Frankenstein - Walton's Letters Flashcards
Prose
When was Frankenstein first published?
1818
What is Walton’s first name?
Robert
To whom is Walton writing his letters?
His sister, Margaret
What is the purpose of Walton’s arctic voyage?
To discover a northeast passage to the orient
What does doppelgänger mean?
double
Which two characters in the novel might be considered doppelgängers?
Walton and Victor - they are both presented as hubristic individuals that fail to respect the power of nature.
What does hubristic mean?
Excessively proud/arrogant
What is the correct term for one character that might be considered the ‘double’ of another?
doppelgänger
What is the correct term to describe the structure that Shelley uses via Walton’s narrative?
epistolary frame narrative
What does epistolary mean?
in the form of letters
What is the correct term to describe a narrative told in the form of letters?
epistolary
What was the era called when Frankenstein was first published?
The Georgian era
What were the Georgians obsessed with?
science, exploration and new tchnologies
Why were many (like Walton) keen to discover a northeast passage?
It would mean a quicker and more profitable trading route with the east.
What was the name of the social movement of the 18th and 19th century that emphasised the importance of science and reason?
The Enlightenment
What was the Enlightenment?
A social movement of the 18th and 19th century that emphasised the importance of science and reason.
What was the name of the real-life British explorer who spent 4 years trapped in the arctic ice?
Robert McClure
Who was Robert McClure?
A real-life British explorer who spent 4 years trapped in the arctic ice.
‘I feel a cold northern breeze _________ upon my cheeks’ (page 13)
play
What technique is used here? ‘I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks’ (page 13)
personification
‘the region of __________ and delight’ (page 13)
beauty
‘What may not be expected in a country of eternal __________’? (page 13)
light
‘I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the ___________’ (page 13)
needle
‘may regulate a ____________ celestial observations’ (page 13)
thousand
What technique is used here: ‘may regulate a thousand celestial observations’ (page 13)?
hyperbole
‘I shall satiate my ardent ____________’ (page 13)
curiosity
‘the joy a ___________ feels when he embarks on a little boat’ (page 13)
child
What technique is used here: ‘the joy a child feels when he embarks on a little boat’ (page 13)?
metaphor
‘the ____________ benefit which I shall confer on all mankind’ (page 13)
inestimable
Before becoming an arctic voyager, we learn that Walton tried (and failed) to be a…?
poet
‘success _______ crown my endeavours’ (page 19)
shall
‘success shall _____________ my endeavours’ (page 19)
crown
‘proceed over the untamed yet ____________ element’ (page 19)
obedient
What technique is used here: ‘proceed over the untamed yet obedient element’ (page 19)?
juxtaposition
Mary Shelley was part of a group of thinkers and writers called….?
The Romantics
Besides Mary Shelley, which other writers might be considered a part of The Romantics?
Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth.
What social and political movement did The Romantics reject?
The Enlightenment
Whereas The Enlightenment suggested that the world should be understood through science and reason, The Romantics believed that we should focus on…
personal experience and individual intuition
Why were The Romantics fearful of The Enlightenment?
They prized the power of nature and thought that The Enlightenment was encouraging people to ‘play God’ and usurp nature.
Which character refers to The Rime of The Ancient Mariner?
Walton (letter 2)
What is the poem called that Walton refers to in his second letter?
The Rime of The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Whet happens in The Rime of The Ancient Mariner (the poem Walton refers to in letter 2, page 18)
A mariner (a sailor) trapped in the ice shoots an albatross - a giant seabird - causing his ship to be cursed.
Why does Shelley link Walton to the ‘ancient mariner’?
Although Walton says he will ‘kill no albatross’, Shelley suggests that, like the mariner, his hubris means he will try to usurp nature.
What is Walton referring to when he says in his second letter, ‘but I shall kill no albatross’? (page 18)
The Rime of The Ancient Mariner
‘a _________ which had the shape of a man’ (page 20)
being
a ___________ inhabitant of some undiscovered country’ (page 21)
savage
‘I begin to love him as a __________’ (page 22)
brother
‘the _________ of my heart’ (page 22)
brother
‘one man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of ____________’ (page 23)
knowledge
Who says this: ‘one man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of knowledge (page 23)?
Walton
‘let me reveal my tale and you will dash the ______ from your lips’ (page 23)
cup
What is being referred to here: ‘let me reveal my tale and you will dash the cup from your lips’ (23)?
Victor refers to the cup of forbidden knowledge, suggesting that Walton’s plans are foolish and will lead to sin
‘I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a ______ to sting you’ (page 24)
serpent
What is being referred to here: ‘I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you’ (page 24)?
Victor refers to knowledge using the metaphor of a serpent, a reference to the snake in the garden of Eden, suggesting it will lead to sin and blasphemy.
What relation does Walton compare Victor to?
His brother: ‘I begin to love him as a brother’ (page 22) ‘the brother of my heart’ (page 22)
What technique is used here: ‘I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you’ (page 24)?
metaphor/biblical imagery
How does Walton refer to the monster in letter 4, suggesting he sees him as uncivilised and inhuman?
a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered country’ (page 21)
‘the very _______ themselves being witnesses and testimonies of my triumph’ (page 19)
stars
What is the significance of Walton describing ‘the stars as ‘witnesses and testimonies of my triumph’ (page 19)
The personification presents nature as an awe-struck observer, reiterating Walton’s arrogant attitude towards the natural world.
What is the significance of The Monster being described by Walton as ‘a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered country’
It conveys how, even from the novel’s opening stages, The Monster is seen as ‘other’ and fundamentally inhuman.
What is the significance of Walton’s claims that he ‘regulate a thousand celestial observations’ (page 13)
Shelley uses hyperbole to present Walton’s plans as unrealistic and ill-conceived.
What is significant about Walton describing how he felt ‘a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks’ (page 13)
The personification presents the arctic elements as insignificant and unthreatening, conveying how Walton fails to understand the dangers of tis wild landscape.
What is significant about Walton describing the arctic as ‘untamed yet obedient’ (page 19)
Shelley’s use of juxtaposition conveys Walton’s arrogance. Whilst he accepts the Arctic has never been controlled by man, he believes it will inevitably submit to his will.
