Frankenstein

Where does his education come from? (1)

His education was neglected. He taught himself to read.

When does the story come to Mary Shelley? What conversation topics sparked her imagination? What was the mood of the conversations?

Inspired by telling ghost stories with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron during a cold, wet summer in the Swiss Alps

What time of day is it? What is the mood? (5)

It is night, and the mood is anxious, almost equivalent to agony.

What are the three books? What does he learn from each? (15)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Sorrows of Werter, a volume of Plutarch's Lives, and John Milton's Paradise Lost which had the most profound effect on the monster. Reads Paradise lost and finds much similarity between the story and his own situation.

What happened in November? (5)

On a stormy night, Victor finished created him monster.

What year did Mary Shelley write Frankenstein?

1818

What is the poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" about? Who wrote it?

3 men are on there way to a wedding when an old sailor stopped them he tells them a story about his journey. Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

What is requested of Victor? (5)

A letter in his own handwriting.

Victor Frankenstein

A young Swiss boy; Creator of the monster; Interest in the secretes of nature; Scared of his own creation; Love education and science; Interest in electricity; Obsessive; Feels guilty about the monster

Who arrives that changes the cottagers? (13)

An Arabian woman on horseback in a dark suit and thick black veil.

How does Victor react to the story? The request? (17)

Bewildered, perplexed, and unable to arrange his ideas sufficiently to understand the full extent of his proposition. "You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede."

What are Mary Shelley's birth & death years? Who is Mary Shelley's husband? What kind of relationship did they have?

Born on August 30, 1797 and died February 1, 1851. Her husband was Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Monster

Created by Frankenstein; Left alone for 2 years; Killer; He wants to be friends with these people in a cottage one of them is blind; Afraid to interact with people; Murder; Left alone for 2 years; Learns to speak and communicate by watching the family; Obsessive; Lonely; Self-hatred

What does he become particularly interested in? (4)

Creating life and how it ends

Where is he? What is the setting? What is the mood? (1)

Far north of London in St. Petersburg

Where does Frankenstein want to go? Who joins Frankenstein? (18)

Frankenstein wants to go to England and Henry Clerval joins him.

What is the monster's request of Frankenstein? (16)

He asks him to make another like him but a girl.

How does the monster respond to Spring? What Romantic characteristics do we witness? (13)

He enjoys the outdoors and nature as the romantics did

What does the monster find? (15)

He finds books and clothes

Victor gives what to Robert at the bottom of page 31? (4)

He gives him advice about how the hunger for knowledge can be dangerous

What kind of person is the monster at this point? (12)

He is good because he repays for what he stole

What does the monster feel at the end of this chapter? (12)

He is interested in the people and is sad he does not fit in with them

What questions burn his soul? (13)

He is questioning himself and what he is

What is Victor's nightmare? (5)

He is troubled by nightmares about Elizabeth and his mother's corpse.

What does the monster learn through his observations? (13)

He learns their language, compassion, family

What happens when he sees the girl in the water? What is the father's reaction to the monster? (16)

He rescues her and the father thinks he is attacking her so he shoots him

How does he view the churchyard? What is he studying? (4)

He says it is full of bodies deprived of life.

How long does Victor devote to his studies? How does his relationship with his family change? (4)

He spends all of his time on it and he secludes himself which makes him lonely

What is the story of the monster's interaction with William? What does he do with the locket? (16)

He strangles him because he starts talking about his father and talks mean about the monster and then he takes the locket and puts it in Justine Moritz pocket so she is accused of the murder.

What is he describing? (1)

He tells his sister of the preparations leading up to his departure and of the desire burning in him to accomplish "some great purpose"—discovering a northern passage to the Pacific, revealing the source of the Earth's magnetism, or simply setting foot on undiscovered territory.

In the closing line, what is Robert thinking might happen to him? (2)

He thinks he might die.

What does the monster really want? What kind of picture does the monster create if request is made? (17)

He wants a girl monster to be with him. The picture the monster creates is his companion will be of the same nature as him, and will be content with the same fare, and they shall make their bed of dried leaves; the sun will shine on them as on man, and will ripen their food.

What does Frankenstein's father want Victor to do? Does he agree? (18)

He wants him to marry Elizabeth immediately, but Victor refuses to agree till he completes his obligation to the monster.

What is Frankenstein's issue with the marriage? (18)

His issue is that he has not completed his obligation to the monster and doesn't want to marry her till he does.

What ultimatum does the monster make to Victor? (17)

If he makes another girl monster, he will leave him alone, and if he doesn't, he will terrorize him.

What types of relationship does Victor develop with the 2 professors? (4)

M. Krempe gave him much information and in M. Waldman he found a friend.

Who is Mary Shelley's mother? Why is she important? What is her major published book titled? What is it about?

Mary Shelley's mother is Mary Wollstonecraft. Her mother was important because she was a famous feminist and published one of the first works of feminist philosophy. Her major published book title was The Vindication of the Rights of Woman. It was about political and moral subjects.

To whom is he writing? (1)

Mrs. Margaret Saville, his sister

What are Victor's feelings at first towards the monster? How do they change? (5)

Once he brings it to life, its awful appearance horrifies him.

What is the story behind the writing of Frankenstein? Who is present during the fun?

Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron

Who is speaking? (1)

Robert Walton

What is Robert missing? What does he long for? (2)

Robert is missing a friend which makes him long for a friend.

Why is the monster scared to reveal himself? (12)

Scared about people judging him and being scared of him

What do the cottagers do? (16)

The cottagers abandoned (moved away) their home.

Why are the cottagers so sad? Why does this confuse the monster? (12)

The cottagers are sad because of their poverty, he's confused because they have each other while he is all alone.

What are the names of the cottagers? (12)

The cottagers names are Felix, Agatha, and De Lacey.

What is the cottagers story? (14)

The cottagers used to live and Paris and were part of a very upper class community (very rich). Safie's father was falsely accused of a crime and sentenced to death. Felix tried to coordinated Safie's father escape, but was discovered and then exiled from France and stripped of their wealth. Safie escaped with money and managed to figure out Felix's whereabouts.

What does the monster become? What images of him do we see? Who does he blame? (16)

The monster become a monster (filled with rage), he destroyed the abandoned families home. The reader sees the images of the monster becoming a monster full of rage, hatred, and destruction. The monster blames Frankenstein.

What does he compare himself to? (16)

The monster compares himself to the devil.

The monster

The monster is Victor Frankenstein's creation, assembled from old body parts and strange chemicals, animated by a mysterious spark. He enters life eight feet tall and enormously strong but with the mind of a newborn. Abandoned by his creator and confused, he tries to integrate himself into society, only to be shunned universally. Looking in the mirror, he realizes his physical grotesqueness, an aspect of his persona that blinds society to his initially gentle, kind nature. Seeking revenge on his creator, he kills Victor's younger brother. After Victor destroys his work on the female monster meant to ease the monster's solitude, the monster murders Victor's best friend and then his new wife. While Victor feels unmitigated hatred for his creation, the monster shows that he is not a purely evil being. The monster's eloquent narration of events (as provided by Victor) reveals his remarkable sensitivity and benevolence. He assists a group of poor peasants and saves a girl from drowning, but because of his outward appearance, he is rewarded only with beatings and disgust. Torn between vengefulness and compassion, the monster ends up lonely and tormented by remorse. Even the death of his creator-turned-would-be-destroyer offers only bittersweet relief: joy because Victor has caused him so much suffering, sadness because Victor is the only person with whom he has had any sort of relationship.

What is he becoming? What does he contemplate? (16)

The monster is becoming a murder. And he thinks about suicide

How does the monster feel at this point? What is his attitude toward Frankenstein, his creator? (16)

The monster is upset and mad at this point. He is angry at Frankenstein for creating him.

How does Robert relate to the Ancient Mariner? This is an allusion to what? What is the meaning of this poem? Who wrote it? (2)

They both love the Ocean. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Victor Frankenstein (sparknotes)

Victor Frankenstein's life story is at the heart of Frankenstein. A young Swiss boy, he grows up in Geneva reading the works of the ancient and outdated alchemists, a background that serves him ill when he attends university at Ingolstadt. There he learns about modern science and, within a few years, masters all that his professors have to teach him. He becomes fascinated with the "secret of life," discovers it, and brings a hideous monster to life. The monster proceeds to kill Victor's youngest brother, best friend, and wife; he also indirectly causes the deaths of two other innocents, including Victor's father. Though torn by remorse, shame, and guilt, Victor refuses to admit to anyone the horror of what he has created, even as he sees the ramifications of his creative act spiraling out of control. Victor changes over the course of the novel from an innocent youth fascinated by the prospects of science into a disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to destroy the fruits of his arrogant scientific endeavor. Whether as a result of his desire to attain the godlike power of creating new life or his avoidance of the public arenas in which science is usually conducted, Victor is doomed by a lack of humanness. He cuts himself off from the world and eventually commits himself entirely to an animalistic obsession with revenging himself upon the monster. At the end of the novel, having chased his creation ever northward, Victor relates his story to Robert Walton and then dies. With its multiple narrators and, hence, multiple perspectives, the novel leaves the reader with contrasting interpretations of Victor: classic mad scientist, transgressing all boundaries without concern, or brave adventurer into unknown scientific lands, not to be held responsible for the consequences of his explorations.

What happens to Victor? Who takes care of him? (5)

Victor falls ill with a nervous fever because of all the work he has done and what he has created. Henry stays and takes care of him.

What does Victor decide to do? What does the monster tell Victor he will do? (17)

Victor finally agrees to make a female for the monster, only to stop the monster from doing the things he is doing. The monster tells Victor he will be monitoring everything he does and when he is finished there will be no need to contact the monster.

Who does Victor run into in town? Why is he there? (5)

Victor runs in Henry Clerval, who just arrived to begin studying at the university.

Robert Walton

Walton's letters to his sister form a frame around the main narrative, Victor Frankenstein's tragic story. Walton captains a North Pole-bound ship that gets trapped between sheets of ice. While waiting for the ice to thaw, he and his crew pick up Victor, weak and emaciated from his long chase after the monster. Victor recovers somewhat, tells Walton the story of his life, and then dies. Walton laments the death of a man with whom he felt a strong, meaningful friendship beginning to form. Walton functions as the conduit through which the reader hears the story of Victor and his monster. However, he also plays a role that parallels Victor's in many ways. Like Victor, Walton is an explorer, chasing after that "country of eternal light"—unpossessed knowledge. Victor's influence on him is paradoxical: one moment he exhorts Walton's almost-mutinous men to stay the path courageously, regardless of danger; the next, he serves as an abject example of the dangers of heedless scientific ambition. In his ultimate decision to terminate his treacherous pursuit, Walton serves as a foil (someone whose traits or actions contrast with, and thereby highlight, those of another character) to Victor, either not obsessive enough to risk almost-certain death or not courageous enough to allow his passion to drive him.

Why does Victor feel relieved when he returns to his apartment? (5)

When he returns to the apartment he is relieved to find no sign of the monster.

Who is Mary Shelley's father? Why is he important? What is his major published book titled? What is it about?

William Godwin, he was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He wrote An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and The Adventures of Caleb Williams. Both of these popular books attack views on the upper class.

What is Mary Shelley's maiden name?

Wollstonecraft