LETTERS & Literary Techniques
This narrative structure used in Frankenstein features a story within a story within a story.
What is a frame narrative?
Victor’s mother hopes he and this adopted sister will one day marry.
Who is Elizabeth Lavenza?
Victor receives a letter from this character, expressing concern about his well-being and family back home.
Who is Elizabeth?
The Creature learns to speak and understand human nature by observing this family in their cottage.
Who are the De Lacey family?
Victor agrees to create a female companion for the Creature but destroys it when he fears this consequence.
What is the possibility of them reproducing? or What is the possibility of killing humanity?
The imagery of the Creature’s physical appearance includes these details about his skin and stature, which highlight his unnatural creation.
What are "yellow skin" and "gigantic stature"?
Walton's letters are addressed to this family member, providing insight into his thoughts and feelings.
Who is Margaret Saville? or Who is Walton's sister?
Victor becomes obsessed with this outdated field of science after discovering works by Cornelius Agrippa.
What is alchemy?
This character is falsely accused of murdering Victor’s younger brother, William.
Who is Justine Moritz?
The Creature’s discovery of this, the Creature becomes obsessed with revenge on Victor.
What is Victor's journal?
Victor’s wedding night becomes a tragedy when this character is murdered.
Who is Elizabeth?
This natural setting, described with towering peaks and icy landscapes, symbolizes Victor’s inner turmoil and the power of nature over man.
What is the Alps? Or what is the Swiss Alps? Or What are the mountains?
Walton’s pursuit of knowledge and exploration mirrors this key trait of Victor Frankenstein, highlighting a central theme of the novel.
What is ambition?
Victor discovers the secret to creating life after studying this natural phenomenon.
What is electricity/lightning?
Victor first encounters the Creature after this dramatic setting shift in the story.
What is his trip to the mountains?
The Creature experiences rejection when he tries to interact with this blind character.
Who is De Lacey (the father)?
Walton’s ship is trapped in this perilous environment, paralleling Victor’s doomed pursuit of the Creature.
What is the Arctic ice?
The night Victor animates the Creature is marked by this ominous and foreboding weather imagery, heightening the scene’s tension.
What is "a dreary night of November"? Or What is a thunderstorm?
In his letters, Walton describes his longing for this type of person, someone who shares his ambitions and intellect.
What is a friend?
Victor describes his Creature with this grotesque detail about its eyes, which haunt him.
What is "watery but lifeless"? or What is yellow and watery?
Victor feels both terror and anger when the Creature confronts him with this emotional plea from the Creature.
What is "Make me a companion"?
The Creature’s desire for revenge peaks after Victor destroys this unfinished creation.
What is the female Creature?
Victor spends his final moments urging Walton to do this if he encounters the Creature.
What is kill it?
The storm that erupts after Victor’s brother’s murder is described with vivid lightning and thunder, mirroring this theme in the novel.
What is "nature’s reflection of human emotion"? or What is the pathetic fallacy?
Walton reveals his respect and admiration for Victor in his letters, describing him with this specific adjective that reflects his idealized view.
What is noble?
This tragedy motivates Victor to leave Geneva and his family for Ingolstadt and immerse himself in his studies.
What is the death of his mother?
Victor contemplates suicide but resists after seeing this living brother, who inspires hope.
Who is Ernest Frankenstein?
The Creature’s anger is sparked after this beloved family member of Victor’s is killed.
Who is William Frankenstein?
In his final act, the Creature declares he will do this to end his suffering.
What is set himself on fire?
Shelley uses this imagery when describing the Creature’s escape across the frozen Arctic, symbolizing isolation and relentless pursuit.
What is "the vast, desolate expanse of ice"?