Frankenstein Comprehensive Revision (A-Level English Literature Edexcel)

Margaret Saville

Walton's sister whohe sends the letters to

Married ("Mrs. Saville")

Caroline Beaufort

Victor's mother

Dies of scarlet fever, caught when nursing Elizabeth who also contracted it but lived.

Dies when Victor is 17

Alphonse

Victor's kind and loving father

Eager for Frankenstein and Elizabeth to get married

Dies from grief after William, Justine, Henry and Elizabeth have died.

William

Victor's younger brother

Is killed by the creature

Ernest

Victor's 2nd youngest brother

Wishes to join the army

Rarely mentioned

Elizabeth

Adopted from Italy by Frankenstein family.

Her and Victor call each other 'cousin'.

Killed by the creature on her wedding night for Victor.

Henry Clerval

Close friend of Victor

During Victor's nervous illness upon creating the creature, Clerval was his "only nurse" (Ch 5)

Killed by the creature in Ireland by strangulation.

Justine Moritz

Servant for the Frankenstein family

Accused of the Creature's murder of William and executed

Victor and Elizabeth fail to find evidence of her innocence.

M. Krempe

One of Frankenstein's science tutors at Ingolstadt

Criticises Frankenstein and discourages him from Alchemy, encouraging him to start his natural philosophy studies again.

Only voice of criticism Victor has heard thus far in his life.

M. Waldman

One of Frankenstein's science tutors at Ingolstadt

Professor of chemistry who sparks Victor's scientific discovery of the "big questions" such as the origin of life.

Blind old man (De Lacey)

The creature grows fond of him whilst observing the De Laceys.

After finally meeting, treats the creature with compassion as he cannot see his appearance.

Represents humanity without prejudice.

Felix

The creature learns to read through watching Felix teach Safie.

Struck the creaature with a stick upon finding him with his blind father

Moves his family out of their cottage out of fear of the creature.

Agatha

Felix's sister

Tries to keep a good mood but is often sad about her families poverty.

Turkish merchant

Felix's fiance.

Wished to engage Felix against her father's wishes.

Escaped Turkey (she is of Turkish descent) to live with the De Laceys in their cottage.

Mr Kirwin

Irish magistrate who accuses Victor of Clerval's murder.

Gains sympathy for Victor after seeing his misery and tells him he has a visitor. Victor worries it is the creature but is instead his father.

Galvanism

Invented in the late 18th century by Luigi Galvani

Involved the idea of reanimating a person using electrical currents

Tested on dead criminals.

Physiognomy

Pseudoscience involving assesing a persons character (intelligence, aggression, etc) based on their outward appearance

Discussed seriously by academics during the 19th century.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke popularized the idea that all are born with a blank state and become good/evil based on their actions in life.

Prometheus

Frankenstein uses ANALOGY and ALLUSION to the God Prometheus in Greek mythology who stole fire from Olympus and gave it to mankind

The French Revolution

Shelley was radical and was supportive of The French Revolution of 1789 during the writing of Frankenstein. The creature represents revolution against social order.

Paradise Lost

Written by John Milton, it depicts Adam cursing God for creating him and Satan as an evil, vengeful fallen angel. The creature sees himself as both.

Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote 'A Vindication on The Rights of Women', a feminist book which was considered to be extremely radical for it's time.

She died while giving birth to Mary Shelley.

The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a movement in the ??th century which focused on scientific progress and mastering over nature.

Victor represents this movement and the resulting punishment is reflectivve of the Romantic opinion on Enlightenment values.

Romanticism

Mary Shelley was a second generation Romantic.

Romantics were interested in the natural world and human emotion. They opposed the industrial revolution due to its negative effects on nature.