Frankenstein is a very eerie and icy novel as it is set in a cold and quiet environment that may make people nervous and on edge as it is in a foreign country. Frankenstein’s “monster” is a living creation from man which seemed impossible at the time as it was only believed that God has created man which puts Frankenstein in a God like position as he can give life and may also abandon his creation. Frankenstein is full of fear and guilt and on the night of the monsters creation he has a disturbing dream of Elizabeth morphing into a dead corpse as she ages rapidly “they became livid with the hue of death”. The use of the dreams adds a supernatural element to the story but allows Shelly to explore and expose the unconscious world. Victor is obviously tormented and his nightmare seems to suggest that whatever he touched will end in death or destruction.
“Morning, dismal and wet”, no change since the night as the monster is still alive so is the awful weather. When Frankenstein awoke he glanced upon “the church of Ingolstadt”, Churched represent a holy and pure place as the house of God where no evil is allowed to enter, Frankenstein may have felt safe there. Shelly gave a very affective imagery of the scene, which definitely creates a gothic atmosphere “rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky”. An extract of `Coleridge’s ancient mariner is used, the poem is similar to the story and in this extract it expresses how Frankenstein may be feeling as he is the only that knows of what he has done and is lonely because he has abandoned his creation and his friends for something that he does not want. However the extract can be interpreted as how the “creature” may feel that he is the only one of its kind and he is alone and is unwanted.
It was after the extract that the mood changed when Frankenstein met Clerval who had noticed that Frankenstein was looking “thin and pale,” Frankenstein reminded of the monster, once again fears that he may encounter the monster. He is relieved when he notices the monster had left his apartment, he jumps for joy yet he is still haunted by its presence and turns ill. This is the point of the hero’s downfall as he is acting cowardly and weak he is also panicking, letters are sent to his family informing them of his illness and Frankenstein has not confirmed that he is recovering. This shows that Frankenstein was lacking friendship, which drove him to a mental breakdown as companionship is a human need however he has taken this away from the “creature”. It is Elizabeth seen as his love that makes his day more cheerful showing that he needs to feel loved as a human and not forgotten which also something he has taken away from his creation that he can relate with.
The chapter ends with a different view on the “creature” as it is now seen as an evil mistake and a “catastrophe” where as it was previously seen as a scientific breakthrough and something exciting. This idea makes people at the time think of how science may be investigated and bring evil upon us. The “creature” is not mentioned in the final part of the chapter however it is in Frankenstein’s mind and also in ours as we know that he exists which makes people want to read on in an urge to know what happens next.
By David Warrilow
