Frankenstein

Question 1

Clerval thesis statement

Answer 1

In the gothic novel Frankenstein, Henry Clerval serves as a vital foil to Victor Frankenstein, embodying the Romantic ideals of imagination, compassion, and moral responsibility that Victor increasingly abandons. Through Clerval’s idealism, nurturing presence, and tragic fate, Shelley exposes the dangers of unchecked ambition and the loss of human connection. As both a contrast to Victor and a casualty of his hubris, Clerval represents the emotional and ethical cost of a society that priorities knowledge over empathy.

Question 2

Clerval quotes

Answer 2

“he loved enterprise, hardship, and even danger for its own sake”
“Clerical called forth the better feelings of my heart; he again taught me to love the aspect of nature”
“his imagination was too vivid for the minutiae of science”
“I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval”

Question 3

Ambition thesis statement

Answer 3

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays ambition and the obsessive pursuit of knowledge as ultimately destructive forces. Through Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton, Shelley critiques Enlightenment ideals, warning about the human desire to transcend natural limits. Shelley uses the novel’s Gothic genre elements, narrative framing, and language choices to present ambition as both intoxicating and perilous.

Question 4

Ambition quotes

Answer 4

“learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge.”
“preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path.”
“I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation.”
“I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel”