Frankenstein

Mary Shelly's Gothic novel is a classic story of one man's battle with his own obsession, along side a creature that he has created, but with no thought to the consequence of his actions.

The tale begins with a letter from a Captain Walton to his sister back in England; the ship is sailing somewhere in the Arctic Circle and becomes stuck in ice. Walton spots a huge figure of a man being pulled along by sledge dogs, soon after this he comes into contact with Victor Frankenstein who is very ill, because as we will find out is in pursuit of his creation. Walton brings him onboard and nurses Frankenstein back to full health and it is then that Victor relates his tale to him.

He goes on to describe his childhood as being a happy and prosperous one, filled with wonder and adventure of the world around him. His father allows him to enter university in Inglostadt where the young Victor reads with a passion ancient works of science and alchemy which are frowned upon by his tutors, gaining knowledge from both modern and ancient practices, Victor discovers the recipe of life and in doing so goes on to create a being with parts of corpses gathered from various sources around the University. His motives for creating this creature are unclear, was he driven by a thirst for knowledge or was he creating a companion for himself? The night that he finally brings his creation to life, is in my opinion a bit of an anti climax, none of the violent thunderstorms or huge dramatic laboratory scenes with flashing electrical devices that Hollywood has since portrayed to us on the big screen. As the creature takes its first breath Victor at last sees his creation for what it really is, not the beautiful being he had planned for, but an abnormal, disgusting, disfigured wreck of an object. Victor in his despair flees, and the creature disappears.

Always aware of the creature's existence Victor throws himself into his work and studies and subsequently becomes very ill. His childhood friend Henry Clerval comes to Inglostadt to study science alongside Victor, on arrival he finds his friend gravely ill and nurses him back to health. Around a year later when Victor has fully recovered, he receives a letter from his father informing him that his younger brother William has been murdered. Victor immediately return's to his home in Geneva. As he approaches the city limits he decides to visit the place where his brother was killed, in a more dramatic setting Shelly tells us that in a huge flash of lightning Victor spots his creation on a mountainside, in that moment it occurs to him that the creature must be his brothers killer. Victor becomes wracked with guilt which is made worse when he discovers that Justine Moritz a child the Frankenstein family adopted when Victor was small has been accused of the deed, she subsequently is found guilty of the crime by her own admission which we find out is untrue, this she has done to save her own soul from damnation into Hell. Justine is hanged for the murder which causes Victor more anguish and guilt although he still keeps the truth to himself, considering the reality of the crime would anyone believe such a story anyway?

The Frankenstein family home in Geneva was very claustrophobic, Victor's father decides to move the family to their home in the quiet village of Belrive to give them peace, Victor found this place to be of some comfort to him but still his anguish was heavy on his mind, he often sailed his small boat on the river allowing the current to decide the craft's destination. Elizabeth also admits to him that the previous events have affected her much, Victor confesses to her that he is infact the murderer not by actual action but by effect, she dispels this admission by thinking that Victor is more tortured by the crime than her. It is during a severe attack of depression that Victor desperately feels the need to escape to unfamiliar surroundings to ease the pain in his mind.

He takes to the mountains and hills of the Chamounix Valley, and Shelly sets the scene as a beautiful and wonderful soul-quenching journey, which takes Victor through the Alps, a wonderful and beautiful backdrop to a very negative reason for travel. On arrival at the village of Chamounix , Victor rents a small room, that evening he watches a storm gather on the summit of Mont Blanc, being totally exhausted he falls into a deep slumber at last resting his troubled mind and this triggers the start of his recovery. It appears that the setting and the wonder of nature around him begin to soothe Victor's mind, for the next few days he wanders around the magnificent landscape trying to ease his pain. One morning he awakes to find the valley in the grip of a torrential downpour, the mountains and valleys around him are engulfed by mist, he decides that he still must go out and find some peace, `what were rain and storm to me he asks himself. His mule is brought to him and he decides to scale Montanvert (a peak invented by Shelly) it is while he is resting from his climb that he spots in the distance a huge frame looming towards him `with superhuman speed` as the figure nears, he realises that it is his creation. Victor trembling with anger and fear, calls to the creature `Devil do you dare approach me? ` He demands the monster to stay so he can kill the beast. It is here that Shelly informs us that the creature can talk, `I expected this reception`. For the first time reader this vocal talent comes as a surprise as you expect the monster to communicate with a series of grunts and roars, but no, the creation speaks fluent English. Victor attack's, but the creatures great strength and size easily throws him aside, it begs Victor to listen to what it has to say, to see it as his `Adam` in a God versus creation scene. Victor calm's down, and they head off over the ice towards an old wooden hut in which the monster has been living; it is here that the creature relates his story to Victor.

We learn that after the creature flees from Victor's apartment, he enters a dark forest where he begins to understand his senses, he feeds on berries and discarded items he finds left by travelers and beggars, he discovers the use of fire and shelter, he finds himself a bothy `a hovel` as the creature describes it, attached to a small shack, through a crack in the wall he is able to observe a family who live in the cottage. The creature explains the different emotions he feels while watching the group, some of which he does not understand, he observes the family for some time and becomes entranced by their powers of speech, the creature desperately wishes to communicate but no matter how hard he tries he is unable. After many nights of observance he begins understanding some basic words, `fire, milk, bread and wood` he also learns the names of the family and is overjoyed when he is able to