Lesson Learned

"How all this will terminate, I know not; but I had rather die than return shamefully,-my purpose unfulfilled (page 160)." Here, Walton is explaining to his sister the decision he must make. He must decide whether or not he should give up his life's work to avoid his and the crew's almost certain deaths. While this decision is not a difficult one, he still has a hard time. He set out to discover new things, and he does not want to return ignorant. Contrary to his initial ideas, he comes to see that meeting Victor and hearing his story left him very informed. He left the experience with the knowledge of what happens to a man obsessed. The main lesson I learned from this novel is to always prioritize correctly. Because Victor's priorities were anything but his family during the education portion of his life, both he and everyone he loved suffered dearly. By ending the journey early, he established himself as an intelligent man where it counted. He saved many lives including his own, whereas everyone in Victor's life except the monster died because of his foolishness.

Women's Rights...Here We Go Again

"I thought with a sensation of madness of my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged (page 121)." At the time of Shelley's writing this novel, women were considered a lower form of human. It can be argued that this belief is still alive and well within many. Still, this scene in which Victor tears up his creation's female counter piece is symbolic of Shelley's situation. At first, she was forced to forgo listing her name as the author because it would not have been accepted in the literary community. She even had to have her husband write a foreword just to earn the now-infamous novel some legitimacy. There is no doubt in my mind that this would have been a point of frustration for Shelley. Everyone wants their accomplishments recognized. This was likely taken out in this part of the novel. By having Victor kill the female creation and adding that the creation had been almost completed to the point that it was, the killing of the promise of the female creation is like the killing of women's promise in general.

Puzzlement

"I remembered also the necessity imposed upon me of either journeying to England, or entering into a long correspondence with those philosophers of that country, whose knowledge and discoveries were of indispensable use to me in my present undertaking (page 110)." One thing I do not understand is this. Why does Victor really have to travel to London? At this point, it seems reasonable to conclude that no one else has created a human being like he had. Also, it is not as if the creation wanted a new and improved woman creation. He wanted one like himself, so Victor knows how to create one already. If the creation was at all concerned with it being a new advanced version, he would no longer find comfort in the woman. He wanted someone to look and act like him so that he would not have to feel as bad about himself. If the woman was improved in appearance, then she would likely find him disgusting, as well. This would defeat the purpose of her creation.

Theme: Death

"I saw, with surprise and grief, the leaves decay and fall, and nature again assume the barren and bleak appearance it had worn when I first beheld the woods and the lovely moon (page 94)." Death is a recurring theme in Frankenstein. Between William, Justine, and Elizabeth (along with others), nearly everyone Victor cares about dies. This is not slighted in the least by the fact that the last pages behold his own death. Tied in with this theme is the theme of revenge. Because of all of the misfortunes of the creation, including his near death when a man shoots him for saving his lady companion, he adamantly seeks revenge. He fulfills his vengeful plots by killing those most near and dear to Victor. The creation's knowledge up until that point of killing William was that Victor would not be hurt if he were to kill him. If anything, Victor would have likely seen this as a welcome escape. Victor was most upset by the deaths of those he loved. And, again, because of the sufferings of the creation, he was enraptured by the thought of revenge on Victor. This proved deadly to those Victor cared about.

Imagery

"Spring advanced rapidly; the weather became fine and the skies cloudless. It surprised me, that what before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the most beautiful flowers and verdure (page 81)." This is one of many examples of imagery in Frankenstein. In the case of this novel, imagery is most usually used to describe the sanctuary into which Victor continually retreats. The woods supply a sort of safe haven for victor, and they seem to serve the same purpose for the creation. With its vivid descriptions of flowers and leaves falling, Frankenstein is a novel in which the imagery is not simply to spice up the reading. It serves to explain to the reader exactly why it was such an escape for the characters. After something horrible and traumatizing happens, Victor and the creature both seek sanctuary in a place most fear to enter. Really, as hectic, crazy, and terrifying as the mysteries of the forest can be, they are no match for what Victor must face with the appearance of his creation. Similarly, the creation only knows one or two things about Victor. One of which is the he bestowed a miserable life upon him. This leaves neither one feeling to fond of the other;hence, the need for a peaceful retreat.

Title

The title "Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus" says a lot about a theme of the work. Prometheus was a character in a Greek myth about a boy making wings and flying too close to the sun, only to crash and burn. This goes along with the book astonishingly well. The idea is that Victor's quest for the understanding of life led to the problems of the novel with the fire or light symbolizing knowledge. "In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain (page 72)." Here, the monster learns through his experience of fire. The knowledge attained in this stroy is similar to the monster's experience with fire. Victor tested out a hypothesis without really contemplating the consequences. Similarly, the monster was so entranced by the fire that he touched it without knowledge of the consequences.

Foreshadowing

There is a plethora of foreshadowing in this novel. Victor is very fond of the term "fate", which alludes to forthcoming information. "Poor Justine was very ill, but other trials were reserved for her (page 41)." Here, Victor is alluding to the fact that she will be accused of William's murder. Obviously, the reader does not yet know of these events, but Victor hints at the plight of Justine in the chapter preceding the telling. This happens a lot, likely to build anticipation for what is to follow. At the end of chapters, he states that what is to come will eventually decide his destiny. This is proven completely true as his thirst for knowledge leads to the creation of the monster and the monster leads to his life's mission to destroy it. Even in the beginning, robert builds anticipation because he makes the reader want to find out what happens with his adventure. From what I hear, it is disappointing.