Conclusion

“My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture…” (pg 208).

Once again the reader is susceptible to the monster’s true feelings, or atleast the idea that his intent is not to be purely evil. Like any human he feels guilt. He feels guilty for the direct murders of Victor’s family. As the quote says, he was made like a human, he was to feel all emotions humans feel. Victor ultimately feels guilt for the same reasons. He believes he is the reason most of his family is dead. First, because he refused to create the companion and mostly because he gave life to the monster. However, the idea of loss of people, or companionship both caused these characters misery. It is important to note that to ultimately live happily, one must be free of guilt and surrounded by those who not only show interaction, but love. That’s truly what both characters lacked, and they both made each other miserable by ridding of all interaction and companionship.

Foreshadow

“If for one instant I had thought what might be the hellish intention of my fiendish adversary, I would rather have banished myself forever from my native country and wandered a friendless outcast over the earth than have consented to this miserable marriage”(pg 182).

Although I have read the novel, when I first read this sentence I tagged the page, as I thought of it as foreshadow. From the frame story, I understood that Victor would eventually end up in the arctic, a very cold and deserted place, and I assumed he would be chasing the monster. Although he did consent to the marriage, he did eventually banish himself from his country. This self-alienation led to a devotion of the rest of his life to killing the monster. On first reading this, I thought Victor was essentially going to become the monster’s companion in order to save the ones he loved. With the information we already knew, I guessed the Arctic would be a desolate place free from human exposure. However, I was wrong as Victor tries to live his normal life. It is a result of trying to live his normal life, getting married, and refusing the monster’s request that leads to his doom. Or ultimately, it was the creation of life itself, that led to the end.

Foil Character

“He felt as if he had been transported to fairy-land and enjoyed a happiness seldom tasted by man”(pg 148).

Once again, the reader finds Henry as a foil to Victor. As they journey to England, along the Rhine Henry is content in just taking in his surroundings, the nature. However, Victor is restless and although he recognized the beautiful scenery around him he cannot simply enjoy it. Their reasons for journeying to England are also different. Henry is simply continuing his language affairs, and wishes to travel to India. Victor states that he needs time away before getting married. However, his real reasons to visit England are that he needs the guidance of men there to complete his work. Victor’s journey is no longer about education, as it would have been about in the past, rather it is about setting up some type of pleasantness for the rest of his life. If he is able to create the monster’s companion, he, his family and friends will be left alone forever. Even though he believes his mind will be at peace once the monster is out of the setting, I believe differently. If Victor would have created the second being, his thoughts still would have never rested. He would have worried about them creating a race, and leaving man kind to deal with this new species. Whatever choice Frankenstein would have made, I believe he would have been destined to be haunted by the thought of the original creation for the rest of his life.

Foreshadow

"For the first time feelings of revenge and hatred filled my bosom..."(pg 132).

As this is a frame story, the monster already knows what actions he has committed and there is a significance of foreshadow in his story. I feel this is one of the first time he possibly mentions the murder of William. The creature is truly expressing true human emotion, and one of the ultimate human emotions--despair and rage. His anger seems to arise from the fact that the De Lacey family has rejected him and left. However, his true anger is shown towards his creator who has left him to fend for himself with no other inhabitants. He mentions all that he knows about his creator, and specifically where he lives. From this context, the reader can come to understand where the monster is heading next. Although his intentions are not clear, we understand that he is looking for revenge. Connect the pieces and it makes sense who killed William. The real question is, how is it that the monster was able to frame Justine? Did he truly understand the context of frame and blame?

Technique

"'Presently I found, by the recurrence of some sound which the stranger repeated after them, that she was endeavouring to learn their language; and the idea instantly occurred to me that I should make use of the same instructions to the same end'" (pg 112).

Of course it seems important that the author would find some way for the creature to easily learn the language of the inhabitants of the house. Of course, he had already picked up basic words, but not enough to fully engage in conversation. Thus, the occurrence of the Arabian woman ties the events of how to learn language and how the monster acquired such fluent language. The Arabian woman also presents another component to the story, another frame story. This frame story, however, is very short compared to the current depth of the book. It relates the story of her father, and how the DeLacey family came to live in their current location. The frame story only adds to the story in that it allows the monster to understand the family's hardships and a reason for it to learn language. It might also serve as another component, in that, the frame stories might finally begin to unravel, so the reader will finally make their way out of the frame to the conclusion of the novel.

Halfway Point

"'My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature...'"(pg 110).

I feel there is a lot of use of nature in this novel to help with many aspects of the story. First, I often feel nature is used to set the tone. For example, 'it was a dreary night in November' --the night the life was created, something ultimately against nature, atleast by a human. Second, I feel that nature helps to pass the time. For example, the changing of the seasons as Frankenstein works on his creation which ultimately averts the reader a way from the details of how is he actually creating life. Third, I feel that nature brings the novel together--as in the actual plot. The reason that Frankenstein found his monster was because nature seemed to be his refuge to think. While nature is the same aspect that supported the monster with life and ultimately kept him alive. Overall, it is no surprise to me that nature plays an important role in the novel as it discusses the means of life and creating life. Victor ultimately went against the laws of nature by creating life from methods unheard of, it is no doubt that nature is going to continue to haunt him.

Comparison

"'Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded'" (Pg 96).

When the monster describes his miserable mood and feeling alone I immediately thought of both Walton and Victor. All three seem to complain of the same feeling. However, there is a difference between the two men and the monster. Walton and Victor are miserable and alone because that is the nature of the work they have chosen. Walton is sailing towards the North Pole while Victor secludes himself to his experiment and now currently his guilt and thoughts. On the other hand, the monster is miserable because he is not able to acquire affection like these men so easily are. He is ugly and terrifying to most humans. Yet he yearns for some type of positive attention. It seems that these characters could almost be foils in that Walton and Victor choose to be alone, while the monster is pushed from society. Yet isn't it the monster that deserves the love and attention? For he truly is the one helping humankind by supplying firewood and doing the many chores of Felix. But the other two are trying to help mankind through the work of science, which has ultimately been nothing but a failure to Victor.