Family comes in and Felix attacks
• Family leaves
• Creature forlorn
• Saves a child & dad repays him
• Attempts to kidnap William; kills him
The creature ch. 11-16
• Sees sleeping girl in a barn
• Places locket in her pocket
• Sees Frankenstein
• Follows him to Chamonix
• Asks him to create a female
companion
Frankenstein ch. 17-24
• Agrees to create the female
• Decides to travel to England to
discuss with philosophers
• Clerval joins him
• Upon learning techniques, travel to
Scotland’s Orkney Islands
• Separates from Clerval
Frankenstein ch. 17-24
• Begins creating
• Sees creature & overwhelming doubts
cause him to destroy creature
• Creature leaves him with “I’ll be with
you on your wedding night.”
• Leaves F.
• F. dumps creature’s parts in the sea
Frankenstein ch. 17-24
• Becomes stranded in ocean
• Comes ashore in Ireland
• Arrested for murdering a gentleman
• Sees Clerval dead
• Becomes sick & desolate
• Father comes to help him
• Acquitted of charges & returns home
Frankenstein ch. 17-24
• Marries Elizabeth
• Travels to Como for honeymoon
• In Evian, Elizabeth is murdered
• Tells magistrate all about creature
• Magistrate says they can’t do
anything
• Returns to Geneva; father dies
Frankenstein ch. 17-24
• Begins hunting the creature
• They head north avoiding people
• F. gets close to the creature, but
never overtakes him.
• Meets Walton
Walton ch. 24 - letters
• Relates to his sister that F. is dying
• Boat becomes trapped in ice
• Men mutiny
• F. dies
• Creature laments & decides how he
will die
• Creature leaves
Symbolism
• Fire and Ice
• Light vs. Darkness
Modern Prometheus - subtitle
“In Greek mythology, Prometheus is
a Titan known for his wily
intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus
and gave it to mortals for their use”
(“Prometheus”).
"Prometheus." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 15 Apr 2008, 01:55 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc. 18 Apr 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prometheus&oldid=205696412>.