Frankenstein - Walton's letters (I-IV) Flashcards
(13 cards)
‘I feel a ____ northern breeze ____ upon my cheeks’
‘I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks’ - Letter 1, Walton - Personification conveys Walton’s whimsical perception of the natural world, foolishly failing to recognise its’ overpowering dangers
‘Region of _______ and _______’ / ‘country of eternal ______?’
‘Region of beauty and delight’ / ‘country of eternal light?’ - Letter 1, Walton - Light imagery connotes a sense of hope, emphasising Walton’s idyllic view of the arctic - of which he forms an almost naive, picturesque depiction.
‘The joy a ______ feels when he _________ on a little _____’
‘The joy a child feels when he embarks on a little boat’ - Letter 1, Walton - Simile displays Walton’s child-like wonder, emphasising his naivety in embarking on this dangerous voyage = hubristic.
‘Success shall _____ my endeavours’ / ‘I shall satiate my ardent __________’
‘Success shall crown my endeavours’ / ‘I shall satiate my ardent curiosity’ - Letter 3, Walton - Repetition of modal verbs presents Walton as overly-confident in his belief that he can gain control over nature. This hubristic image is solidified by the metaphorical images of royalty, by which Walton elevates his own status.
‘Proceed over the __________ yet ________element’
‘Proceed over the untamed yet obedient element’ - Letter 3, Walton - Juxtaposition shows Walton’s hubristic belief in his power to be the first man to control nature.
‘Surrounded by ___’ / ‘vast and ________ plains of ice’ / ‘compassed round by a very thick ___’
‘Surrounded by ice’ / ‘vast and irregular plains of ice’ / ‘compassed round by a very thick fog’- Letter 4, Walton - Shelley’s use of natural imagery contrasts and mocks Walton’s foolish belief in his control over nature, as the arctic is presented as overpowering.
‘a ______ inhabitant of some _____________country’
‘a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered country’ - Letter 4, Walton Immediately judges the monster to be uncivilized and inhumane solely based on it’s appearance. This othering continues throughout the novel, emphasising how the monster is bound to suffering and isolation as a consequence of his unnatural creation.
‘______ creature’ / ‘so noble a _________’
‘noble creature’ / ‘so noble a creature’ - Letter 4, Walton - Repetition creates a sense of irony around Victor’s degraded character after having transgressed.
‘One man’s ____ or _____ were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the __________’
‘One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge’ - Letter 4, Walton - Walton’s cruel prioritisation of progressive discovery over respect for human life presents him as a typical symbol of the enlightenment, making him a doppelganger of Victor.
‘__________man! Do you share my _________?’
‘Unhappy man! Do you share my madness?’ - Letter 4, Victor - Exclamation suggests Victor is tormented by the psychological consequences of his transgressive behaviour.
‘Let me reveal my tale, and you will ____ the ___ from your lips’
‘Let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips’ - Letter 4, Victor - Biblical reference to the forbidden cup of knowledge from the garden of Eden used to suggest that overreaching human bounds of discovery will result in suffering.
‘I ardently hope that the _____________ of your wishes may not be a __________ to sting you’
‘I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you’ - Letter 4, Victor - Biblical reference to the serpent (devil) in the garden of Eden used to present the pursuit of knowledge beyond natural human bounds as a means of temptation to transgression and, consequently, damnation.
‘I shall kill no _________’
‘I shall kill no albatross’ - Letter 2, Walton - Intertextual reference to ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) foreshadows how Walton’s hubris will lead to his attempt to usurp nature and, consequently, cause his downfall.
