Summary
Summary English Literature Frankenstien
Basic class notes of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein Covers summary plot and list of characters
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GCSE AQA FrankensteinPlot summery
Frankenstein tells the story of gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein who succeeds in giving life
to a being of his own creation. However, this is not the perfect specimen he imagines that it
will be, but rather a hideous creature who is rejected by Victor and mankind in general. The
Monster seeks its revenge through murder and terror.
Social and historical context
The novel was first published in 1818. It was written originally by Mary Shelley as a short
story when the poet Lord Byron suggested that each member of a group of friends write a
ghostly tale to keep themselves entertained.
Key plot details
Robert Walton, an explorer, tells how he has met Victor Frankenstein in the Arctic
after earlier having seen a 'gigantic figure' crossing the ice.
Victor tells of his childhood and his caring family, particularly of his love for his foster
sister Elizabeth. His mother dies of fever just before he leaves to study at university.
While at university, Victor's interest in science becomes an obsession. Victor uses
dead bodies to experiment on and creates a monster made of body parts. He is
immediately disgusted by the thing he has created and abandons it.
Victor's brother William is murdered and Justine Moritz, a family servant, is executed
for it. However, Victor believes the Monster is to blame after witnessing it at the
scene of the murder.
The Monster and Victor meet on the Glacier of Montanvert in the Alps. The Monster
tells the story of how it has survived and of the time it has spent becoming educated.
The Monster asks Victor to admit responsibility for his actions and show some
sympathy. He also pleads with Victor to build a female companion. Victor agrees.
Victor finds a remote spot in the Orkneys where he begins to construct the female
creature but suddenly, realising the consequences of what he is doing, he tears it to
pieces. The Monster, who has followed Victor, is enraged and in revenge kills
Victor's best friend, Henry Clerval.
Victor and Elizabeth marry, but Victor finds his new wife dead at the hands of the
Monster. He vows to hunt the creature down.
In Walton's last letters, back in the Arctic, Frankenstein dies and the Monster, still
miserable, heads off, probably to its own death.
Main characters
Victor Frankenstein
The Monster
Secondary characters
Robert Walton
Elizabeth Lavenza
Henry Clerval
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