"Frankenstein" Preface & Letters

Poll

Would you risk your life to achieve something great or to make some great discovery?

• Yes

• No

Frankenstein

Unit 3

Preface and Letters

• Written in the Swiss Alps during stormy weather, reading German ghost stories

• Ghost story contest

• Purpose for writing the novel and what Mary Shelleyhopes to accomplish

• "Delineating of human passions" "Human nature"

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Preface

• Epistolary form

• Walton - Arctic explorer writing to his sister

• Heading towards North Pole

• Seeking a great purpose

• (Discover unknown land, source of magnetism, passage of travel)

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LETTER I

Major Themes Introduced

• Passion

• Ambition

• Science

• Power of Nature

• Solitude

• Imagination

• Exploration / Discovery

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LETTER I

Open Ended

In Letter 1, Walton explains that he is on his way to explore the North Pole. He writes:

I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible; its broad disk just skirting the horizon, and diffusing a perpetual splendour...Its productions and features may be without example, as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes.

What themes of romanticism do you notice in this description?

• Walton feels lonely

• He worries that he cannot find a friend on his intellectual level amongst the crew

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LETTER II

Isolation / Loneliness

"But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret..."

• This theme of ISOLATION / LONELINESS as an "evil" force will parallel with the experiences of both Dr. Frankenstein and the creature

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LETTER II

​Isolation / Loneliness

Open Ended

Do you remember the famous poem Walton is alluding to?

"I am going to unexplored regions, to “the land of mist and snow;” but I shall kill no albatross, therefore do not be alarmed for my safety."

• Very brief

• Walton informs his sister that his ship has set sail

• He has high hopes that he will succeed

• "No incidents have hitherto befallen us, that would make a figure in a letter"

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LETTER III

Just Checking In

• Trapped in ice - *Nature

• A figure passes by in the distance leading a dog sled

• "The shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature" (14)

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​LETTER IV

Trapped

LETTER IV

Walton Meets Victor

• When the ice breaks apart, they find a man who is also in a dog sled, close to death

• The second man (this is Victor Frankenstein!) refuses to get on board unless they are going to the north pole

• Victor hears of the figure they saw, who he calls a "daemon" and prepares to tell his story

• *FRAME NARRATIVE! We are getting introduced to Victor's story through Walton

• Other reasons:

• Creates suspense - we know that Victor is going to suffer

• Makes the narrative feel more real but calls its validity into question

• Draws connection between Walton and Victor / Victor and the Creature:

• We get to meet Walton and see how his story compares to Victor's

• The away Walton describes Victor builds a basis for comparison between Victor and his Creature later on

LETTER IV

FRAME NARRATIVE

Open Ended

What was Shelley's purpose of using a frame narrative for Frankenstein?

Victor and the Creature

• Walton describes Victor as a "wretched" and as a "creature"

• This is what Victor will call his own creation

• Shelley is making a point to set up a comparison between Victor and the Creature

• "His limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering. I never saw a man in so wretched a condition"

• "I never saw a more interesting creature..." -Walton, (p. 15)

• Shelley doesn't just compare Victor with the monster

• She also draws parallels between Victor and Walton!

• They are both searching for knowledge and fame at the potential cost of their own well being (Ambition / Arrogance)

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Victor and Walton

Open Ended

Near the end of Letter IV, Victor says to Walton

"You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been." (p. 17)

What do you think he is warning Walton about?

• Use classroom website for help on Unit 2 assessments

• Next Monday, 3/27, permanent 0%'s will be effective for the end of Unit 1 and temporary 0%'s will be put in for the first half of Unit 2

• Attend open office hours Mondays and Thursdays at 1:30

• Complete Window 3 Benchmark

• English 12 course ends on May 23rd​

Wrap Up