frank Flashcards
1
Q
Henry Clerval
A
- Victor’s childhood best friend
- Visits Victor at college → family hadn’t heard from him
- Caring, loving, supportive
2
Q
Alphonse Frankenstein
A
- Victor’s dad
- Loving & caring
- Worried about Victor → hadn’t heard from him in a while
3
Q
Caroline Beaufort
A
- Victor’s mom
- Passes before Victor leaves for college
- Dying wish → Victor & Elizabeth to marry
4
Q
Victor
A
- Protagonist
- Passionate about science & fascinated with the secrets of life
- Thinks highly of himself, but does not prioritize needs (makes lots of sacrifices to create new discovery/monster)
5
Q
Mr. Kempe
A
- Victor’s influential professor
- Not very nice; harsh
- Gives lecture that influences Victor to further pursue studies
6
Q
Professor Waldman
A
- Victor’s influential professor
- Warm, gentle, kind
- More of a friend to Victor
7
Q
Elizabeth Lavenza
A
- “Light” of the Frankenstein family; very positive influence
- Cares deeply for Victor (& whole fam); full of life and love
- Victor’s future wife
8
Q
Justine Moritz
A
- a young girl whom the Frankensteins take in at the age of 12.
- accused of murdering William Frankenstein and is put to death based
9
Q
Ernest Frankenstein
A
- Victor’s brother
10
Q
Creature
A
- creature that Victor Frankenstein creates.
- even tho monster was initially gentle and sensitive, desiring love and acceptance, it was surrounded by those who considered it wicked due to its frightful appearance.
- Human society cast it out and labeled it evil, which led to the monster becoming jaded and infuriated with its maltreatment.
- monster becomes a murderer, not out of an impulse to harm, but out of a need for retribution against Victor and all of humanity for turning it away.
11
Q
De Lacey
A
- De Lacey, an aged, blind man, lives in a woodland cottage with his two children, Agatha and Felix.
- Because of his lack of vision, he is not repulsed by the monster’s ghastly figure.
- As such, he serves as an example of the kindness of unbiased human nature.
12
Q
Felix
A
- Felix is De Lacey’s son.
- He is a Christian who falls in love with Safie, a Muslim.
- After Felix helps Safie’s father break out of jail, they get married.
- When the creature appears at his family’s cottage in Germany, Felix throws stones and chases it off
13
Q
Agatha
A
- Agatha is the daughter of De Lacey.
- She exemplifies the perfect woman, displaying compassion, tenderness, and loyalty to her family.
14
Q
Safie
A
- Safie is the youthful Turkish woman of “Arabian” descent whom Felix falls in love with.
- Raised Muslim, she yearns for more freedom and joy in the company of the Christian Felix.
15
Q
Isolation and vengeance theme
A
Isolation and vengeance
* the true evil in the story the isolation that caracters experience
* Victor’s studies draw him away from human interaction.
* The monster, too, is driven to vengeance because of its loneliness.
Frankenstein depicts isolation from family and society as the worst possible outcome.
Isolation becomes a catalyst for hatred, violence, and revenge.
16
Q
Ambition and Human Limits theme
A
- Victor and Walton display a deep ambition to make an impact on society and gain glory for themselves = downfall
- Their excessive drive to succeed leads to them overlooking the possible consequences of their actions.
- Victor, for example, is unable to accept the responsibility of his creation.
suggests that human beings are too willing to be driven by their ambitions, despite their imperfect and weak natures.
17
Q
The Destructive Cycle of Revenge theme
A
- after suffering mistreatment from both Victor and the De Lacey family, the monster decides to retaliate.
- By taking revenge, however, the monster ensures that it will never be accepted by human society.
- becomes monster’s ony possession
- eliminates any chance of ever connecting with society
Revenge has a powerful hold on both Victor and the monster, leading them both to monstrous deeds.
18
Q
The Nature of Prejudice theme
A
- The majority of the human characters in the novel assume that the monster must be menacing based on its physical appearance.
- The fact that the only person to accept the monster is a blind man, De Lacey, implies that it is correct: mankind is savage, and blinded by its own bias.
18
Q
The Loss of Innocence
A
- Frankenstein paints a picture of the corruption of youthful innocence.
- Victor and the monster’s change from innocent to vengeful results in the deaths of William, Justine, Elizabeth, and Clerval.
- innocence is temporary, and will always be either given up or destroyed by the cruel truth of human nature.
19
Q
Frankenstein as a frame story
A
- The story opens with Robert Walton, a captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, writing letters to his sister in England.
- Walton encounters Victor who has been travelling by a dog-drawn sled and has been weakened by the cold.
- Walton nurses Victor back to health and listens to his story about the monster he has created.
20
Q
The Romantic Period (1798-1837)
A
- personification and pathetic fallacy (literary device - human feelings are given to a non-human object that is found in nature. people think of pathetic fallacy as the projection of human emotions onto the weather)
- idealization (glorification) of women
- celebration of isolation and melancholy
- nature as a healing force.
- the supernatural.
- human individuality and spirituality.
- interest in the common man.
- scientific exploration and experimentation.
- industrial revolution
21
Q
secrecy motif
A
lies and deceit in the form of secrecy
* Victor keeps the monster a secret
* The secret of the monster keeps Victor from getting close with his family
* He tells no one that he thinks the monster is responsible for William’s death
22
Q
nature motif
A
- Feeling nervous, the creature steps outside and the fresh air revives him
- Connects to nature as a healing force
