Frankenstein Synopsis

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Frankenstein Synopsis

• By Mary Shelley

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Frame Story

• The novel contains a number of "framing devices,"
  which are stories that surround other stories,
  setting them up in one way or another. Robert
  Walton's letters to his sister frame the story
  that Victor Frankenstein tells to Walton, and
  Frankenstein's story surrounds the story that the
  monster tells, which in turn frames the story of
  the De Lacey family.

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Letter 1

• Letter from Robert Walton the explorer to his
  sister Margaret Saville
• Details that he is a captain on the ship and
  headed to the North Pole to discover a passage to
  the Pacific, revealing the earths magnetism and
  discovering new things

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Letter 2

• Robert Walton writes another letter to his sister
  and discusses the fact that he has no friends,
  feels lonely and justifies his lonely passage

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Letter 3

• Robert Walton writes another letter to his sister
  and lets her know that the ship has sailed and he
  is excited and confident in his adventure

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Letter 4

• RW writes letter that details his ship getting
  stuck in the ice. While stuck, he encounters a
  man that is very sick. They offer assistance to
  the man however, the man is reluctant to get on
  the boat. Finally, he agrees but is too sick to
  talk for two days- everyone on the boat is
  curious.
• The last part of the letter states that the
  stranger will now tell his story. RWs story ends

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Chapter 1

• The stranger is Victor Frankenstein. VF is now
  telling his story. He came from a good family and
  his family adopted a girl (who was his cousin)
  Elizabeth Lavenza who his mother wants him to
  marry

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Chapter 2

• Elizabeth and Victor are best friends
• Discusses Henry Clerval- his best friend
• He discusses the fact that he became enchanted
  with the mysterious natural world and science
• Lightning strikes and he has electricity
  explained to him

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Chapter 3

• Plans to leave his family at 17 for schooling at
  Ingolstadt University
• Right before he leaves his mother catches scarlet
  fever from Elizabeth and on her deathbed she says
  she wants Victor and Elizabeth to marry
• Leaves for college and meets M Krempe who says
  all the things he studied have been wasteful
• Attends Professor Waldmans Chemistry class and
  his love of science returns

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Chapter 4

• Continues studying and realizes he is very
  interested in the creation of life
• Begins trying to create life in his apartment and
  becomes so obsessed he ignores anything and
  everything- even his own health

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Chapter 5

• Months later, on a stormy night he completes his
  creation and brings it to life and he is
  terrified!
• Walks into town and sees his friend Henry Clerval
  who ends of taking care of Victor for a few
  months while he is sick
• Once he is feeling better, Henry gives Victor a
  letter from Elizabeth that came while he was sick

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Chapter 6

• Letter from Elizabeth expresses her concern over
  his lingering illness and she encourages him to
  write her soon
• Victor introduces Henry to his professors but the
  thought of science and his creation makes him ill
  and he decides to go back home to Geneva
• Henry and Victor go on a long walk through the
  country

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Chapter 7

• Still at school, Victor gets a letter from his
  father that says Victors younger brother,
  William, has been murdered
• Returns home to Geneva, but he cant get in as the
  gates are locked. He visits the spot his brother
  was murdered and sees his creation and believes
  his creation is responsible
• Justine-his adopted sister, is accused of the
  murder and Victor is afraid to express what he
  believes happened

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Chapter 8

• Justine knows she is innocent but confesses to
  the murderer because she believes it is the only
  way she will be spared
• She is executed and Victor feels immense grief
  and guilt for the deaths of two members of his
  family

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Chapter 9

• Victor goes on a trip with his family to The ALPS
  and wanders off. As he wanders, he encounters his
  creature who wants to tell Victor his story.
  Victor follows him and the story begins.

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Chapter 10

• As he wanders to the top of a mountain, he
  encounters his creature who wants to tell
  Victor his story. Victor follows him and the
  story begins.

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Chapter 11

• Creature tells Frankenstein about his confusion
  of the world around him and how he had to learn
  everything first hand (speech, emotions,
  survival)
• Discusses how it felt to be shunned by humans and
  how he had to take refuge in a hovel where he
  observes a family

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Chapter 12

• Observes family from his hovel for a long period
  of time and realizes that the family is not
  always happy because they are poor and have
  hardships, so he collects firewood for them
• Sees himself for the first time and is horrified

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Chapter 13

• Realizes that Felix is unhappy. One day a lady,
  Safie appears. She does not know the language.
  Creature continues to observe and learns as she
  does

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Chapter 14

• Through eavesdropping he learns the history of
  the cottagers
• Delacey is old man all of them together make up
  the Delacey family
• Agatha and Felix are Delaceys children. Safie
  and Felix are in love
• Safies story is that her father became obnoxious
  to the government, Felix helped her father escape
  and then the Delaceys were thrown out of town
  and that is why they are in a cottage in the
  middle of the woods.

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Chapter 15

• Creature finds books in the woods, reads Paradise
  Lost and draws a comparison to himself
• Also finds Frankensteins journal which detailed
  his work on the creationcreature
• Wants friends, good heart. Waits until everyone
  but old man Delacey are gone from the cottage.
  Approaches wanting friendship and is denied that
  when the others show up unexpectedly

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Chapter 16

• Leaves for Geneva to find Victor. Swears off
  humans. Sees a little girl who falls into the
  river, saves her and is rewarded with a
  gunshot. He will never be accepted based on his
  looks only
• Runs into William, wants him to be his companion.
  Ends up killing him and planting the evidence on
  Justine
• Meets with Victor and tells him what he wants- a
  companion

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Chapter 17

• Creature wants a female companion. He guilt trips
  Victor into creating one for him and says that
  there is no need to worry, he (the creature) will
  be in touch with Victor
• Creature swears that he will take his female
  companion to a remote area and they will not
  bother anyone
• Victor feels somewhat responsible and agrees to
  the request

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Chapter 18

• Victor tries to put off the making of the
  creature for a while as he will need to go to
  England for parts
• His father begins to worry about him and fears
  Victor may not want to marry Elizabeth. This is
  far from the truth and Victor asks to take a trip
  to England before the marriage. His father agrees
  and his friend Henry Clerval goes with him

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Chapter 19

• Victor can not get any work done with Henry along
  on the trip, so he encourages Henry to stay with
  a friend
• Henry agrees to do that and Victor sets up a
  makeshift lab to begin his quest, even though the
  thought of creating another creature horrifies him

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Chapter 20

• While working on the second creation he begins
  thinking of the moral implications of creating a
  new creature. He is disgusted with himself and
  looks up to see creature peering in the window.
• Realizing the horribleness of it all, he smashes
  the female creation to bits in front of creature
• Creature is very upset and vows revenge- on
  Victors wedding night
• As he is packing up his lab, he gets a letter
  from Henry who wants to continue their trip. He
  takes the creation and rows out to sea and sinks
  it and considers dying alone at sea when a storm
  comes however, he ends up washing up on the
  shore of a town where he is greeted angrily and
  accused of a young mans murder

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Chapter 21

• The townspeople bring him to the town judge who
  then wants to see Victors reaction to the
  murdered mans body.
• Victor sees the body and it is Henry Clerval with
  the monsters hand prints on his neck
• Victor becomes very ill and is imprisoned
• A visitor arrives at the prison and it is Victors
  father
• At the trial, Victor is cleared of murder due to
  circumstantial evidence and returns back home to
  his father

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Chapter 22

• Victor receives a letter from Elizabeth-she is
  worried that he may not want to marry her. He
  does want to!
• He wants to tell Elizabeth about creature but
  only once they are married. He remembers the
  monsters words about his wedding night
• Victor and Elizabeth marry and depart for the
  family cottage for their honeymoon

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Chapter 23

• On the first night of their honeymoon, Creature
  makes true on his promise and kills Elizabeth
• Victor returns home to tell his father who is so
  grief stricken he dies just a few days later
• Victor finally tells a judge in Geneva about the
  monster however, the judge does not believe him
• Victor resolves to kill the creature himself

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Chapter 24

• His whole family is destroyed, so Victor departs
  for the North Pole to find creature
• It is there that he tells Robert Walton his story
  and asks Robert to continue looking for creature
  even after his death
• Victor dies and the crew on RW ship hears a noise
  in Victors room- it is creature mourning Victor
• Creature says he never meant to be evil and
  wishes to die himself- he walks off into the
  darkness