1.1.2

Chapters 1-3

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Chapter 1, Volume I

Victor describes his childhood and upbringing. He explains that he was born into a wealthy and distinguished Genevese family.

Illustrative background for Victor's familyIllustrative background for Victor's family ?? "content

Victor's family

  • Victor's father, Alphonse, married his mother, Caroline, when her father died, leaving Caroline an orphan.
    • Victor's parents adored and idolised him as a child.
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Elizabeth Lavenza

  • Victor introduces Elizabeth, an orphan who was adopted by Caroline and brought from Italy back to Geneva.
  • Alphonse and Caroline love Elizabeth very much and Victor comes to believe that one day he will marry his 'more than sister'.
    • This relationship would have seemed less peculiar in the 19th century than it may to modern readers.

Chapter 2, Volume I

Victor describes his close relationship with Elizabeth and his blossoming interest in natural philosophy, which was the 19th-century term for modern 'science'.

Illustrative background for Victor's familyIllustrative background for Victor's family ?? "content

Victor's family

  • Victor and Elizabeth are brought up together.
  • Victor's parents have a second son and settle permanently in Geneva.
  • Victor becomes very close friends with Henry Clerval, the son of a Genevese merchant, although their interests are very different.
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Natural philosophy

  • Victor's interest in natural philosophy is sparked by a book by Cornelius Agrippa and develops through avidly studying the works of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus, too.
    • But other people consider the ideas of these men to be outdated.
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Thunderstorm

  • Victor witnesses a very violent thunderstorm when he is 15 years old and is struck by the destructive power of nature.
    • Young Victor is introduced to nature's power and man's inability to control it.
      • This was a concept which interested Romantic thinkers, like Shelley's husband, Percy.
  • Victor begins to question the ideas of his previously beloved alchemists, which now seem outdated.

Chapter 3, Volume I

Now that Victor is 17 years old, his parents decide he should continue his education at the university of Ingolstadt.

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Caroline's death

  • Just before Victor is due to leave for university, Elizabeth catches scarlet fever.
  • Caroline nurses Elizabeth back to health, but then contracts the illness herself and dies.
    • Caroline's final request is for Elizabeth and Victor to marry and have children.
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University

  • At first, Victor is ridiculed for his previous study of outdated alchemists.
  • Victor later finds Professor M. Waldman, who takes Victor on as a kind of 'disciple' and does not dismiss his previous studies.
    • This convinces Victor to pursue studies in the sciences, which decides his 'future destiny'.

Jump to other topics

1Plot Summaries

2Characters

3Key Themes

4Authorial Method

5Context

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