The Journey of Frankenstein

Giselle Burges, Rebekah Dollinger,Taylor Laurence, Diana Le, Nicole Liang

Journey

A traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time.

The physical journeys that the characters went on is central to the development of the novel as a whole.

Relationship to Frankenstein

Victor, the creature, and Robert all set out on journeys in the novel. These journeys contribute not only to the development of each character, but provide the backbone of the story. Without these journeys we wouldn’t have the story.

Walton’s Journey

“What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle; and may regulate a thousand celestial observations, that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever” (Shelley 1).

This is why Walton set out on his journey to the North Pole. He wanted to discover the wonders of science on his journey, but instead he finds Victor, and learns of Victor’s story of scientific desire gone wrong, and the horrible consequences that can occur when you let science get out of hand. The only way we know about Victor’s story is because Walton went on his journey to the North Pole.

Creature’s Journey

“‘The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge’” (Shelley 69).

The creature is telling Victor what he has had to go through in his journey to find Victor. Everywhere he goes he is rejected by mankind, and there is no place for him other than the desolate places that no man dares to dwell. This experience has disheartened him for all he wants is to be accepted, however, all he receives is rejection. He demands a companion from Frankenstein so that he won’t be alone any more.

Victor’s Journey

“My departure for Ingolstadt, which had been deferred by these events, was now again determined upon. I obtained from my father a respite of some weeks. It appeared to me sacrilege so soon to leave the repose, akin to death, of the house of mourning and to rush into the thick of life” (Shelley 24).Victor’s journey to Ingolstadt gives him access to the tools and knowledge he needs in order to make the creature. Without this journey, the creature would have most likely never been created and the whole story wouldn’t have happened. It is the most important journey in the novel.

Journey to the North Pole

“As I still pursued my journey to the northward, the snows thickened, and the cold increased in a degree almost too severe to support” (Shelley 152).

Victor is speaking of how he chased the creature through all of Europe, eventually leading to the North Pole. There Victor meets Walton and divulges his story to him, warning him of the unperceived dangers scientific discovery can have. This final journey ends in the death of both Frankenstein and the perceived suicide of the creature.

Thesis

•The story develops.

•The central story primarily develops.

•In the novel “Frankenstein”, the central story primarily develops through the journeys of Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature.

•In the novel “Frankenstein”, the central story, man and his creation, primarily develops through the journeys of Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature.

•In the novel “Frankenstein”, the central story, man and his creation, primarily develops through the journeys of Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature as examples of how one’s environment impacts one’s destiny.

•In the novel “Frankenstein”, the central story, man and his creation, primarily develops through the journeys of Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature as examples of how one’s environment impacts one’s destiny; Victor’s travel to Ingolstadt leading to his creation, the creature’s travels through human cruelty, and Walton’s journey to the North Pole.

Cosmic Irony

“Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin” (Shelley 23).

Victor sees fate as having formed his life for catastrophe. He felt that he was supposed to create this amazing feat of science that would inspire awe throughout the scientific community and the world. Instead, his destiny was to create a creature that he found hideous and repugnant, which was nothing close to what he was expecting. Shelley uses this to show how we can never have complete control over what happens to us in our lives, just as it was her fate to be a witness to the tragic deaths of her children.

Hubris “Life and death appeared to me ideal

bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world….No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs” (32).

Victor is full of himself. He sees himself as this marvelous scientist that is the only one capable of creating life. He almost seems to be comparing himself to the gods, which always ends badly. It’s this pride that eventually leads to one’s downfall that Shelley is conveying. By trying to create life in unnatural ways, Victor is faced with unperceived challenges. This can also be applied to science during that time period onward to the present. We should never let our own human pride blind us into believing that we are greater than nature.

Man versus Society

“If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction” (Shelley 69).

The creature in the novel is changed for the worse due to his experience with the society of the human race. Shelley shows how society can drive the once innocent to bloodlust and rage. It makes you think whether being evil is an outcome of one’s genetics or of one’s environment.

Citations

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