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Frankenstein Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley notes

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Intro

Author:
Mary Shelley
Published:
1818 (first edition); revised edition in 1831
Genre:
Gothic Novel, Science Fiction, Romant­icism
Setting:
18th-c­entury Europe, including Switze­rland, Germany, and the Arctic
Narrative Style:
Frame narrative with multiple first-­person perspe­ctives, primarily that of Victor Franke­nstein and his creature

Historical and Literary Context

Romant­icism:
Core Ideas: Focused on indivi­dua­lism, the power of nature, emotion, and the sublime. Franke­nstein reflects these themes through its explor­ation of the indivi­dual's quest for knowledge and the awe-in­spi­ring, sometimes terrifying power of nature.
 
Reaction to Enligh­ten­ment: While the Enligh­tenment emphasized reason and scientific progress, Romant­icism highli­ghted the limits of reason and the potential dangers of unchecked ambition, a key theme in Franke­nstein.
Scientific Revolution and Early 19th Century:
Influe­nces: The novel was written during a period of rapid scientific advanc­ements, including early experi­ments with electr­icity and galvanism (the idea of using electr­icity to animate life), which inspired Shelley’s depiction of Franke­nst­ein’s experi­ments.
 
Promethean Ambition: The novel can be read as a cautionary tale about the dangers of overre­aching in the pursuit of knowledge, drawing on the myth of Promet­heus, who defied the gods by giving fire (symbo­lizing knowledge) to humanity, and was punished for it.
The Gothic Tradition:
Gothic Elements: Franke­nstein includes many Gothic tropes, such as the isolated, tormented hero (Victor), the monstrous other (the Creature), the use of dark, foreboding settings (the Arctic, desolate mounta­ins), and an explor­ation of the boundaries between life and death.
 
The Sublime: Shelley often describes nature in ways that evoke the sublime—a mixture of beauty, terror, and awe—mi­rroring the novel’s themes of creation and destru­ction.

Plot Summary

Frame Narrative:
Robert Walton’s Letters: The novel opens and closes with letters from Robert Walton, an Arctic explorer, to his sister, Margaret Saville. Walton’s letters frame the main narrative and establish the themes of ambition and the quest for knowledge.
Exposi­tion:
Victor Franke­nst­ein’s Backgr­ound: Victor, a young scientist from Geneva, recounts his idyllic childhood, his fascin­ation with science, and his obsession with uncovering the secrets of life. He becomes partic­ularly interested in the works of alchemists and later in the burgeoning field of natural philosophy (science).
Rising Action:
Creation of the Creature: While studying at the University of Ingols­tadt, Victor secretly works on creating life, eventually animating a creature made from assembled body parts. However, horrified by his creation’s appear­ance, Victor abandons it, leading to catast­rophic conseq­uences.
 
The Creature’s Story: The Creature, abandoned and rejected by society, educates himself by observing a family (the De Laceys) and reading books. He becomes increa­singly bitter and vengeful after experi­encing constant rejection due to his appear­ance.
Climax:
The Creature’s Demand: The Creature confronts Victor and demands that he create a female companion for him. Victor initially agrees but later destroys the second creation out of fear of the conseq­uences. In revenge, the Creature kills Victor’s friend Henry Clerval and later, his bride, Elizabeth, on their wedding night.
Falling Action:
Victor’s Pursuit of the Creature: Devastated by the deaths of his loved ones, Victor vows to hunt down and destroy the Creature. This pursuit leads him to the Arctic, where he encounters Walton.
Resolu­tion:
The Death of Victor and the Creature: Victor dies from exhaustion in Walton’s ship. The Creature, mourning his creator’s death and expressing his own suffering, vows to end his life and disappears into the Arctic, leaving his ultimate fate ambiguous.
 

Main Characters

Victor Franke­nstein:
Character Overview: A young, brilliant scientist whose obsession with creating life leads to his downfall. Victor embodies the dangers of unchecked ambition and the pursuit of knowledge without consid­eration of the conseq­uences.
 
Role in the Plot: Victor’s actions drive the narrative, from his creation of the Creature to his ultimate quest for revenge. His tragic flaw is his hubris­—be­lieving he can transcend the natural limits of human capabi­lity.
The Creature (Frank­ens­tein’s Monster):
Character Overview: Victor’s creation, often mistakenly referred to as “Frank­ens­tein,” is a being of enormous strength and intellect but is rejected by society due to his grotesque appear­ance. The Creature’s journey is one of self-a­war­eness, loneli­ness, and increasing bitter­ness.
 
Symbolism: The Outcast: The Creature represents the conseq­uences of social rejection and the question of what makes someone truly human.
 
Symbolism: Nature vs. Nurture: His character challenges the reader to consider whether evil is innate or a product of one’s enviro­nment and treatment by others.
 
Symbolism: The Double of Victor: The Creature can be seen as Victor’s double, embodying his dark, unchecked desires and the conseq­uences of his hubristic pursuit of knowledge.
Robert Walton:
Character Overview: The Arctic explorer whose letters frame the narrative. Walton’s ambition to reach the North Pole parallels Victor’s quest for knowledge, serving as a warning of the dangers of overre­aching.
 
Role in the Plot: Walton’s intera­ctions with Victor provide insight into Victor’s character and serve to frame the main narrative. He ultimately heeds Victor’s warnings and abandons his dangerous mission, demons­trating growth and self-a­war­eness.
Elizabeth Lavenza:
Character Overview: Victor’s cousin and fiancée, Elizabeth represents the idealized, passive woman of the 19th century. She is kind, beautiful, and devoted to Victor, but her role is largely passive, making her a symbol of the domestic ideal.
 
Role in the Plot: Elizab­eth’s murder by the Creature on her wedding night represents the ultimate conseq­uence of Victor’s actions. Her death serves as the catalyst for Victor’s final descent into madness and obsession.
Henry Clerval:
Character Overview: Victor’s best friend and foil, Clerval represents the Romantic ideal of the artist and the lover of nature. He is gentle, compas­sio­nate, and imagin­ative, providing a contrast to Victor’s more scientific and rational approach.
 
Role in the Plot: Clerval’s murder by the Creature serves as a further punishment for Victor and a turning point in the narrative, deepening Victor’s guilt and despair.
Alphonse Franke­nstein:
Character Overview: Victor’s father, who embodies the tradit­ional values of duty and respon­sib­ility. Alphonse represents the older genera­tion’s more grounded, moral perspe­ctive.
 
Role in the Plot: His role is largely suppor­tive, providing guidance and care for Victor, though he is ultimately powerless to save his son from his tragic fate.
Justine Moritz:
Character Overview: A servant in the Franke­nstein household, Justine is wrongfully executed for the murder of Victor’s younger brother, William, a crime actually committed by the Creature. Justine’s trial and execution highlight the themes of justice and injustice in the novel.
 
Role in the Plot: Justine’s fate unders­cores the conseq­uences of Victor’s secrecy and irresp­ons­ibi­lity, contri­buting to his growing sense of guilt.

Major Themes

The Pursuit of Knowledge and Its Conseq­uences:
The novel explores the dangers of overre­aching in the pursuit of knowledge. Victor’s quest to discover the secret of life leads to catast­rophic conseq­uences, suggesting that some knowledge is too dangerous for humanity to possess.
Isolation and Aliena­tion:
Both Victor and the Creature experience profound isolation. Victor isolates himself from his family and friends in his obsessive pursuit of scientific knowledge, while the Creature is alienated from society due to his monstrous appear­ance. This theme unders­cores the novel’s explor­ation of the human need for compan­ionship and the dangers of social rejection.
The Role of Nature:
Nature plays a dual role in Franke­nstein. It is both a source of solace and beauty (as seen in Victor’s descri­ptions of the Swiss landscape) and a force of destru­ction and terror (as repres­ented by the Creature and the harsh Arctic enviro­nment). The novel reflects the Romantic ideal of the sublime, where nature is both awe-in­spiring and fright­ening.
Creation and Respon­sib­ility:
Franke­nstein raises important questions about the respon­sib­ilities of creators towards their creations. Victor’s failure to care for and guide his creation leads to the Creature’s turn towards violence and revenge. The novel suggests that with great power comes great respon­sib­ility, and the neglect of this duty can lead to devast­ating conseq­uences.
The Danger of Ambition:
Victor’s tragic flaw is his ambition, which blinds him to the moral and ethical implic­ations of his actions. His story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the desire to play God.
Justice and Injustice:
The novel highlights the theme of justice through the wrongful accusa­tions and executions of Justine and the unfair treatment of the Creature. Shelley critiques the legal and social systems of the time, questi­oning their ability to deliver true justice.
The Double:
Victor and the Creature are often seen as doubles or doppel­gängers of each other, repres­enting two sides of the same coin. This theme reflects the duality of human nature and the thin line between creator and destroyer, man and monster.

Narrative Structure and Style

Frame Narrative:
The use of a frame narrative, with Walton’s letters enclosing Victor’s story, which in turn encloses the Creature’s narrative, adds layers of perspe­ctive and complexity to the novel. It also enhances the theme of isolation, as each narrative is a personal account of individual experi­ence.
Epistolary Elements:
The inclusion of letters, such as those from Walton to his sister, and Victor’s narrative as a spoken or written account, creates a sense of realism and immediacy. This structure also allows Shelley to explore multiple viewpoints and the subjective nature of truth.
Gothic Style:
Shelley employs many elements of Gothic litera­ture, including dark and foreboding settings, themes of horror and the supern­atural, and a focus on human emotion and psycho­logy. The novel’s language is rich in imagery and symbolism, contri­buting to its haunting and tragic tone.
Romantic Imagery:
The novel frequently uses Romantic imagery to evoke the sublime, partic­ularly in its descri­ptions of nature. This imagery reflects the novel’s explor­ation of the power and beauty of nature, as well as its capacity for destru­ction.
 

Reception and Legacy

Initial Reception:
Upon its public­ation, Franke­nstein was met with a mixture of praise and criticism. Some reviewers apprec­iated its origin­ality and explor­ation of complex themes, while others criticized it for its dark subject matter and perceived moral ambiguity.
Influence on Literature and Popular Culture:
Franke­nstein is often credited as one of the first science fiction novels, laying the groundwork for the genre by exploring the conseq­uences of scientific experi­men­tation and the creation of life. Its influence can be seen in countless works of litera­ture, film, and other media that explore similar themes.
Adapta­tions:
The novel has been adapted into numerous films, plays, and other media, each interp­reting the story in different ways. The Creature, often referred to simply as “Frank­ens­tein,” has become an iconic figure in popular culture, though often mischa­rac­terized as a mindless monster.
Scholarly Interp­ret­ation:
Franke­nstein has been the subject of extensive academic analysis, with interp­ret­ations focusing on themes such as gender, power, and the ethics of creation. Feminist readings of the novel, for example, have explored the ways in which it critiques patria­rchal power and the margin­ali­zation of women.
Enduring Relevance:
The novel’s explor­ation of the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition, the ethical respon­sib­ilities of creators, and the conseq­uences of social rejection remain relevant today. Franke­nstein continues to be a powerful cautionary tale about the potential conseq­uences of playing God.

Conclusion

Summary:
Mary Shelley’s Franke­nstein is a complex and multi-­layered novel that explores timeless themes of ambition, creation, and the human condition. Through its Gothic and Romantic elements, it offers a profound meditation on the dangers of overre­aching in the pursuit of knowledge and the respon­sib­ilities that come with the power to create life.