"Frankenstein": Chapters 1-3

Open Ended

Do you think that your early childhood experiences were an important part of your life and how you've developed?

Unit 3

Chapters 1-3

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Frankenstein

Chapters 1-2

Victor's childhood experiences and influences

• Geneva

• "Distinguished" family

• Natural beauty

• Leisurely studies fueled by interest

• Creative freedom

• ​MAJOR CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS

• Elizabeth - Victor's cousin and future fiance who comes to live with them when he is 4 years old

• Henry Clerval - only close friend

• "My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence"

• How will this compare/contrast to the way Victor treats his creation?

• Foreshadowing/suspense!

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Chapters 1-2

Victor's childhood experiences and influences

• Shelley uses Victor's idyllic childhood to:

• Build suspense

• To intensify and foreshadow the eventual destruction of Victor's relationships

• Contrast the bliss of Victor's childhood with the first days of the creature's life in Chapter 5

• Build up a sense of stability for the reader so she can tear it down

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Victor's idyllic childhood

Multiple Select

What is the purpose of describing the idyllic nature of Victor's childhood? (More than one answer!)

• To bore the reader with insignificant details

• To intensify and foreshadow the eventual destruction of Victor's relationships

• To compare and contrast Victor's childhood with the creature's early life experiences

• To show that Victor lived in poverty

• Inspired by electricity when he sees a tree get destroyed in a storm

• Electricity as divine power and symbol of ability to create / destroy life

• Early occultist influences (Cornelius Agrippa) reveal interest in alchemy and natural sciences

• Interest in principles of life and death

Chapters 1-2

Victor's childhood experiences and influences

• Natural philosophy - natural sciences

• Electricity

• Galvanism - animal electricity / electrophysiology

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Chapter 1-2

Victor's influences

• Victor's hubris (arrogance):

• Although we know of Victor's eventual demise, he doesn't seem to blame himself. He refers to fate multiple times and blames others for his ignorance

• Deep friendships - a Romantic concept

• These relationships will be threatened constantly in the novel by either natural phenomena or by Victor's creation (who comes to understand how important close relationships are to humans)

Chapters 1-2

​Major Themes

• Elizabeth gets scarlet fever but recovers

• Caroline (Victor's mother) gets scarlet fever and dies

• This feeds into Victor's obsession and experimentation with the questions of life and death

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Chapter 3

​Victor is confronted with death

Poll

If you knew how to bring people back from the dead, would you do it?

• Yes

• No

Chapter 3

Victor discovers modern science

• Drive to discover the secrets of nature - He searches for "God-like" knowledge

• Ambition

• Prometheus

• Victor arrives at Ingolstadt and studies natural philosophy and modern sciences

• ​M. Waldman inspires him to accept modern sciences - chemistry

• "The penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; rhey can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows".

Multiple Choice

Shelley refers to Victor as "The Modern Prometheus". As we've learned, Prometheus was a Greek demigod who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. His decision to steal secrets from the gods caused him to be punished with eternal suffering and misery.

What do you think this might mean for Victor, if he succeeds at unlocking the mysteries of life?

• If Victor succeeds he will become overwhelmed and tormented with suffering

• If Victor succeeds he will become popular and famous

• Check classroom website and lesson introduction for English 12 resources

• On Monday, permanent and temporary 0%'s will be put in for the end of Unit 1 and beginning of Unit 2

• Complete Window 3 Benchmark by March 30th

• Attend English 12 open office hours on Mondays and Thursdays

• English 12 course ends on May 23rd

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Wrap Up