Chapters 5-6
English Lit: Edexcel A Level Frankenstein, topic 5.2.3
Chapter 5
Victor finally finishes his creation, but he is horrified by the Monster's vile appearance and quickly abandons it in his apartment.
Victor creates the Monster
- Victor informs Walton of his success in creating new life in November as the Monster "agitated its limbs" with a "convulsive motion", echoing the notes from Luigi Galvani’s 1780 experiment with a dead frog’s legs.
- Rather than being overjoyed by his scientific triumph, Victor is horrified by the inhumane creation he has brought to life.
Victor's dream
- When Victor finally falls asleep, having left his creation in his workshop, he has a vivid nightmare.
- In the dream, Victor goes to kiss Elizabeth, only for her to transform into the rotting corpse of his mother.
- Victor wakes up to find the creature standing over his bed, so he rushes out of the house and spends the night pacing restlessly.
Henry Clerval
- Victor comes across Henry Clerval, who has just arrived from Geneva to begin his studies and whom Victor is very pleased to see.
- Victor brings Clerval back to his now-empty apartment.
Victor's illness
- Victor, weakened by both hard work and shock, falls ill with a nervous fever that lasts several months.
- Clerval nurses him back to health and gives him a letter from Elizabeth.
Tragedy is self-inflicted
- Shelley demonstrates the impact Victor's creation has had on both his physical and mental health, as an effect of his own pursuits.
- There is the suggestion that Victor's problems are self-inflicted, foreshadowing that tragedy occurs due to a person's own failings.
Chapter 6
Victor reads the letter from Elizabeth and longs to return to Geneva, although this is made impossible by the winter weather, among other occurrences.
Elizabeth's letter
- Elizabeth expresses concern for Victor's health and urges him to write home as soon as possible.
- Elizabeth relays how Justine Moritz, a girl who had previously lived with the family, has returned following her mother's death.
- Justine is "clever and gentle" and Elizabeth loves her dearly.
Victor's recovery
- Victor introduces Clerval to his professors at university, but now hates anything associated with natural philosophy.
- He turns, like Henry, to the study of language and literature and uses nature as a restorative tool, having a walking holiday in Ingolstadt with Clerval.
- "A selfish pursuit had cramped and narrowed me until your gentleness and affection warmed and opened my senses".
- Victor here is benefiting greatly from the restorative and calming power of nature.
Influence of Romanticism
- As a Romantic, Shelley is almost presenting the "selfish pursuit" as the Age of Enlightenment which preceded and was the catalyst for the Romantic movement.
- The Romantics favour nature over man and felt like nature could take us back to a more natural, happier sense of being than the greedy, industrialised world that was growing in the 19th century.
Test yourself on Chapters 5-6
How does Victor feel about his creation in Chapter 5?
How does Elizabeth describe Justine Moritz in her letter?
What kind of holiday does Victor go on in Chapter 6?