Frankenstein - Chapter 1 - 3 Flashcards
(12 cards)
‘I was so guided by ____ that all seemed but _____’
‘I was so guided by a silken cord that all seemed but one train of enojyment for me’
- frankenstein chapter 1
- metaphor of the silken cord highlights the healthy, lucky childhood that Victor had - a great illustration of all that he lost through his ambition.
- Juxtaposition between the upbringing of the monster and Victor. Unlike the monster, who became devilish as a consequence of mistreatment, only hubris and ambition can be blamed for Victor’s transgressive behaviour = demonises the enlightenment that Victor represents
‘I was their…____’ / ‘a very mine of love to ______ them upon me’
‘I was their … idol’/a very mine of love to bestow them upon me’ - Victor, Chapter 1. Repeated religious imagery foreshadows his attempts to ‘play god’ as he appears to believe he is worthy of worship. Link to ‘A new species would bless me as its creator’ (Chapter 4)
‘The ________ and ________ creature bestowed upon them by ________’
‘The innocent and helpless creature bestowed upon them by heaven’ - Victor, Chapter 1
- Irony is created in that Victor’s failure to recognise the innocence of the monster or provide it with guidance as he was
- Contrast drawn between the unnatural birth of the monster and the traditional birth of Victor
‘looked upon Elizabeth as _____’/’Since till ____ she was to be ____/_____’
‘looked upon Elizabeth as mine’/’Since till death she was to be mine only’
- Frankenstein chapter 1
- wth is bro doing marrying his step sister…
Anyway, this quote highlights Victor’s possessive nature and the extreme love he shows. Once again, it can be juxtaposed with his belief that the monster is coming after HIM rather than Elizabeth at his wedding - the selfishness of male power. Presents Victor as entitled.
‘It was the ________ of ________ and _____ that I desired to learn’
‘It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn’
Victor, ch2
analysis: highlights the extent to which his ambition reaches, transcending the natural world as it reaches heaven - challenging gods power through his need to learn the secrets of heaven.
‘Wealth was an inferior object, but what glory would _______ the _________ if I could _______/________ from the human frame’
‘Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery if i could banish disease from the human frame’
victor ch2
A clear parallel is drawn between V and Walton - both desire glory over money.
structure - significance of Walton’s letters preceding this allows reader to draw parallels.
‘I beheld a ______ of ______ from an old and beautiful oak
‘I beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak.’ - Victor, Chapter 2,
Links to modern Prometheus - fire spurring Victor’s desire to learn as it symbolises the desires of Prometheus - foreshadowing his destiny?
‘Destiny was too potent, and her __________/_____ had decreed my ______ and ___________/___________’
‘Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction’ - Victor, chapter 2 - personification of destiny as a ‘judge’ of Victor’s destiny perhaps illustrates the chances victor had to change his path. Instead of a fixed destiny Victors is decided.
‘the first misfortune of my life - an _____, as it were, to my______/______’
‘The first misfortune of my life occurred - an omen, as it were, to my future misery’
Victor, chapter 3
- Victor ties the death of his mother to the destruction of his later life. This could be an act of scapegoating in his retrospective narration, as Victor attempts to shift the blame for his transgressive behaviour - suggesting he has not truly changed.
- It can also reflect the power and importance of connection and love for victor. Many of the destructive acts that victor does are done alone.
‘I _______/_______ the ________ of knowledge’
‘I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge’ - Mirrors ‘One mans life or death were but the price to pay for the acquisition of knowledge’ (Walton, Letter 4). Victor and Walton are presented as doppelgangers to emphasise the underlying cruelty of the enlightenment’s pursuit of rapid discovery
‘You have burdened your ______ with exploded systems and ______/______. Good God! In what _______/____ have you lived’
‘You have burdened your memory with exploded systems and useless names. Good God! In what desert land have you lived.’ - M. Krempe, chapter 3.
It is illustrated that Frankenstein does not know as much about the natural world as he believes. However, Victor argues ‘I had not been content with the results promised by the modern professors of natural science’ - implying that he intends to go beyond what Krempe, a representation of earthly human science, suggests is important in society. Instead, Frankenstein’s determination highlights once again his eagerness to learn, as well as his eagerness to learn what was considered the unknown and forgotten
‘The modern masters promise very little… and that the elixir of life is a ____’
‘the modern masters promise very little… and that the elixir of life is a chimera’.
M. Waldman chapter 3
- chimera: ‘a thing which is hoped for but is illusory or impossible to achieve’ - highlighting common scientific belief that life cannot be transferred nor resurrected.
- Chimera, in Greek mythology, is also ‘a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail.’
- mythological reference foreshadows that Victors pursuit of the ‘elixir of life’ will have consequences: a being of horror, similar to Frankenstein’s monster. Like the Chimera, the monster is too a collection of frantic and various body parts.
