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Analysis. In the first entry of this three-part letter, Walton says his crew has observed a huge "savage" figure in a dogsled speeding across the ice. The next morning his crew members discover another man, this one normal sized and European, within reach of the ship. Walton's use of the word "savage" places him alongside the many other ...
Detailed Summary. On March 28th of the following year, Walton writes a letter from Archangel, Russia. He expresses his loneliness and concern that his refined upbringing has left him too delicate to handle the "brutality" of life at sea. Walton affirms that his determination to make the voyage is unalterable, like destiny.
Henry Clerval. Victor's dear friend from childhood. Victor describes Clerval as having a vast imagination, a sensitive heart, and boundless love of nature. Clerval serves as Victor's guiding light throughout Frankenstein, selflessly helping Victor but never prodding him to reveal his secrets. Clerval's optimism also stands in contrast to Victor ...
- Victor Frankenstein
- The Monster
- Robert Walton
- Elizabeth Lavenza
- Henry Clerval
- Alphonse Frankenstein
- William Frankenstein
- Justine Moritz
- Peasants
- M. Waldman
The doomed protagonist and narrator of the main portion of the story. Studying in Ingolstadt, Victor discovers the secret of life and creates an intelligent but grotesque monster, from whom he recoils in horror. Victor keeps his creation of the monster a secret, feeling increasingly guilty and ashamed as he realizes how helpless he is to prevent th...
The eight-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation of Victor Frankenstein. Intelligent, eloquent, and sensitive, the Monster attempts to integrate himself into human social patterns, but all who see him shun him. His feeling of abandonment compels him to seek revenge against his creator. Read an in-depth analysis of the Monster.
The Arctic seafarer whose letters open and close Frankenstein. Walton picks the bedraggled Victor Frankenstein up off the ice, helps nurse him back to health, and hears Victor’s story. He records the incredible tale in a series of letters addressed to his sister, Margaret Saville, in England. Read an in-depth analysis of Robert Walton.
An orphan, four to five years younger than Victor, whom the Frankensteins adopt. In the 1818 edition of the novel, Elizabeth is Victor’s cousin, the child of Alphonse Frankenstein’s sister. In the 1831 edition, Victor’s mother rescues Elizabeth from a destitute peasant cottage in Italy. Elizabeth embodies the novel’s motif of passive women, as she ...
Victor’s boyhood friend, who nurses Victor back to health in Ingolstadt. After working unhappily for his father, Henry begins to follow in Victor’s footsteps as a scientist. His cheerfulness counters Victor’s moroseness. Read an in-depth analysis of Henry Clerval.
Victor’s father, very sympathetic toward his son. Alphonse consoles Victor in moments of pain and encourages him to remember the importance of family.
Victor’s youngest brother and the darling of the Frankenstein family. The monster strangles William in the woods outside Geneva in order to hurt Victor for abandoning him. William’s death deeply saddens Victor and burdens him with tremendous guilt about having created the monster.
A young girl adopted into the Frankenstein household while Victor is growing up. Justine is blamed and executed for William’s murder, which is actually committed by the monster.
A family of peasants, including a blind old man, De Lacey; his son and daughter, Felix and Agatha; and a foreign woman named Safie. The monster learns how to speak and interact by observing them. When he reveals himself to them, hoping for friendship, they beat him and chase him away.
The professor of chemistry who sparks Victor’s interest in science. He dismisses the alchemists’ conclusions as unfounded but sympathizes with Victor’s interest in a science that can explain the “big questions,” such as the origin of life.
Volume 2: Chapters 3, 4, and 5 Summary and Analysis. In Volume Two, Chapter Three, the creature assumes the role of narrator as he tells Victor his story. When he is first brought to life, the ...
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Chapter 2. We were brought up together; there was not quite a year difference in our ages. I need not say that we were strangers to any species of disunion or dispute. Harmony was the soul of our companionship, and the diversity and contrast that subsisted in our characters drew us nearer together.
The patriarch, Mr. De Lacey, and his two children, Felix and Agatha, are former Parisian nobles who were exiled after they came to the defense of a wrongly accused Turkish merchant. The daughter ...
