Know where each other
are - painfully
inseparable - e.g.
honeymoon scene
Idea of creature being the human
form of Victor's dark side
"hideous wretch"
"my own spirit let loose from
the grave...forced to destroy
all that was dear to me."
Both salves to their impulses: the monster
behaves violently and destructively but
shows no remorse / Victor wants to
discover the depths of science but does not
want to face the consequences
Birth & Creation
Idea of Victor being in 'labour'
when bringing the monster to
life & vocabulary with womb-like
connotations
"painful labour"
"midnight labour"
"conceiving"
"workshop of
filthy creation"
Victor may be revealing a fear
of the natural processes of
birth, echoing Shelley's own
feelings towards childbirth.
First pregnant at 16, and almost
constantly pregnant for the
following 5 years, she lost most
of her children soon after they
were born.
Victor takes on the role of God - in the
introduction Shelley suggests that this
is his main crime
Perhaps the crime is not what he
does but what he fails to do -
nurture his creation.
"...natural Lord and King" - the
monster referring to Victor.
Travel
Victor moves around a lot -
symbolising his mind
(unsettled, uncomfortable in
himself).
The novel begins in the
North Pole (Walton), then
refers to Italy (Victor born),
Switzerland, Germany and
England - story gets closer to
England, scaring readers.
Ingollstadt : place where
Victor thinks up and creates
the monster. He is isolated
from his friends and family -
the creation of the monster
consumes him.
"I am about to proceed on a long and
difficult voyage" - Walton (foreshadowing)
91 locations mentioned in total
Idea of journeying : Victor travels into the unknown
by creating the monster. Links to travelling to many
unknown places in the novel (e.g. The Antarctic
wasn't widely explored at the time)
Victor always returns to family
Females/feminism
Women presented as 'passive' and
'disposable', only created to teach
male characters a lesson
Agatha DeLacey : teaches the monster lessons
on healthy human relationships and love.
Elizabeth : a possession of
Victor's but ultimately she is
used as a weapon of
heartbreak to the monster's
advantage.
"I looked upon Elizabeth as mine -
mine to protect, love and cherish.
Margaret : used a reason for Walton to be writinh letters and therefroe
retelling the novel to us. Only useful to the audience but we don;t get
to know her as a character.
Critique of society
Desire of monster for
female companion
Only reason she is created is to live by and
for her male companion - no free will.
"...one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me."
Shelley killing off female characters
to show women of the time what
happens when you play into female
stereotypes
Victor's mother (Caroline) who died of
Scarlet fever (disease usually affecting
children) - implies women being weak.