The letters and Walton's existence give Frankenstein more verisimilitude.
Prometheus-a Titan who is said to have shaped humans out of clay and gave them the spark of life. Victor is called "the modern Prometheus".
injunction-the act of joining together
What is the purpose of Walton's story of the Russian lady?
Why is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a motif in Frankenstein?
Walton signs differently in all the letters he sends to his sister. One he calls himself R. Walton, another Robert Walton, etc.
Is Walton only sailing for success?
paroxysm-sudden, violent outburst
fastidious-finicky, hard to please
The frame of Victor Frankenstein being on Walton's boat makes the story in medias res because he is still running from his creation, and the creature does not come on the boat until Victor finishes his tale.
syndics-people chosen to represent a corporation, usually to carry out business
penury-extreme poverty
chimerical-wildly fanciful and highly unrealistic
tyros-novice
multifarious-having many parts
galvanism-the application of electricity to the body
progeny-descendant
Agrippa-elixir that extends life/occultist
Paracelsus-occultist/rejected Agrippa
Albertus Magnus-scholar/Catholic saint
Why did Victor read and love the work of all 3 men above if they are all so different?
chaise-open carriage for 1 or 2 people
repugnance-antipathy
pg 37: "Chance-or rather...natural philosophy." is an example of personification, like in Everyman and Doctor Faustus.
panegyric-formal and elaborate praise
mien-demeanor
pedantry-obsessive attention to details
charnel-houses-crypts
Victor began the creation of a human man with feelings of hesitation, indecisiveness, and curiosity. Did he do it because curiosity outweighed the hesitation and indecisiveness? Did he have any idea of the consequences?
Why does he make his creature bigger than him? He is the creator; he should be bigger to show dominance and ensure that his own creature can never overtake him.
He becomes God essentially by creating life from death.
incipient-beginning to appear
lassitude-weariness or pleasant indifference
Why did he get disgusted upon the completion of his creature?
He did not purposefully animate the creature, but did he intend to at some point?
palpitation-abnormally fast heartbeat
How long will his fear prevent him from telling people about his creation?
pertinacity-persistence
fetter-chain, restrain
vacillating-indecisive, hesitating
Victor shows many symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the entire novel.
encomiums-formal expressions of high praise
diffident-shy, not confident
dilatoriness-slowness, tardiness
acceded-accepted
perambulations-travels about
salubrious-healthful
Shelley juxtaposes happiness and grief at the end of Chapter 6 and the beginning of Chapter 7.
cabriolet-carriage made for 2 people
Shelley also uses the weather and seasons to enhance mood (pg 62).
precipices-cliffs with vertical faces
He does not consider his creation human even though it was meant to be a human.
irony in Justine's name: The word just is in her name, but she was executed unjustly, in cold blood.
exculpated-pardoned
execrated-cursed
adduced-brought forward as evidence or to support an argument
Elizabeth stands up for Justine, but as a last ditch effort, how much did she think it would help?
obdurate-unyielding
Victor considers the creature an extension of himself.
pg 75: "I wandered...to my fellow-beings." juxtaposition of good and evil within Victor
ephemeral-transitory
The poem on page 82 is Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Mutability".
satiated-satisfied to the point of boredom
maw-mouth of an animal
The creature does not speak until page 83. When he tells his tale to Victor on Montavert, it is a story within a story being told by Victor within a story told by Walton told to Margaret.
What is the symbolic significance of nature and of Victor climbing Montavert, especially alone?
Possible theme: "If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us" (82).
The creature speaks in older English. He pleads to be heard by Victor 5 times on pages 84-85.
slaked-cooled or refreshed
Is either Victor's or his creature's tale biased, and if so, how much and why?
offals-refuse or waste, especially of a dead animal
Chapter 11 juxtaposes what happens to people when they see the creature and when they don't.
Why is he so curious about the cottagers?
Why doesn't the creature have a name?
viands-foodstuffs
scion-descendant
sallies-outbursts, excursions
Does the creature want a mate so he can be like the cottagers?
The cottagers suffered from corruption of blood, a result of injustice, like Justine.
expostulate-to reason with someone so he or she doesn't do something
True love always finds a way to flourish.
Why does Shelley have the creature study Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and Sorrows of Werter? She could have chosen any books.
disquisitions-dissertations
How did the creature find Victor's journals?
The fact that the cottagers move out highlights the creature's abhorred nature.
Why did he take revenge by burning down the cottage?
imprecate-call down curses on someone
sanguinary-marked with blood
feint-a feigned appearance
How do Victor and the creature know for sure that the creature will change with the possession of a mate?
Why does Victor want to marry Elizabeth?
conjecture-the expression of an opinion without sufficient proof
treble-triple
exordium-beginning
"I was the slave of my creature" (132). His plan completely backfired, or at least completely failed.
sedulous-diligent, persevering
variegated-varied
Clerval was a real Romanticist. He is described by a Romanticist poet, Wordsworth, writing about nature.
Why do Clerval and Victor go to Perth?
The beauty and tranquility of nature brings out Victor's traumatized and shattered disposition.
environs-suburbs
What happened at Chamounix that they left so quickly?
remissness-carelessness
languid-lacking in vitality
Why does Victor always need to be alone?
sophisms-false arguments
inexorable-unyielding
promontory-part of a plateau that juts out
Like William and Justine, Victor is wrongly accused and must feel the pain that his creature caused.
augury-omen, indication
gaolers-jailers
turnkeys-the jailer in charge of the keys
Why did Mr. Kirwin take such good care of Victor in prison?
assizes-trials
Why is "homesickness" in French instead of English like the rest of the book?
torpor-sluggish activity
The book is an extended metaphor for fears and figuring out how to conquer them before they conquer us. It also gives us ideas about how to control situations beyond our control and how to keep good intentions from becoming bad actions.
Is Victor crazy because he never told anyone about his creation? The secret is ripping him apart.
consternation-panic, bewilderment
paradisiacal-like paradise
Why are Victor and Elizabeth's future children referred to as "objects of care...to replace those of whom we have been so cruelly deprived" (161)?
Interjections make us remember that this story is being told orally and was not written down and edited for Walton. Victor uses interjections quite frequently.
Why is there no description of the actual wedding?
Where did Elizabeth get the land on the shores of Lake Como if she was an orphan?
The climax is when Elizabeth is killed.
page 168: juxtaposition of law, seen in the magistrate, and unlawfulness, seen in the creature's vengeful killings
chamois-soft, pliable leather
Will the magistrate comply with Victor's demands?
"By the sacred earth...despair that now torments me" (172). Why does Victor swear to the Night instead of God?
adjuration-earnest request
extricate-liberate
page 173: juxtaposition of good and evil, reality and dream
Why are Walton's words not included within Victor's tale?
Walton and Margaret are foils to Victor and Elizabeth.
deputation-appointing a person to represent a group of people
immured-confined, enclosed
irradiation-ray of light
uncouth-awkward, unmannerly
opprobrium-the loss of respect from shameful actions
page 185: juxtaposition of Victor's, Walton's, and the creature's points of view
Prometheus-a Titan who is said to have shaped humans out of clay and gave them the spark of life. Victor is called "the modern Prometheus".
injunction-the act of joining together
What is the purpose of Walton's story of the Russian lady?
Why is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a motif in Frankenstein?
Walton signs differently in all the letters he sends to his sister. One he calls himself R. Walton, another Robert Walton, etc.
Is Walton only sailing for success?
paroxysm-sudden, violent outburst
fastidious-finicky, hard to please
The frame of Victor Frankenstein being on Walton's boat makes the story in medias res because he is still running from his creation, and the creature does not come on the boat until Victor finishes his tale.
syndics-people chosen to represent a corporation, usually to carry out business
penury-extreme poverty
chimerical-wildly fanciful and highly unrealistic
tyros-novice
multifarious-having many parts
galvanism-the application of electricity to the body
progeny-descendant
Agrippa-elixir that extends life/occultist
Paracelsus-occultist/rejected Agrippa
Albertus Magnus-scholar/Catholic saint
Why did Victor read and love the work of all 3 men above if they are all so different?
chaise-open carriage for 1 or 2 people
repugnance-antipathy
pg 37: "Chance-or rather...natural philosophy." is an example of personification, like in Everyman and Doctor Faustus.
panegyric-formal and elaborate praise
mien-demeanor
pedantry-obsessive attention to details
charnel-houses-crypts
Victor began the creation of a human man with feelings of hesitation, indecisiveness, and curiosity. Did he do it because curiosity outweighed the hesitation and indecisiveness? Did he have any idea of the consequences?
Why does he make his creature bigger than him? He is the creator; he should be bigger to show dominance and ensure that his own creature can never overtake him.
He becomes God essentially by creating life from death.
incipient-beginning to appear
lassitude-weariness or pleasant indifference
Why did he get disgusted upon the completion of his creature?
He did not purposefully animate the creature, but did he intend to at some point?
palpitation-abnormally fast heartbeat
How long will his fear prevent him from telling people about his creation?
pertinacity-persistence
fetter-chain, restrain
vacillating-indecisive, hesitating
Victor shows many symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the entire novel.
encomiums-formal expressions of high praise
diffident-shy, not confident
dilatoriness-slowness, tardiness
acceded-accepted
perambulations-travels about
salubrious-healthful
Shelley juxtaposes happiness and grief at the end of Chapter 6 and the beginning of Chapter 7.
cabriolet-carriage made for 2 people
Shelley also uses the weather and seasons to enhance mood (pg 62).
precipices-cliffs with vertical faces
He does not consider his creation human even though it was meant to be a human.
irony in Justine's name: The word just is in her name, but she was executed unjustly, in cold blood.
exculpated-pardoned
execrated-cursed
adduced-brought forward as evidence or to support an argument
Elizabeth stands up for Justine, but as a last ditch effort, how much did she think it would help?
obdurate-unyielding
Victor considers the creature an extension of himself.
pg 75: "I wandered...to my fellow-beings." juxtaposition of good and evil within Victor
ephemeral-transitory
The poem on page 82 is Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Mutability".
satiated-satisfied to the point of boredom
maw-mouth of an animal
The creature does not speak until page 83. When he tells his tale to Victor on Montavert, it is a story within a story being told by Victor within a story told by Walton told to Margaret.
What is the symbolic significance of nature and of Victor climbing Montavert, especially alone?
Possible theme: "If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us" (82).
The creature speaks in older English. He pleads to be heard by Victor 5 times on pages 84-85.
slaked-cooled or refreshed
Is either Victor's or his creature's tale biased, and if so, how much and why?
offals-refuse or waste, especially of a dead animal
Chapter 11 juxtaposes what happens to people when they see the creature and when they don't.
Why is he so curious about the cottagers?
Why doesn't the creature have a name?
viands-foodstuffs
scion-descendant
sallies-outbursts, excursions
Does the creature want a mate so he can be like the cottagers?
The cottagers suffered from corruption of blood, a result of injustice, like Justine.
expostulate-to reason with someone so he or she doesn't do something
True love always finds a way to flourish.
Why does Shelley have the creature study Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and Sorrows of Werter? She could have chosen any books.
disquisitions-dissertations
How did the creature find Victor's journals?
The fact that the cottagers move out highlights the creature's abhorred nature.
Why did he take revenge by burning down the cottage?
imprecate-call down curses on someone
sanguinary-marked with blood
feint-a feigned appearance
How do Victor and the creature know for sure that the creature will change with the possession of a mate?
Why does Victor want to marry Elizabeth?
conjecture-the expression of an opinion without sufficient proof
treble-triple
exordium-beginning
"I was the slave of my creature" (132). His plan completely backfired, or at least completely failed.
sedulous-diligent, persevering
variegated-varied
Clerval was a real Romanticist. He is described by a Romanticist poet, Wordsworth, writing about nature.
Why do Clerval and Victor go to Perth?
The beauty and tranquility of nature brings out Victor's traumatized and shattered disposition.
environs-suburbs
What happened at Chamounix that they left so quickly?
remissness-carelessness
languid-lacking in vitality
Why does Victor always need to be alone?
sophisms-false arguments
inexorable-unyielding
promontory-part of a plateau that juts out
Like William and Justine, Victor is wrongly accused and must feel the pain that his creature caused.
augury-omen, indication
gaolers-jailers
turnkeys-the jailer in charge of the keys
Why did Mr. Kirwin take such good care of Victor in prison?
assizes-trials
Why is "homesickness" in French instead of English like the rest of the book?
torpor-sluggish activity
The book is an extended metaphor for fears and figuring out how to conquer them before they conquer us. It also gives us ideas about how to control situations beyond our control and how to keep good intentions from becoming bad actions.
Is Victor crazy because he never told anyone about his creation? The secret is ripping him apart.
consternation-panic, bewilderment
paradisiacal-like paradise
Why are Victor and Elizabeth's future children referred to as "objects of care...to replace those of whom we have been so cruelly deprived" (161)?
Interjections make us remember that this story is being told orally and was not written down and edited for Walton. Victor uses interjections quite frequently.
Why is there no description of the actual wedding?
Where did Elizabeth get the land on the shores of Lake Como if she was an orphan?
The climax is when Elizabeth is killed.
page 168: juxtaposition of law, seen in the magistrate, and unlawfulness, seen in the creature's vengeful killings
chamois-soft, pliable leather
Will the magistrate comply with Victor's demands?
"By the sacred earth...despair that now torments me" (172). Why does Victor swear to the Night instead of God?
adjuration-earnest request
extricate-liberate
page 173: juxtaposition of good and evil, reality and dream
Why are Walton's words not included within Victor's tale?
Walton and Margaret are foils to Victor and Elizabeth.
deputation-appointing a person to represent a group of people
immured-confined, enclosed
irradiation-ray of light
uncouth-awkward, unmannerly
opprobrium-the loss of respect from shameful actions
page 185: juxtaposition of Victor's, Walton's, and the creature's points of view
