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Chapters 7–8: Victor tells his father that he wants to
marry Elizabeth but first he must travel and study. His
friend, Henry, joins him and they travel to London. Victor
learns a lot from the scientists there and collects the
things he needs for the female monster. He then goes
on his own to the north of Scotland. One night, as the
monster looks in through the window, Victor destroys the
female. The monster is very angry and threatens revenge.
Victor takes a boat. He falls asleep and arrives in Ireland.
There, someone tells him that a dead body has been
found and Victor is arrested for murder.
Chapters 9–10: Victor is taken to see Mr Kirwin, the local
judge and he discovers that the dead man is his friend,
Henry Clerval. Victor is very distressed and spends the
next two months very ill in prison. His father goes to
see him and a month later Victor is found not guilty of
Henry’s murder. Father and son start the journey back
to Switzerland but stop to rest in Paris. A letter from
Elizabeth arrives. She tells Victor that she loves him and
wants to marry him. Victor decides they must marry very
soon before the monster takes his revenge.
Chapters 11–12: Victor and Elizabeth get married
and start their holiday in a hotel. That night Elizabeth is
murdered in her room. Victor sees the monster through
an open window and chases him. The monster escapes.
Victor follows the monster to the North Pole. He
becomes very ill and is rescued by Walton, the captain of
a boat. As he lies dying, he tells Walton his story and asks
him to promise to destroy the monster when he is dead.
Victor dies. The monster approaches the lifeless Victor
and begs forgiveness. When he realises Victor is dead, the
monster decides that he must die too and jumps into the
water and disappears.
Background and themes
Mary Shelly was greatly influenced by the Romantic
Movement and she wrote Frankenstein after Lord Byron
introduced a challenge to discern who among the three
writers, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley and Byron himself,
could write the best ghost story. Her work was greatly
influenced by the mass production and dehumanization
of the Industrial Revolution, which posed a threat to
the Romantic ideals of the importance of the individual,
the beauty of nature, and the emotional and free spirit.
Frankenstein can be seen as a protest against this scientific
revolution.
Love and friendship: Victor had two very close friends,
Elizabeth and Henry. Their personalities complemented
his own. Victor was the scientific, mechanical part,
while Henry was the literary part and Elizabeth was the
soothing, gentle, feminine influence that balanced out the
literary and scientific passion. The monster explained to
Victor that he had no friends and was lonely and his quest
in life was for companionship and understanding. It was
his loneliness and rejection by humans and Victor himself
that made him savage. He had no one to comfort him,
support him or love him, and he felt that absence strongly.
Loneliness recurs as a theme throughout the monster’s
existence.
Science and nature: The theme of scientific intervention
in nature is key to this novel. At the time it was written,
scientific development in England was becoming of great
importance and was beginning to influence every aspect
of human life. Shelley portrays the natural environment
that surrounds us, the lakes, the mountains and the
forests, as both beautiful and consoling whereas when
scientists interfere with nature, a hideous monster is
created. Whether Shelley intended it or not, her message
is of great importance today in serving as a warning of the
disastrous consequences that genetic engineering may
have if not accompanied by moral and ethical responsibility.
Judging by appearances: Another theme is the human
tendency to judge a person based on his or her
appearance. It is true that the monster appears horrifying,
but he is also shown to be more humane than some of
the other humans in the story. Indeed, he is at first quite
sensitive and tolerant. Unfortunately, no one tries to
understand him or to accept him the way he is or see the
inner beauty that exists.
Discussion activities
Chapters 1–2
Before reading
1 Discuss: Talk about horror stories.
Do you like horror stories? What makes them
frightening? Do they sometimes have a message? What
was the last horror film you saw? Did you like it?
While reading (At the end of p. 2)
2 Guess: Ask students why they think the man that
Walton found wants to go to the North Pole.
After reading
3 Pair work: Ask students to talk about whether they
think Frankenstein should have created the monster
or not.
