Frankenstein Journal One

Chapters 1 – 2

            When I started reading this book, I was extremely surprised. I have always associated the word “Frankenstein” with the evil monster that people see in movies or on television. However, the first two chapters of this book have nothing to do with that “thing”. It actually has more to do with a man named Victor and the story of his childhood. Nonetheless, why in the world would a book called Frankenstein have some guy in it named Victor recalling his childhood? That had me totally befuddled, and thus I decided to take it upon myself to conduct further research on this topic. As it turns out, Victor’s entire name is Victor Frankenstein (hence why the book is called Frankenstein). I concluded that most of society, including myself, has this whole Frankenstein story mixed up.  First of all, Victor Frankenstein is the man who constructs the evil monster, but he is not the evil monster himself. Second of all, his last name was probably used for the title so that way the book could easily function as a biography (I could be wrong, considering I’m only two chapters into the book).

I get this feeling that by the time I’ve completed the book I’ll have a good amount of knowledge on Victor’s life and how his interest in natural philosophy leads to his tragic downfall, but not on the gruesome stories in regards to the creature he creates. I sincerely hope that my predictions are incorrect and that Shelley succeeds in combining a man’s life story with the malevolence of a creature gone mad. After all, as discussed in the preface, she intended for Frankenstein to be a ghost story.

Chapters 3 – 4

            At the beginning of Frankenstein, I got the impression that Victor was the perfect child. However, chapters three and four made me realize that he was far from that. Prior to leaving for The University of Ingolstadt Victor’s mom dies of scarlet fever and his departure was thus delayed a few weeks. He spends this time mourning with his family, but he eventually has to leave to pursue his education. What I don’t get is how at one moment he’s grieving the loss of his mother, and the next moment he’s able to pick himself up and leave his entire family. Even worse, Elizabeth tells Victor to write letters to them on a regular basis. “…they were all there – my father again to bless me, Clerval to press my hand once more, my Elizabeth to renew her entreaties that I would write often…” (Shelley 30). Yet, Victor never writes any letters. He forgets about everyone once he starts working on his creature. His family was probably worried sick about him. “…my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature. And the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent…but I could not tear my thoughts from my employment…” (Shelley 39 – 40). Victor is turning into someone who even the reader cannot recognize or understand. Within the course of about ten pages, he goes from being a normal person who adores pretty much everyone and everything to some crazed mad man who has forgotten about the outside world and all of the love and enjoyment it has to offer.

Chapters 5 – 6

The creature that Victor has been working on for some time now has finally come to life. The way in which Victor reacts to this sight, however, is one that might not initially be expected. “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart” (Shelley 42). Why is he now so repulsed by the thing that he once considered his prize possession? I get this hunch that Victor never really expects his project to succeed. He experiences many failures during the course of it and it takes almost two years to finish. Therefore, once the creature actually takes in a breath and opens its eyes, it’s easy to see why Victor responds the way that he does. He becomes incredibly horrified of this inhuman monster and basically wants it to go away. Although, I do find it weird how someone could devote their life to a project and become so obsessed with it only to completely reject the finished object and wish it had never been created. Additionally, it’s almost comical how Victor becomes so happy, later on, when he and Clerval return back to his room and he sees that the monster is gone. I don’t think he realizes that he is responsible for anything this “thing” does. Lastly, it’s easy to predict that someone will eventually be hurt or possibly even killed by the wrath of this being.

Chapters 7 – 8

            I feel like the main point Shelley is trying to convey to the reader, thus far, is that Victor made a horrible mistake when he created the monster.  In chapter seven, we learn that William has been killed. However, we do not know who killed him. Upon hearing this news, Victor heads straight to Geneva. It’s when he sees the monster lurking in the woods, where William’s body was discovered, that his worst suspicions come true; William was murdered by the creature! Even worse, Justine (a poor innocent girl who works as a maid for the Frankenstein family) is blamed for the killing and is wrongly sentenced to death. “Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts” (Shelley 71). Victor knows that it is because of his careless work that two people, who he held close to his heart, are now dead. He is also aware that they are not the last either. There will be more deaths to come thanks to the blood thirstiness of Frankenstein’s creature. It looks as though Victor’s life is on a downward spiral. Who knows, maybe even he will end up dead, by the creature, at the closing of the book. I’m kind of hoping to hear more murder stories (it makes the plot more interesting). Better yet, maybe even the creature himself will eventually take on the job of narrator and depict his life (instead of Victor depicting it for him).