| Why did Mary Shelley write Frankenstein? | She wrote it as a response to a challenge by Lord Byron to think of a ghost story. |
| What discussions influenced the development of her idea? | She was listening to her husband, Shelley, and Lord Byron talk about the nature of life, and thepossibility of creating a creature. |
| In the preface, what does the author say she is trying to preserve? | She is trying to “preserve the truth of the elementary principles of human nature.” |
| What is the structure, or form, of the novel? | It is an epistolary novel. This means it is written as a series of letters. |
| Who was writing the letters? | They were written by Robert Walton. |
| To whom were the letters written? | They were written to Walton’s sister, Mrs. Margaret Saville, in England. |
| Where was the writer, and why was he there? | He was in the Arctic, exploring unknown regions. |
| How did he meet Victor Frankenstein? | He and the crew found Frankenstein stuck on a large piece of ice. They rescued him andbrought him aboard their vessel. |
| How did Robert feel about his guest? | He liked Frankenstein, and hoped they would become friends. |
| Why was Frankenstein in the Arctic? | He was pursuing the creature. |
| Who told this part of the story? | Victor Frankenstein told his story to Robert Walton. |
| How did Elizabeth come to live with the Frankensteins? | Caroline Frankenstein saw her with a peasant family, and offered to raise her in bettercircumstances. |
| Who was Frankenstein’s closest friend? | It was Henry Clerval. |
| What was one of the themes of the writers who influenced Frankenstein? | The authors he liked wrote about raising ghosts or devils. He tried to mimic them. |
| What natural phenomena influenced Frankenstein? | He watched a tree being hit by lightning during a storm. He became interested in the theories ofelectricity and galvanism. |
| What two major events happened to Frankenstein when he was seventeen? | His mother died and he went to the university at Inglostadt to study. |
| What goal did Frankenstein decide to pursue? | He wanted to try to renew life in a corpse, to “bestow animation upon lifeless matter.” |
| How did Frankenstein feel when his experiment succeeded, and the creature came to life? | He was horrified and disgusted. |
| What happened to Frankenstein the day after he completed his creation? | He became ill with a fever and delirium for several months. |
| Who took care of Frankenstein during his illness? | Henry Clerval did. |
| What did Clerval give Frankenstein when he was better? | He gave him a letter from Elisabeth. |
| How did Frankenstein and Clerval spend the next several months? | Frankenstein introduced Clerval to the professors. They studied and went for walks. |
| What news did the letter from Frankenstein’s father bring? | Frankenstein’s youngest brother, William, had been murdered. |
| What did Frankenstein see just outside the gates of Geneva as he was returning home? | He saw the monster he had created. |
| Who was accused of committing the murder, and why? | Justine, who lived with the family, was accused. She had not been with the family on the nightWilliam was murdered. Several people had seen her the next morning looking confused andfrightened. A servant found the locket that Elizabeth had given to William in Justine’s pocket. |
| What was Frankenstein’s reaction to this accusation? | He was sure the creature had committed the murder. He was torn between wanting to saveJustine and not wanting to reveal his horrible secret to anyone. He considered himself the realmurderer. |
| What did Frankenstein do about his dilemma? | He appealed to the courts to let Justine go free, and told his family that she was innocent, but hedid not tell anyone about the creature. |
| What happened to the accused person? | She confessed under pressure from her priest. She was convicted and hanged. |
| What was Frankenstein’s state of mind after the trial and its conclusion? | He was filled with remorse for all he had done. He was also fearful that the creature wouldcommit other crimes. |
| Where did Frankenstein go to seek relief? | He traveled to the Alpine valley and the village of Chamounix. |
| Whom did Frankenstein meet after he had ascended to the summit of Montanvert? | He met his creature. |
| How did Frankenstein react to this meeting? | He was full of rage and horror. He threatened to kill the creature. |
| What did the creature want of Frankenstein? | He wanted Frankenstein to listen to the account of his life so far. |
| How did the creature feel when he first felt life? | He felt confused because of all the new sensations |
| What was the reaction of the villagers the creature encountered? | They shrieked threw rocks and other things at him and eventually drove him away from the village |
| Where did the creature take shelter? | He stayed in a lean-to attached to a cottage |
| What observations did the creature make about the people in the cottage? | He saw how they cared for each other he saw how the younger boys treated the elder man with great respect and that they were often sad and hungry |
| What does the creature learn to do, and how does he learn to do this? | He learns to speak and then read he does this by observing the cottagers he found a poor man that had several books and he would sit and read them |
| What was the elder DeLacey’s reaction when the creature entered the cottage and started speaking with him? | He was blind and could not see how hideous the creature was so he invited him in and agreed to listen to his story |
| What was the reaction of the rest of the DeLacey family when they saw the creature? | Agatha fainted Sophie fled and Felix hit him with a stick until he left the cottage |
| What did the creature do at the cottage when he returned and found that the De Lacey’s had moved out? | He burns the cottage |
| What was the reaction of the man whose daughter was saved from drowning by the creature? | He accused the creature of attempting to drown her, then shot him when he followed them |
| What discovery did the creature make when he approached another human? | He found out it was William Frankenstein |
| What did the creature do to this person? | He strangled him, killing him |
| How did the creature feel after his deed? | He felt good that he could bring despair to Victor |
| What did the creature tell Frankenstein about the locket? | He put it in Justine’s pocket so she would be blamed for the murder |
| What did the creature ask Frankenstein to do, and why? | Create a female companion for him |
| How did Frankenstein react to this request? | At first he refuses, but then attempts when the creature promises to stop killing |
| What threat did the creature make when he saw Frankenstein destroy his second creation? | He threatens to go on a rampage and kill all the people that Victor cares about |
| What happened to Frankenstein when he landed his boat? | He was accused of Henry Clerval’s murder |
| Who had been the creature’s most recent victim? | Henry Clerval |
| What happened at Frankenstein’s trial? | He got sick |
| What event occurred next in Frankenstein’s life? | He gets married to Elizabeth |
| What happened on Frankenstein and Elizabeth’s wedding night? | The creature kills Elizabeth |
| What happened to Frankenstein’s father as a result of this latest tragedy? | He gets sick and dies |
| What was the magistrate’s response when Frankenstein told him the entire story of the creature? | He is extremely shocked |
| What did Frankenstein do after he left the magistrate? | He tries to stop his creation |
| What request does Frankenstein make of Robert Walton? | Victor requests the Robert continue his search to kill the creature |
| What happened to Frankenstein at the end of the novel? | He dies |
| What happened to the creature at the end of the novel? | He goes off to die by himself |
Frankenstein Study Questions
February 18, 2020