Being one of the most mysterious novels of its time, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley leaves many questions unanswered. On this page, we have collected an extensive list of the most frequent questions about the novel. By clicking on the links, you’ll see the full versions of the answers.
🔝 Top-10 Frankenstein Questions
- Why did Mary Shelley write Frankenstein?
- Which theme best fits the story of Frankenstein?
- How are Frankenstein and Prometheus alike?
- What natural phenomena influenced Frankenstein?
- Who is Walton in Frankenstein?
- When does Frankenstein take place?
- What genre is Frankenstein?
- Who is Henry Clerval in Frankenstein?
- Who is the real monster in Frankenstein?
- Who is the narrator of Frankenstein?
❓ Frankenstein Q&A
The Creature’s connection to nature shows the readers his human side. Victor created him from the dead. But the monster is able to appreciate beauty. He can develop human feelings, such as love, loneliness, and fear. It reflects the evolution of his attitude to people and his place in the world.
At the end of the novel, Victor dies on Robert Walton’s ship in the Arctic Circle. The boat captain finds his body and the monster who mourns Victor’s death in the room. The Creature disappears from the boat to kill himself. Victor and the monster die in the end. But the nature of their deaths is different.
Victor Frankenstein travels to the Arctic icy waters in an attempt to escape from the monster he created. The weather conditions become dangerous when the ship goes North. Victor falls sick with pneumonia, and his health worsens. Soon after the boat reaches the land, he dies.
Science, Gothic, and romantic fiction genres are different. However, Mary W. Shelley managed to unite them. She created one of the most famous literary works of the XIX century. Frankenstein is a combination of all three categories. It presents all the traditional elements of each genre.
Victor Frankenstein created the monster out of arrogance. The scientist wanted to become like God. Making a living creature by himself gave him a sense of purpose and great power. Although Victor claimed that he was creating a monster to help humanity, he was doing it for himself.
Frankenstein’s monster does not have a name in the book. He is often referred to by his creator’s name. The creature’s namelessness is an artistic device that emphasizes his loneliness and isolation.
The quote from Chapter 20 depicts the theme of revenge. “I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery. Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful.”
The central idea is the ethical responsibility of scientists for the results of their discoveries. The novel discusses other essential themes. They comprise creation, revenge, nature, isolation, family, and love.
Prometheus and Frankenstein suffered for their deeds. They attempted to create a new life and faced the results of their actions. Both of the characters suffered from disregarding the laws of nature in favor of progress and creation.
By the end of the story, Victor loses all his humanity due to his desire for revenge. The monster killed everyone the scientist loved, making the wrath even worse.
The two main characters Victor and Walton, have several things in common. They are both incredibly ambitious and in love with science. They share a fascination with nature and the environment, although their love is manifested in contrasting ways.
The plot of the novel by Mary Shelley, is constructed on the conflict of heart and intellect. Victor Frankenstein faces the challenge of choice: to have a family or to have fame and recognition. He wants them all, but it is impossible. Therefore, he has to choose.
Henry Clerval, Victor Frankenstein’s close friend, helps the main character overcome months of fever in Chapter 5. To conceal the illness from his family, Henry takes on the responsibility of caring for sick Victor.
Frankenstein is a young university student. He has the goal of inventing a giant creature that would function like a normal human being. After bringing it to life, he is angry with the beast. It becomes angry and violent. Victor refers to it as “the miserable monster”, leaves home, and desires to kill the creature.
Frankenstein’s monster kills William, his creator’s younger brother, by pressing his throat so that he is not able to breathe. However, the creature is not the only one to be blamed. Victor Frankenstein’s irresponsible actions lead to tragedy in the first place. It is undoubtedly unwise to accuse the monster of the murder and ignore his master’s disruptive behavior.
Elizabeth in Frankenstein dies due to the monster’s attack, who strangles her. The incident happened when the couple was on their honeymoon, and Victor left her alone in the room.
Frankenstein is both a Gothic and romantic novel. It refers to romantic literature. Mary Shelley follows the characters’ feelings and tragic experiences. She chooses strong words and images that convey their fierce passions. The novel depicts the sad discord between nature and society. The theme is typical for romanticism.
The theme that fits Frankenstein best is that humans should not play God. Victor managed to create a living creature. But it came with unintended results.
Victor refuses to create a friend for the Creature. The Monster’s loneliness in the human world makes him aggressive. Victor cannot become his companion because he hates the Monster. That is why he decides to kill his creator.
Elizabeth Lavenza is an orphan child. She was raised by Victor Frankenstein’s family and later became his bride. Being an idealized character, she combines positive traits. Some of them are beauty, loyalty, and kindness.
Frankenstein is the protagonist of the world-famous book Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley. The scientist spent his childhood in a wealthy family. The knowledge of natural wonders absorbed him from an early age. Victor had few friends, including the brothers and Henry Clerval. Later he shared the secret of his monster with Henry.
Frankenstein’s monster enters the world with the hope of serving people, making friends with them. But he does not find a place for himself, and he takes revenge on his creator. Desperate and unhappy, the monster kills Victor’s family. He wants his creator to be as lonely as himself.
The events described in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein could not occur at that time. To many, the character of Frankenstein is a metaphor.
Victor builds his monster on a lonely island in the Orkney Islands chain in Scotland. This place is quiet, peaceful, and lonely, which is what the scientist wants to implement his plan. The scenery of the island is impressive and makes Victor think about his homeland.
Victor Frankenstein created two monsters in two different places. His first lab was a “cell” at the top of his house in Ingolstadt, Germany. His second lab was a miserable hut on one of the remotest islands of the Orkneys. Both of them were hidden and contained body parts and instruments for creating monsters.
Frankenstein is a novel that highlights the real problems and anxieties that people experience in life. Writing a fictional story, the author delivered the theme of horror and showed various consequences that can be brought by people’s unhealthy ambitions and desires.
When Victor Frankenstein and the monster finally meet, the creature tells a story of his moral transformation. Driven by the need to feel accepted but unable to fulfill it, he turns to the path of violence and revenge.
There are no less than nine theatrical productions of Frankenstein. The first one by Richard Brinsley Peake was named Presumption, or the Fate of Frankenstein. It debuted in 1823. In 2011, the National Theater presented its version of Frankenstein. Benedict Cumberbatch played the leading role. The actor is known for the Sherlock BBC series.
Victor Frankenstein has always been interested in the inner workings of the universe. Once he saw a bolt of lightning that struck a tree. This experience led to his explorations of lighting and electricity. When he was lightning, he became fascinated with the theories of galvanism. It is apparent that lightning and thunderstorms are the natural phenomena that influenced Frankenstein.
The editions of 1818 and 1831 are different in quite a few aspects, one of which is the number of chapters. The new version contains a different story of Elizabeth and several changes in the story structure.
Victor Frankenstein’s friend, Henry Clerval, dies by the monster’s hand. The guilt and grief for Henry nearly drove Victor mad. Due to this tragic event, Frankenstein seeks vengeance. It highlights the horrible results of his experiment.
Victor Frankenstein appears sympathetic and ambitious at first. Everything changes when he decides to create a living creature. His motivation to make a new life was selfish, which he later told Walton.
The character of Frankenstein goes through a couple of significant events at the age of 17. One challenging situation is that his mother, Caroline, gets sick and dies. But it’s not the end of the story. At the same time, Frankenstein had to leave his home for the German University.
The Creature from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is an intelligent being. Despite being brought to life by the questionable actions of the protagonist, his mind is human-like. He is not a zombie, as he consists of body parts of multiple sources and has an identity.
Mary Shelley uses personification, symbolism, similes, and metaphors. Figurative language in Frankenstein is a critical tool that reflects the plot subtexts. It refers to the characters and society.
The best example of irony in the novel is that Victor, who aims to create life, brings death to his family. Further, Victor, the creature’s maker, does not take care of it and leaves. Irony makes Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein a valuable piece of literature with a hidden meaning.
Overall, the face of the creature looked terrible. It was so scary and disgusting that Victor started to fear his invention and ran away from the apartment. In addition to the book’s descriptions, people created an image of Frankenstein’s face by watching the movies. These screen incarnations were also ugly and made the viewers vulnerable.
Victor Frankenstein creates a monster and promises him a bride of his kind not to be lonely. But the scientist changes his mind. He fears that male and female creatures will procreate. Their unnatural children could terrify and destroy future generations. By killing the bride, Victor condemns the monster to endless loneliness.
Victor Frankenstein refuses to create a female monster, destroying the last hopes of his Creature. The Monster realizes that he is destined to be alone. Now his main goal is to destroy Victor’s life, making him lose everyone he loves. The Monster says, “I will be with you on your wedding night,” and keeps his word by killing Victor’s fiancée Elizabeth.
Mary Shelley’s original version of Frankenstein was popular among her peers. But she wanted to respond to criticism, elevate the main character’s thinking, and clarify the plot details. The versions differ by the introduction, expanded Victor’s monologue, and the character’s portrait.
The real villain of Frankenstein is not the creature despite his appearance and evil deeds. The real monster and antagonist of the novel is Victor, his creator. He first gives life to the beast, pretending himself to be a God. Then, he abandons him, neither killing him nor teaching him the correct life principles.
Victor decided to make a female partner for the Monster out of fear and guilt. He realized his fault in creating the Monster. After listening to the Monster’s pleas, he agreed to create a being like him.
Mary Shelley was the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley, the poet. Their relationship was both professional and personal. The couple shared the same passion for literature and a circle of close friends.