Frankenstein

FRANKENSTEIN Study Guide
Homework: Please write your answers on separate paper.
Letters 1-4
1. Who is writing Letter 1 (and all the letters)?
Robert Walton
2. To whom is he writing? What is their relationship?
Mrs. Saville, his sister
3. Where is Robert Walton when he writes Letter 1? Why is he there? What are his plans?
St. Petersburg, Russia. He is hiring a crew for hisship. He intends to sail to the North Pole and discover magnetism.
4. What does Robert Walton tell us about himself?
He is passionately committed to discovery and adventure. He wishes he had a friend with the same sensibilities and he says he is self-taught.
5. Where is Walton now? What do you think of Walton's question "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man"?
Waltonis out to sea, sailing north. The quotation establishes the Romantic idea of the power of emotion over reason.
6. How much time has elapsed between Letter 3 and Letter 4? What "strange accident" has happened to the sailors?
One month has lapsed. The accident is the ship is trapped in ice and fog.
7. Why does the man picked up by the ship say he is there? What shape is he in?
The mansays he is “seek[ing] one who fled from me” (11) and he asks which direction the ship is sailing. He is near death, weak and emaciated.
8. What sort of person does he seem to be? How does Walton respond to this man?
The man remains silent and this creates a sense of mystery around him. Walton finds the man eloquent, educated and refined.
9. How much time has elapsed when Walton begins writingagain? What has happened in the meantime? How does the man respond to Walton's project? How is Walton responding to the man?
Walton begins writing the biography of Victor the very next day. Victor has slowly regained his health. Victor tells Walton that the quest for knowledge and his project will ultimately lead to his misery. Walton is intrigued and wants to hear Victor’s story.
Ch 1- 511. What is the man's background? (Do we know his name yet?) Where is he from?
The man was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His father held a public office and both his parents doted on him and idolized him. His name is first mentioned on p. 21 by his mother.
12. What is the story of the man's mother, Caroline Beaufort? How does the man feel toward his parents, and what responsibilities does hefeel they had toward him?
Victor’s father’s best friend was Caroline Beaufort’s father. Beaufort fell into poverty and eventually died. Frankenstein Sr. rescued the young Caroline and married her when she came of age. Their “duty from heaven” was to raise Victor to be good and their guidance is responsible for all his future happiness or misery.
13. Who is Elizabeth Lavenza and what is herstory? What gift does the man's mother give him? Do we know the man's name yet? Do we know his family name?
Elizabeth is the daughter of an Italian nobleman and a German woman. She was orphaned and taken in by a poor Italian family. Victor’s family adopts her and gives her as a present to him.
14. Who is Henry Clerval and what is his relation to Victor?
Henry Clerval is Victor’schildhood friend.
15. How does Victor characterize the interests and characters of Clerval, Elizabeth, and himself?
Clerval loves the stories of medieval knights and chivalry. Elizabeth enjoys the emotional aspect of poetry but does not pursue learning. She is nurturing and kind. Victor is fascinated with the study of science.
16. Who is Cornelius Agrippa and how does Victor find out about him? Howdoes Victor's father respond, and how does Victor comment on that response?
On a rainy day while on vacation, Victor reads books he finds. Agrippa is an ancient scientist who studied alchemy. His books are outdated and unscientific. Victor’s father criticizes Victor for reading such nonsense. Victor decides to read even more on the subject after his father’s criticism.
17. What sort of...