“. . . Archangel. . .” (15)

Archangel is the English name for the Russian city of Arkhangelsk, the major sea port of the 19th century from which Walton rents his ship and crew. It is through this port that many Arctic expeditions depart, with Shelley foreshadowing the irony to come as the novel both begins and ends with experiences in the northern wilderness – starting with Walton’s journey from which he aims to return alive and ending with Victor’s final trek from which there can be no return.

Source:

"Arkhangelsk." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkhangelsk.

Picture Credits:

Arkhangelsk. Digital image. My Trip to Shenkursk and My Communal Life There. Doukhobor Geneaology Website. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.doukhobor.org/shenkursk1.jpg.

Novel Format

The format in which Shelley chooses to set up the novel is strange: Frankenstein begins by telling another person in a face-to-face meeting, about his ordeal and life. However, he is able to quote letters written both by and to him word for word. If he is truly speaking directly to Walton, he is unlikely to be able to recount the letters so perfectly and far more likely that he would simply paraphrase the important parts. This is yet another instance of disillusion and a lack of realism within the novel, which raises questions as to Victor's abilities and intents within his tale.

The Dark Side of Passion

It is undeniable that Victor’s passion for science is admirable. Like many passionate people, however, it is his love of the subject area that is eventually his downfall. From fiction, as in Shakespeare’s Othello to real-life British minister Peter Hain, many have been struck down by the very thing they love above all else. Victor Frankenstein is so consumed by his love for his work that can see nothing other than that for which he is passionate about – even disregarding the love of his life to focus on it. This is the danger of passion: it is possible to be blinded by it to the point of losing everything else that has ever been important. This is the foreshadowing made by Shelley, as Victor's creation is, ultimately, the cause of his demise.

Sources:

"Othello." Sparknotes. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=855&m=1244552&p=4&t=351739.

"Steve Richards: Hain's passion for the job may be his downfall - Steve Richards, Commentators - The Independent." The Independent News UK and Worldwide News Newspaper. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/steve-richards/steve-richards-hains-passion-for-the-job-may-be-his-downfall-769719.html.

Don't Assume

When the monster begins speaking on page 88, his eloquent speech patterns are the exact opposite of what the reader has been lead up until this point to believe. Given that Victor has talked about his creation as a monstrosity, it is logical to assume that he is the grunting beast portrayed as a monster in many horror movies. However, this is not the case. The unnamed creature is, in fact, an intelligent, articulate being. He is compassionate and logical, as Shelley portrays him as one who is indubitably endearing to the reader, who fully understands his plight to gain acceptance in a world he was not meant for.

“William is dead!” (64)

Mary Shelley had a son named William who was born in 1816 – before she began writing the novel. After its publication, her son died of malaria at the age of 3. In a bizarre case of real-life foreshadowing, she had killed her son’s namesake at the hands of the monster within the story. To the people of the early 19th century, malaria was a scourge very much like Frankenstein’s monster: its source was unknown and it killed almost all those with whom it came in contact. While tragic, it seems that Shelley’s Frankenstein, however unwillingly and unknowingly, predicts her infant son’s fate.

Source:

Mary Shelley Biography." UNet Users' Home Pages. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/shelleybio.html.

Picture Credits:

William Shelley. Digital image. A Cultural History of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - Friends & Family. Mt. Holyoke. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist257s02/students/Lindsay/images/WIlliam%20Shelley.jpg.

Fire

Given that the creation of the monster by fire destroyed Victor’s life as he knew it – and his spirit in the process - it seems fitting that his body should meet its end by fire as well. This parallel is connected by Shelley on the very last page of her novel as Victor tells Walton that “[he] will ascend [his] funeral pyre triumphantly” (197). With this fire, Victor can rid himself of the plague that his creation has caused and finally be free, even if it requires leaving this world behind.

“Amidst the wilds of Tartary. . .” (179)

Frankenstein chases his monster into Tartary, a vast, somewhat remote region encompassing parts of Europe and Asia. This relatively unknown, under-empowered region is a fitting place for Shelley to set the final part of Victor’s tale as he chases the monster. With its low population density and little clout in world affairs, the monster and his creator are no longer a threat to the masses through their destructive actions on themselves, those around them, and others affected by their collective misdeeds.

Source:

"Tartary - definition of Tartary by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Tartary.

Photo Credits:

Tartary. Digital image. Central Asia. Georgetown. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/millwarj/website%20images/TARTARY%20MAP%20small%20=%20M23.jpg.

“. . . quantity of laudanum. . .” (163)

Victor is so distraught with himself and his experiment gone awry that the only way he can get any rest is to drug himself into unconsciousness. Without the modern-day convenience of Tylenol PM or something similar, he turns to what modern society would consider “hard drugs”. Laudanum, a combination of alcohol and opium, was discovered in the 1500s by Paracelsus and, eventually, became a catch-all drug, used to treat almost any problem a member of the middle or upper class may have – mental or physical. However, it proved lethal for many by accidental overdose - something well known to people at the time of Shelley's writing. While it directly is never held responsible for Victor’s eventual death, it provides the foreshadowing for what is to come. His admitted use of a drug which is best known for those it killed makes the reader assume that he is to meet the same fate.

Source:

"Laudanum - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laudanum.

Picture Credits:

Laudanum. Digital image. Visible Proofs. National Institute of Health, 16 Feb. 2006. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/media/detailed/ii_b_109.jpg.

Unreliable Narration

In addition to being possibly mentally unstable, Victor Frankenstein is also an unreliable narrator. While describing his travels through Britain, he first says that it was late December (page 140). Less than two pages later (142), he claims it is, in fact, the beginning of October. This almost three month discrepancy, as Shelley writes, casts the rest of Victor's story into a questionable light posing an important, albeit hypothetical, question: if he can’t get the time of year right, what other details may be have altered, intentionally or not?

Primal Needs

Primal needs are more than just physical. This is one of the main points Shelley is trying to make in Frankenstein. Both Victor and his creation have needs that are more than “. . . hunger, thirst, and desire. . . “ (87). This is significant as it an unexpected similarity between two very different beings; both have the need for acceptance and companionship. Victor shows this need when he is ill and needs Henry to care for him, saying “[b]ut I was in reality very ill; and surely nothing but the unbounded and unremitting attentions of my friend could have restored me to life” (55). The creature also feels this need, with the desire to have a companion of his own type, asking Frankenstein to create such another monster because “one as deformed and horrible as [he] would not deny herself to [him]” (128). Given how different Frankenstein and his monster are, these similarities are unlikely to be just a coincidence. Instead, they are a direct link between all beings, giving credit to the old adage that “no man [or beast] is an island”.

“Perhaps a corpse would be reanimated; galvanism had given tokens of such things. . . ” (8)

This is Victor’s summation of the method through which he discovered “the secret of life” – galvanism. Galvanism is the infusion of electric current into muscle tissue to stimulate them and was believed, for a long time, to be a way to end life and to restore it. It is through the infusion of current that Victor’s ordeal with his creation began. Had Luigi Galvani not discovered galvanism in 1791 with the knowledge becoming common in Shelley's lifetime, then Victor could not have discovered the secret of life and the monster would not have become animated, avoiding the torment that plagued him for the rest of him life.

Source:

"Galvanism." Corrosion science and engineering information hub. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://corrosion-doctors.org/Definitions/galvanism.htm.

The Sorrows of Young Werther

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is mentioned twice in Shelley’s Frankenstein. While the second instance, in which the monster says he stole the book and read it (page 144), mentions the book by name, the first is much less blatant. On page 81, Victor says that “[he] was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever.” Suicide was not common at the time Goethe wrote and yet the protagonist of his novel ended his own life, sparking a wave of copycat suicides – now also known as the Werther Effect. This is what Victor was alluding to in his contemplation of suicide, as suicide carried an even larger social stigma in Shelley’s time than at present - a man as concerned with appearances as Victor would undoubtedly know this and consider it in his decision-making process. To be considering ending his own life in such a way speak to his desperation within his situation.

Sources:

"Copycat Suicide." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copycat_suicide.

"The Sorrows of Young Werther." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther.

Schiavi Ognor Frementi

Elizabeth’s father is called “. . . one among the schiavi ognor frementi. . .” (30). Translated into English from Italian, this phrase means “slaves forever enraged”. These enraged slaves came from a group of Milanese nobles who were unhappy with the Austrian rule of their province, Lombardy. They instead wanted the province to be restored to the traditional control of Italy. This control has been restored and now 1/6 of the Italian population lives within the region. It is fitting that Elizabeth comes from a situation that is so tumultuous, since she was thrust into a foreign family in a foreign land who were obviously so loosely tied to her that they were willing to adopt her out. In a way, this situation as an outsider continues throughout the novel, as Shelley portrays her as easily cast aside - first by her adoptive family, and then by her betrothed.

On a slightly-unrelated note, a Google search for the term comes up with the MySpace page of a band by the same name. No information is currently available as to the connection.

Sources:

"Lombardy." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombardy.

"Schiavi Ognor Frementi." English Department - University Of Pennsylvania. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/V1notes/schiavi.html.

Picture Credits:

Lombardy. Digital image. Wikipedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Italy_Regions_Lombardy_Map.png.

Science vs. Humanities

It is indubitable that Dr. Frankenstein holds his scientific efforts in high regard. It is also likely that he snubs many of the humanities – as oftentimes scientists do – by considering them beneath him. The differences between creator and monster are increasingly highlighted as the latter recounts his development. The nameless creature considers the humanities, specifically language, extremely important. He goes so far as to call “the science of words or letters” (98) a “godlike science” (100). Given the extremely scientific lean of Shelley's novel and the traditional rift between the two communities, for the monster to connect the two in such a fashion speaks to his distinction from his creator and, in a more significant way, as a point of caution; while the more “traditional” science of the creature’s creation is shown to have flaws, languages also are dangerous in the effects on people – something the monster learns when words are used to snub him and make him become the “monster” everyone sees him as. In many ways, it is the “godlike science” that forces society to get the negative impression of the traditional kind that the book portrays.

The Monster & the Bible

As the monster begins to tell Dr. Frankenstein his tale (page 92), he alludes to the Bible’s Book of Genesis. The order in which he discovers major aspects of his surroundings is essentially the order in which the Bible says the world was created. In the Bible, God creates light, separates the land and water, creates vegetation, divides the day and night, creates animals, and lastly creates humans. In Frankenstein, the monster first perceives light, followed by land and water. Eventually, he begins to eat berries as he understands the difference between day and night. He then comes in contact with “little winged animals” and lastly, as in the Bible, humans. The connection is significant in that with Dr. Frankenstein, Shelley creates a repeating illusion to God through the creation of his monster; not only does Victor want to create a new species, but he wants them to be dependent on him, as the first humans were on their creator. In that his monster went through the same order of experiences as the earth when it was new, Victor seems to have succeeded.

Source:

Genesis. King James Bible. University of Virginia, 1995. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=KjvGene.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=all.

“I was a strong effort in the spirit of good; but it was ineffectual. Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible

This statement is an extreme instance of foreshadowing by Shelley - almost overkill in fact. While it adds suspense in a way, as the reader knows that something tragic is to come, but doesn’t know exactly what, it also takes away from this suspense. There is no question in the reader’s mind that all is doomed for the protagonist and the only question remaining is exactly what will cause this downfall; the reader knows from the start of the story that Victor will not survive to experience its end.

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay / To mould me Man, did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?” (title page)

This quote from John Milton’s Paradise Lost is the first of many references between the novels. In the quote, Adam is lamenting his fate as one who was unwillingly brought into this world by a higher power before subsequently being abandoned. This is also the first instance of foreshadowing within Shelley’s novel as Frankenstein abandons his creation when the latter does not turn out as expected, just as God dismisses Adam from the Garden of Eden simply for one transgression. The quote is essentially saying that its speaker, Adam, tries to be good and it is not entirely his fault that he has faltered, since it was not his idea to come into the world in the first place and thus his creator, God, should take part of the blame for creating him in such a way that would allow him to fail and then taking no credit once a mistake has been made – exactly the same situation that transpires in the later pages of the novel.

Source:

"Milton: Paradise Lost - Book 10." Dartmouth College. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_10/index.shtml.

“If she is, God forbid that she should suffer as guilty. She is to be tried to-day, and I hope, I sincerely hope, that she will be acquitted.” (72)

The elder Frankenstein is the voice of reason in all the madness that is the novel. While everyone else is irrational and therefore unreasonable in the face of Justine’s accusations and William’s death, Alphonse remains calm and orderly during the whole ordeal. Despite the fact that he has lost one son to death and is close to losing the other one to the mental demons that were threatening to consume him, Alphonse manages to provide the only realistic point of view in Shelley's novel. His small role in the novel shows the hysteria that consumes all characters and the minor role that rationale honestly plays as things get more and more out of hand.

Portrayal of Women

It is undeniable that Mary Shelley was a progressive young woman for her time – she was a writer in the early 19th century, when the vast majority of the population thought that women should be seen and not heard, limited to raising children and possibly running the household – and yet she portrays women in her novel as passive, incapable of actively running their own lives and instead submissive. In the face of death, both Catherine and Justine accept this as the fate they have been given and make no visible attempt at fighting for their survival; once death seems inevitable, they both seem to give up any will to live. Elizabeth, the main woman in the novel, is even passive to the point of tying her emotions to a man – when Frankenstein suffers, she suffers; she cannot be happy unless her beloved is happy. Even a female character that never becomes animated is passive and controlled by men, as the female monster has any chance of creation snubbed by Dr. Frankenstein.

“You are my creator, but I am your master; - obey!” (149)

With this declaration from the monster, the power shift that Shelley's the entire novel has been building up to between the monster and his creator is complete. This is noteworthy because Frankenstein created his creature with the intent to overpower it and control it and yet, from the moment the creature was brought to life, the opposite has occurred. Dr. Frankenstein allows his life to be run and his actions be determined by the actions of his creation. With the monster’s declaration of power, Dr. Frankenstein can no longer even pretend that he is truly in change, as all involved in the power struggle know that it is the unnamed creature that is truly calling the shots.

“He threatened excommunication and hell fire in my last moments, if I continued obdurate.” (77)

This is one of the first incidences in the book that directly talks about religion’s role in the life of the Frankensteins, and yet it proves the importance of God to them. For Justine to be willing to submit herself to death for a crime she has not committed, simply because she is worried about excommunication for telling the truth, shows that religion was significant in her life – logical, given the time period and setting of the novel. This is ironic because Frankenstein’s efforts to be god-like in his creation of a new species through science are undoubtedly sacrilegious and yet he faces no such threat or moral conflict as that of excommunication and hell, which Shelley portrays to been seen as a fate far worse than death.

“How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects!” (93)

The monster’s discovery of fire’s ability to give light and warmth as well as to harm is a metaphor for science in the novel. While, obviously, the scientific efforts undertaken have enormous potential to be beneficial – like fire giving of warmth and light – there is also the possibility that harm could come from them. Like the lit candle that tips over and catches an entire house on fire, Dr. Frankenstein’s project (and science in general) has the potential to go accidentally and drastically wrong, inflicting damage on everyone unlucky enough to be in the vicinity. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens – a warning from Mary Shelley to all those contemplating a similarly uncharted undertaking.

“I collected bones from charnel-houses; and disturbed, with profane figures, the tremendous figures of the human frame.” (49)

Body-snatching to learn the “secret of life”, as Frankenstein aimed to do with his cadaver dissections, began with the artists of the Renaissance. Men like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were known to raid morgues and freshly dug graves for specimens. As scientific knowledge expanded, body-snatching became so rash and widespread that laws were even passed against it, making it no longer simply a socially unjust act, but an illegal one in England with the Anatomy Act of 1832 (Dr. Frankenstein stole the parts for his creature before this, so technically he was in the clear). In many ways, while his results were drastic and novel – both for his time, and ours – the means by which Shelley depicts Dr. Frankenstein using to achieve these ends, while obscene, are not as profane as present-day readers would originally interpret them to be.

Source:

"From Body Snatching to Bequeathing." SBMJ The international resource for students on the medical world. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://archive.student.bmj.com/back_issues/0995/9-bh.htm.

Frankenstein: or, the Modern Prometheus

While the novel usually has its title shortened to simply “Frankenstein”, it is the latter half that is the more significant of the two. In Greek mythology, Prometheus disobeyed Zeus by giving fire to mankind; he was punished by being chained to a rock and having his liver eaten out every day by an eagle as punishment. This is a parallel between the god and Dr. Frankenstein himself. By disobeying the laws of nature and creating the monster, Dr. Frankenstein condemns himself to live every day of the rest of his life in misery. Before even opening the book, Shelley has created a major instance of foreshadowing with this allusion – the wise reader can already discern that a seemingly helpful action for a lesser species will result in torment for he who commits it.

Source:

"Prometheus." Encyclopedia Mythica: mythology, folklore, and religion. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/prometheus.html.

Photo Credits:

Prometheus. Digital image. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/europe/greek/prometheus.gif.

“. . .the amiable Falkland. . .” (142)

“[T]he amiable Falkland” in this example is Sir Lucius Cary. He was 2nd Viscount Falkland, living from 1610-1643 as an English solider, politician, and author. He is considered by many to be revolutionary not because of his lasting notoriety, but because he is considered a rationalist when many of his time were intolerant and dogmatic. This is a similarity played upon by Shelley; Frankenstein’s monster was rational about the way he perceived people, while those around him were only able to judge people (specifically the creature) based on appearances – making them intolerant of those who were different and dogmatic in their unwillingness to shift their stance.

Sources:

"Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Cary,_2nd_Viscount_Falkland.

"The Amiable Falkland." English Department - University Of Pennsylvania. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/V3notes/falkland.html.

Picture Credits:

Sir Lucius Cary. Digital image. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. http://www.berkshirehistory.com/bios/images/vfalkland.gif.

Determinism

The monster only becomes violent after being jaded twice – first by the villagers he encounters and then, more painful to the creature, by the peasants whom he grows to love. It is not the monster’s free will that causes this – his temperament is determined by past events. He was, as Shelley portrays, born “good” and became “evil” because of the life experiences he had. This fits with the theory of determinism as an agent of change and results over an individual’s free will. This is significant because the theory, in modern day, is a combination of “hard” science (physics) and philosophy – making it much like Dr. Frankenstein himself, as he is a combination of the sciences he learned in University and the philosophy he so diligently studied in advance.

Source: Bolognese, Joseph. The Fallacy of Free Will: A Physical Approach to Consciousness. Web.

“I shall be with you on your wedding night.” (149)

There are several implications of the monsters promise to be with his creator on the latter’s wedding night. On the surface, it is retaliation for Frankenstein’s unwillingness to allow his creation to have a wedding night of his own by refusing to create a mate for the nameless-creature. At the same time, Shelley uses this repeated phrase as the vocalization of the monsters desire to be close to someone, as there is obviously a unique intimacy between only two people that takes place on a wedding night. By stating that he will be there on the wedding night, the monster implies that Frankenstein’s beloved Elizabeth will not be – a foreshadowed promise that he later follows through with.