Frankenstein Notes
Pacemaker Classics
Adapted by T. Ernesto Bethancourt and illustrated by James McConnell.
Copyright © 1986 by David S. Lake Publishers.
Table of Contents
Opening Letters: 1
Chapter 1: 11
Chapter 2: 17
Chapter 3: 20
Chapter 4: 23
Chapter 5: 28
Chapter 6: 32
Chapter 7: 35
Chapter 8: 40
Chapter 9: 45
Chapter 10: 51
Chapter 11: 57
Chapter 12: 62
Ending Letters: 65
Introduction
Frankenstein is a well-known horror story about a scientist who creates a monster.
The book may contain surprises compared to the movie adaptations.
Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the monster.
The monster has a surprising personality.
Frankenstein hopes to help people with his work.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein to win a bet with her husband and a friend in 1816.
They were telling ghost stories and decided to see who could write the best horror story.
Mary Shelley was the only one who finished her story, creating a horror story that would never be forgotten.
Opening Letters
Letter 1
Date: December 11, 17__
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England (his sister)
Walton is on a great adventure and is far north of London.
He feels happy with the cold wind, which blows from the North Pole.
He dreams of the North Pole as a place of beauty and peaceful seas with constant sunshine.
He has dreamed of this trip since he was a boy, reading books in Uncle Thomas's library.
His father's will initially prevented him from going, but now he has the money and must pursue his dream.
He has been preparing for the trip by spending time in cold weather and sailing on fishing boats to the Far North.
He will travel to Archangel by horse-drawn sled and then rent a boat to sail to the North Pole.
Letter 2
Date: March 28, 17__
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton is in Archangel, closed in by ice and snow but happier than ever.
He is beginning his great adventure but misses having a friend to share it with.
He has a good crew and captain, eager to leave, but they must wait for the weather to clear.
Spring has come early after a terrible winter.
He wonders if he will ever see his sister again and asks her to keep writing to him.
Letter 3
Date: July 7, 17__
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton is safe and well on his way, writing from a ship headed home from Archangel.
He doesn't know if he will ever see England again.
They are very far north, with big sheets of ice floating by, but the men are not bothered.
The weather is nice when the wind blows from the south, but not as warm as in England.
Nothing much has happened yet, but he is still excited about his adventure and determined to succeed.
Letter 4
Date: August 5, 17__
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton writes about a strange event that occurred on July 31st.
The ship was in a dangerous spot surrounded by ice and fog.
The fog cleared, revealing a dog sled with a figure the size of a giant about a half mile away.
The next morning, the ice began to break up.
The sailors found a dog sled on a piece of floating ice with only one dog alive and a European man inside.
The man was very cold and tired.
The man asked where the ship was going before agreeing to be rescued.
Walton explained they were going to the North Pole, and the man agreed to come aboard.
The man was thin and looked like he had been through a lot of trouble.
He was given a drink and soup and took two days before he could speak.
The man was sad and spoke to no one, but the captain asked him why he had come so far on such a dangerous trip.
The man said he was after someone who ran away from him, traveling on a dog sled.
The captain mentioned they had seen a dog sled the day before picking him up.
The man was full of questions about the direction and appearance of the other man.
Walton didn't ask questions, feeling it was not his business.
The man stayed on deck, searching for the other dog sled.
Walton promised to have someone watch for him.
The stranger's health improved, but he remained quiet and spoke only to Walton.
Walton found him gentle and interesting and hoped he could be the friend he wished for.
Letter 5
Date: August 13, 17__
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton likes the stranger more every day, admiring him but also feeling sorry for him.
The stranger looks unhappy but never talks about his sadness.
Walton told the man about his trip to the Pole and his life's dream.
The stranger reacted with an awful look of sadness, covering his face and crying out.
He then asked Walton about his childhood and dreams.
The stranger said that friends are important, and he once had a friend like that but has now lost everything and is doomed to be alone.
He tells Walton that there is only one reason for his life now, and after that, his life will be ended.
He says he is beyond any help and that Walton will know he is right once he hears his story.
The stranger will tell Walton his story tomorrow, and Walton plans to write it down in his own words as much as possible.
Chapter 1
The stranger's name is Victor Frankenstein, from Geneva, Switzerland.
His family is well-known and has held public office for many years.
Victor wants to tell about how his father and mother met.
His father's friend, a rich businessman, lost all his money but kept his word to those who trusted him.
Victor's father visited his friend and offered help, but his friend refused.
His father visited again when his friend was dying and found the daughter crying over her dead father's body.
His father took care of her, and two years later, they married.
After the wedding, they traveled to many countries, particularly Italy, due to the mother's poor health.
Victor was born in Italy during one of these vacations.
When Victor was five, his parents visited a poor farmer's hut where they found a little girl named Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was different and drew Victor's mother to her.
Elizabeth was not the farmer's daughter; her real father had been forced to leave Italy.
When Elizabeth's father died, she stayed with the farmer and his family.
Victor's mother adopted Elizabeth.
Victor and Elizabeth grew up together, loving each other deeply, and called each other "cousin."
Elizabeth loved Switzerland, the mountains, and the lakes, and she was interested in art and beauty.
Victor was different; he was interested in science and what made things the way they were.
Chapter 2
When Victor was seven, his brother Ernest was born, and his parents stopped traveling.
They had a house in Geneva and a country house on the shore of a lake where they spent most of their time.
Four years later, his brother William was born.
Victor had only one close friend, Henry, the son of a Geneva businessman.
Henry dreamed of the days of King Arthur and made up plays about knights and fair ladies.
Henry always wanted Elizabeth and Victor to act out these plays.
Elizabeth was the soul, Henry was the heart, and Victor was the mind.
Henry told stories of heroes and adventurers, Elizabeth pursued her art, and Victor began to study science.
Victor read any books he thought might explain the wonders of science, finding many in his father's library.
Victor's father dismissed these books as "sad garbage," which angered Victor and made him seek out more such books.
Victor tried spells to change lead into gold and make devils appear, but nothing worked.
When Victor was fifteen, a terrible storm came up, and lightning hit an oak tree, turning it into small pieces of wood.
A friend of Victor's father, a scientist, explained how lightning had destroyed the tree, sparking Victor's interest in electricity.
This was the true beginning of Victor's life as a scientist.
He forgot about the books filled with magic spells and began to study nature and true science.
He felt as if the lightning had been a sign from heaven, but he didn't know that his study of science would someday destroy his life and all that he loved.
Chapter 3
When Victor was seventeen, his parents decided he should go to a university in Germany.
Elizabeth got sick with scarlet fever, and his mother took care of her.
Elizabeth got better, but his mother caught scarlet fever.
His mother knew she was dying and called Elizabeth and Victor to her bedside.
She wanted them to marry one day and was sad to leave them, hoping to meet them again in another world.
She died quietly, and they were all very sad.
Victor stayed home for a few more weeks with Elizabeth.
When it was time for him to leave, his friend Henry came over.
Elizabeth, Henry, and Victor spent that last day together, loving each other more than ever before.
The next morning, Victor left for the university.
After a long, hard trip, Victor arrived in Germany.
The next day, he went to the university and met his teachers.
Dr. Krempe, who taught science, was rude and dismissive of Victor's previous reading.
Krempe gave Victor a list of books to buy and told him about Dr. Waldman, who taught chemistry.
Victor was not planning to go to Krempe's classes because of his rudeness.
Dr. Waldman was everything Krempe was not: pleasant, smooth, and a good teacher.
Waldman's lesson excited Victor, who visited him the next morning.
Waldman didn't laugh at the books Victor had read but said they started it all.
Waldman told Victor to study all kinds of science, not just chemistry, comparing it to studying all sides of a building.
He showed Victor his workshop and gave him a long list of books to read.
Victor spent the next two years studying science, making discoveries in chemistry that made him well-known at the university.
He didn't go home for a visit and lived for his books and classes.
Chapter 4
Victor thought of going home to Geneva to visit his family and friends.
He became interested in where life came from and decided to study human biology.
To study life is also to study death.
He saw how death gives way to life as bodies give food and life to worms.
He knew that he had come upon the secret of life and could make things come to life.
He warns that you cannot be told this secret.
Victor created life.
Victor knew that he could bring the dead back to life.
He robbed graves and cut up dead bodies.
Victor lived in a secret room at the top of his house near the university.
Chapter 5
Over a year passed, and Victor received letters from his father but couldn't stop working to reply.
One dark night in November, he finished his work.
At one o'clock in the morning, he put together all his instruments to give life to the thing on his table.
The creature opened its yellow eyes, breathed hard, and its arms and legs shook.
Victor had chosen his face as beautiful.
The creature's yellow skin barely covered what was underneath it.
His yellow eyes almost matched the color of his skin.
Victor was filled with horror and ran from the workshop to his bedroom.
He dreamed he saw Elizabeth, but when he took her in his arms to kiss her, she changed.
Her face looked dead.
He saw worms crawling all over her dress.
He woke up with a start.
The dim, yellow light of the moon came through his bedroom window.
He saw IT-the thing he had created.
The creature lifted my bedcovers.
His yellow eyes looked straight at him.
His black lips were set in a horrible grin.
From his mouth came an awful sound.
He reached toward him.
Victor ran from the room and outside.
He spent the night in the yard.
When morning came, he began walking through town.
He couldn't go back to his house, where the creature waited.
He found himself at the stage coach stop.
The coach stopped.
His friend Henry stepped out.
We shook hands warmly, and began to walk toward the university. When I saw Henry, I forgot the monster. I felt happy for the first time in months. It was almost as good as being back home.
I thought of my father, my brothers, and dear Elizabeth. But what was Henry doing here? I asked him.
Victor brought Henry inside when he confirmed the monster wasn't inside.
He couldn't stop laughing and jumping around.
Victor fell to the floor in a fit, beginning a sickness that lasted for months.
Henry took care of him.
Victor didn't want to study science again and went to Henry's classes, studying history and languages.
The school year ended.
He looked forward to leaving Germany.
Chapter 6
Victor received a letter from his father saying William was dead saying "the print of the murderer's finger on his neck."
He went back to Switzerland right away.
When I got to Geneva, it was quite late. The city gates were shut. I spent the night in a nearby town. In the morning, I rented a small boat. My father's house was across the lake.
As I rowed, I saw a storm over a nearby mountain. The lightning flashed. The thunder roared.
I landed the boat, and began to walk toward my father's house. Lightning flashed again. For a moment, I thought I saw the shape of a person near some trees. This was near the spot where William's body had been found. Could the killer have returned?
Lightning flashed again. I saw the thing he made.
I knew right away what had happened. The monster had killed my baby brother. Only some- thing that wasn't human could have hurt such a sweet child as William.
I couldn't tell the truth to the police in Geneva.
They would call me a madman and lock me up. No one would believe that a creature I had made from lifeless parts had killed my youngest brother!
do chapter 7, 8, 9,10
Chapter 7
An innocent girl, Justine, was charged with the murder of William because she had the picture William was carrying at the time of his death.
She said she didn't know how she got the picture.
Victor knew who really killed William but couldn't tell anyone.
I was the true murderer. I alone knew that I had brought the killer into the world. How could I tell them? Could I stand up in court and say, "I am guilty? I have made a monster, and now he has killed my brother"?
I knew Justine was innocent, and someone had to speak up for her.
Elizabeth spoke for her at the trial.
Justine was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Chapter 8
Justine said she'd rather die than live with the knowledge that people thought she killed William.
Victor felt like he was the one being punished; he was in agony.
Justine was killed.
Guilt eats at Victor.
I have no friend, Elizabeth, but you.
We may never be happy again, Elizabeth.
Victor's father thought fresh air out in the mountains might help, so Victor left to walk in the mountains.
Chapter 9
Victor traveled to the mountains to try to forget his sadness and guilt.
Nature's beauty made him feel better for a while.
One day, in the mountains, he saw the monster coming toward him.
Victor got extremely angry.
He yelled at the monster, calling him the devil.
The monster said he was only what Victor had made him.
Did I ask you, Maker, to mold me from clay? Did I beg you to give me life?
The monster said he was alone and unhappy and that he needed Victor to listen to his story.
The monster said that if Victor would give him a woman like himself, he would go away and never bother anyone again.
Victor refused at first.
Chapter 10
Victor struggles between his hatred of the monster and his pity for it.
The monster says that he was good at first but was turned bad by people's reactions to his looks.
The monster tells Victor that he learned to read and write and began to understand the world.
He found a lost bag with books.
The monster says that he watched a family and learned how they lived.
He learned language by watching them.
He wanted to be friends with them, but he knew he would scare them because of how he looked.
Chapter 11
Victor listened to the monster's story.
The monster hid near a family's house and watched them.
He learned their language and how they lived.
The monster found some books and learned to read.
He read Paradise Lost and other books, learning about good and evil.
He realized he would never be part of human society.
The monster admits to killing William because William called him ugly. He framed Justine for the murder.
He asks Victor to create a female monster for him.
Chapter 12
Victor is horrified by the monster's request.
The monster promises to leave humanity alone if Victor creates a companion for him.
Victor worries about creating another monster.
Victor thinks about what would happen if the two monsters had children.
He wonders if the female monster would be worse than the first one.
Victor agrees to create a female monster.
But I must find a place far away from my family. I must keep this work a secret. I will go to England.
Ending Letters
Letter 1
Date: September 2, 17--
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton writes that Victor Frankenstein has told him his story.
Victor is sick, but Walton hopes he will live.
Walton worries about his own journey and whether he should continue.
Letter 2
Date: September 7, 17--
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton says his men want to turn back.
They are afraid of being trapped in the ice.
Victor tells Walton to be brave and continue his journey.
Letter 3
Date: September 12, 17--
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton agrees to turn the ship around and head back to England.
He says he has lost his great dream.
But I have kept my men alive. Will you ever see me again, dear sister?
Letter 4
Date: September 12, 17--
From: R. Walton
To: Mrs. Saville, England
Walton writes that Victor Frankenstein is dead.
Before he died, Victor told Walton to hunt down the monster and