Frankenstein Themes

• Victor becomes obsessed with the creation of the monster
• He becomes extremely ill during his creation of the monster, he is so obsessed he is no lonegr aware of his own condition
• Victor then becomes obsessed with the destruction of the monster in revenge for his killings.
• After cruel experiences he has suffered because of Victor, monster becomes obsessed with Victor's destruction
• Similarly to Victor, Walton is obsessed with exploration and voyag
• Shelley presents the devastating consequences of obsession

Quotes

• "It clings to the mind... like lichen on the rock"
• "Mad schemes"
• "I had deprived myself of rest and health"

• Walton, Victor, The monster all begin their stories by having desire for knowledge
• Monster wants to dicover the De Laceys' motives behind their behaviour and learn about language
• Victor's pursuit of scientific knowledge leads tot he death of his loved ones
• Walton's pursuit of knowledge nearly leads to death of his crew
• Victor and Walton's pursuit of knowledge takes away from their loved ones
• The monster laments the knowledge that he is "a monster", Shelley suggests certain kinds of knowledge can be destructive

Quotes

• "How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge"
• "It clings to the mind... like lichen on the rock"

• Justine, The Turkish merchant and Victor are all suspected of crimes
• Justine's trial is a "wretched mockery of justice"
• Every character pays for their actions: e.g. creation of monster = loss of brother and Justine, broken promise = loss of Elizabeth
• Monster believes it is just Victor creates him a companion, it is his 'duty'
• Monster seeks justice for his creation, isolation and wicked nature of mankind
• Monster acheives justice for his unfair treatment by burning the De Laceys' home
• He acheives justice for his creation by killing Victor's loved ones
• Shelley seems to criticises the unfairness and corruption of the justice system, particularly in its sentencing of Justine

Quotes

• "Had rather ten innocent suffer than that one guilty should escape"
• "Wretched mockery of justice"

• The central concern of the book is the consequences of ambition
• Walton and Victor have good intentions to give mankind an "inestimable benefit", but both fall victim their uncontrollable desire to realise dreams
• Walton and Victor's ambitions also affect the people around them 
• Unlike Victor, Walton abandons his “mad schemes” which are putting his crew’s lives at risk. Walton has possibly learnt from Victor’s inability to foresee results.
• Victor, however, is so wrapped up in the process of making his creature, he fails to consider what his responsibilities towards it will be once it comes alive. Doesn’t think what the results of unleashing a gigantic monster into the world might be
• Throughout the novel, Victor seems to pay for his extreme ambitions and his inability to care for the monster

Quotes

• "Child's blindness"
• Clings to the mind... like lichen on the rock"
• "Mad schmes"

• Justine is possibly convicted of killing william because of her lower-class status
• The judges already brand her as the killer, "rather 10 innocent suffer than one guilty get away"
• The Turk is condemned to death because French authorities do not like his race
• Victor is terated roughly in Ireland because he is foreign
• Monster is beaten up by villagers and the De Laceys because of his appearance
• Ironic that only person speaks to monster is the blind De Lacey, who can't judge him based on his appearance
• Victor is also guilty of prejudice towards the monster, rejecting him as he soon as he creates it because of his "demoniacal corpse" appearance
• The monster is in reality a compassionate character, he is misjudged based on his appearance

Quotes

• "Demoniacal corpse"
• "Had rather ten innocent suffer than that one guilty should escape"
• "The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me"
• "Pretty present"
• "I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity"

• The climax of the novel is taken up with the theme of revenge
• The monster 'acheives' revenge by burning De Lacey home and murdering Victor's family
• The monster's final act of revenge is killing Victor's companion, Elizabeth, Victor destroyed the monster's companion
• The novel ends with both of them in mutual pursuit and combat
• In the monster's final speech, he declares with tragic insight that he finds his crimes and character abhorrent
• Although revenge gievs them a destructive type of bond, it gives them a shared link to humanity and reason to live
• Context: In Shelley's diaries, she revealed she thought revenge was a savage and destructive emotion, this is reflected in the monster's final speech

Quotes

• "I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance towards mankind"
• "Men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other's bloods"
• "Wreak a great and signal revenge"

• The need for love is a crucial theme in the novel
• Close relationships are depicted as life giving force; "infused new life into his soul"
• Victor is unable to give his creation companionship, this has tragic consequences
• Victor neglects Elizabeth in fear that she will find out his terrible secret. This causes a lack of companionship for Victor
• Walton's need for a friend, in evidence from the beginning of the novel, is met when he meets Victor and hears his tale

Quotes

• "Infused new life into his soul"
• "Deep, dark, death-like solitude"

• Nature is also seen as a friend with a power to lift humans of gloom
• Shelley deliberatelychoses settings that would emphasise isolation, such as the remote vastness of the Arctic Circle, where the story begins and ends.
• Walton chooses to isolate himself in this frozen wasteland, yet soon regrets the absence of a true companion on his expedition.
• Victor also chooses to isolate himself, firstly at university in Ingolstadt.
• During the creation of the monster, Victor doesn't speak to his loved ones. After the creation, Victor becomes seriously ill. The isolation could be the cause of his illness
• He then chooses the remote Orkney Islands on which to create second creature, seems most comfortable when surrounded by the wilderness
• It is no coincidence Victor meets the Monster for the first time since its creation in the setting high up in the Swiss Alps. Both are drawn to it as a place where they can attempt to escape reminders of what they have done and become
• Shelley's point here is that isolation, can only bring about unhappiness

Quotes

• "Deep, dark, death-like solitude"

• Victor keeps his creation a secret from his loved ones
• He refuses to spend time with Elizabeth in fear she will find out his terrible secret
• Keeps it secret until he speaks to Walton
• Victor wishes to discover the secrets of nature; this has terrible consequences
• "Penetrate the secrets of heaven and Earth" - Suggests Victor's obsession
• "The physical secrets of the world" - The secret nature of scientific knowledge prompts Victor’s obsessive desire to go deeper in his quest for the secret of life

Quotes

• "Penetrate the secrets of heaven and Earth"
• "The physical secrets of the world"