GCSE Pre 1914 Coursework

Zeta Jhanji

Analyse the methods used by Mary Shelley in Chapter Five of ‘Frankenstein’ and consider its significance to the novel as a whole.

Frankenstein was first published in 1818; it was written by Mary Shelley, and was her first novel. The author was only nineteen years old when the book was first written, although it was her first novel it was her most famous; even though she wrote a number of books including: The Last Man (1826), Lodorel (1835) and Mathilda (1959) which was published 100 years after her death, none of them had the success of Frankenstein which alongside Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1896), became the most widely read horror novels of all time selling millions world wide.

Mary Shelley combines romance and horror, many authors hadn’t done this before and some other novelist and critics thought the story was immoral; at the time the Quarterly Review wrote the following in 1818: “Our taste and our judgement alike revolt at this kind of writing…it inculcates no lesson of conduct, manners or morality.” I think that people wrote things like this at that time because they were afraid; science had become too influential, and it was expanding too quickly. They were scared incase these things really did come true; because religion played such an influential role in those days and they thought God should choose your fate, life or death. Frankenstein was published during a time of new discoveries; explorers (like Robert Walpole) had travelled to the far ends of the world discovering new lands. Science had made huge breakthroughs and the recent discovery of electricity was thought to be the key to life. Shelley was aware of the fears that people had about science, and she portrayed them in the novel.

The 19th Century was a time of scientific breakthroughs, people inventing new things in the hopes that they would be used in everyday life. The plot deals with the conflict that Victor Frankenstein has while try to make a scientific breakthrough. In the book we see that he is obsessed with making this ‘thing’, and he creates this monstrous creature. Victor himself rejects the creature, and is disgusted at the sight of its horrible appearance. Likewise all other humans reject the creature; because of its ghastly appearance. The monster misunderstands and frustrated sets out to kill the people closest to Victor, before killing his creator himself.

Shelley’s inspiration for the story came to her in a dream whilst she was spending the summer of 1816 in Geneva:
“I placed my head on my pillow, I did not sleep…I saw shut eyes, but acute mental vision, the pale student of unhallowed arts standing before the thing he had put together, I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out…the creature terrified its creator; he would rush away from his odious handiwork, horror stricken… (The scientist) sleeps but he is awakened; he opens his eyes, behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains and looking on him with yellow, watery but speculative eyes.” And the story evolved from there, around this very dream.

The first paragraph is full of images that build up the darkness that the rest of the chapter has to offer. ‘Alliteration’ is used to emphasise Frankenstein’s tiredness. It is written in first person and it almost seems as if you are reading Victory Frankenstein’s diary. The way the text is written, makes you feel as though you are reading a journal, one that is so precisely accurate which makes you feel closer to Victor, as a character. It starts off with ‘a dreary night of November,’ this straight away sets the dark mood for this chapter, November is known as the wettest month. ‘An anxiety that almost amounted to agony,’ this phrase of alliteration emphasises tiredness that Frankenstein suffers. ‘One in the morning’, ‘rain pattered dismally against the panes’, ‘my candle was nearly burnt out’, ‘half extinguished light’ all these ‘quotes’ taken from the first paragraph represent a mood full of darkness; just like what the rest of the chapter has to offer, it builds up an image of a dark and dismal atmosphere.

‘I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open’, ‘it breathed hard’, and ‘a convulsive motion agitated its limbs’, the way this ‘creation’ is described makes it sound abnormal, and almost makes you feel sorry for it, but at the same time you feel feared by it. ‘The instruments of life’, ‘infuse a spark’ and ‘a convulsive motion agitated its limbs’, these phrases are all worded very precisely, this shows us that the Victor was obsessed with making this creature, and you can see that in the way he talks about it. ‘My candle was nearly burnt out, ‘half extinguished light’, and words such as ‘accomplishment’ make you feel the exhaustion, and because the candles are dimming it gives you a sense of something being over. Even though the darkness is there, there are words that show hope like; ‘spark’, ‘light’, ‘motion’, ‘glimmer’ and ‘life’ are all words that give you a sign of hope. Long complex sentences are slowly creating suspense, and pathetic fallacy is used; ‘rain pattered dismally’, especially in November. November is always associated to be the wettest month and this is why it has worked well here.

In the second paragraph we see that Victor is about to crack; He is asking himself questions, that make you think that this experiment has made him ill. Short sentences and exclamations; ‘Beautiful!’ and ‘Great God!’ show Victors shock he had when making this ‘creature’. Phrases like ‘yellow skin’, ‘watery eyes’, ‘dun white sockets’, ‘shrivelled complexion’ and ‘straight black lips’ give you a sense of fear, only dead people look like this and you begin to feel afraid for Victor who has to face it. Victor describes his project as being ‘a wretch’, ‘horrid’ and a ‘catastrophe’, you now almost feel sorry for the creature; it is not his fault he looks like this.

We take a look inside Victor’s brain, we see what he goes through when he realises what he has done. Victor is disgusted at what he has done. ‘I had worked hard for nearly two years’ this phrase shows us that he regrets wasting two years of his life on creating this creature. ‘The beauty of the dream vanished’, this shows the ‘obsession’ Victor had over making this creature, but now his dreams are shattered. ‘I had deprived myself of rest and health’, this shows us that he has damaged himself; because making this creature had made him ill. In this section of the chapter we see a sense of guilt coming out of Victor; as he realises that he has committed an unforgivable sin.

Victor falls asleep in his bed chamber; due to total exhaustion, he dreams a deathly nightmare, so horrific that it portrays images of death. I the dream he holds ‘the corpse of his dead mother in his arms’, the fact that he has seen his mother shows us the realisation that he will never bring her back to life. ‘A cold dew covered my forehead’, ‘my teeth chattered’, all these symptoms occur as he awakes from his nightmare. ‘Every limb became convulsed’, this phrase occurs back to the first paragraph when Victor was describing the creature, but now Victor is using the same language to describe himself; could it be that Victor has created a monster, and a monster out of himself too? At this point we know that Victor is going to have to suffer a lot of consequences.

In this part we feel sorry for the creature rather than Victor; Because of the obsession Victor has had on creating this creature he is too self absorbed and wants pity on himself. The creature might be deformed, but Victor was the one that created it, so it’s Victors fault. Victor shouldn’t reject the creature after all the creature he beheld was his dream. ‘Miserable’, ‘he muttered some inarticulate sounds’, ‘a grin wrinkled his cheeks’, ‘he might have spoken but I did not hear’, ‘one hand was stretched out’, these are all images of baby like actions. When the creature stretched its arm out to reach Victor he just neglected it. When the creature smiled or tried to speak, he never smiled or talked back. Instead of showing any sense of security to the creature Victor just rushed downstairs in a frantic ‘panic’, not knowing what to do, or how to take in what he has created. Victor compares the creature to a ‘demonical corpse’ and a ‘mummy’.

The following morning is described as being ‘dismal and wet’; this reflects the mood of Victor. ‘Eyes the Church of Ingolstadt’, this tells us that Victor knows he has sinned, and now God is watching over him; because of his sinful experiments. Pathetic fallacy is used in the ‘morning’ paragraph; ‘rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky’. ‘The load that weighed upon my mind’, ‘without any clear conception of where I was or what I was doing’ and ‘my asylum’, all these phrases convey that Victors about to crack, basically he is going mad. ‘Sickness of fear’, this is his conscious.

The mood lightens and the paste slows down, as Victor sees his friend Clevral, ‘how glad I am to see you’. Clevral’s ‘presence’ brought back his thoughts of his loved ones, this takes his mind off things and Victor attempts to block out the events that occurred the night before. Clevral comments on how ‘ill’, ‘pale’ and ‘thin’ Victor appears this shows us that this creature has made him sick to the bone. Clevral also says ‘you look as though you have been watching for several nights’; this tells us that Victor’s toils are becoming visible in his face. Victor says ‘but I hope I sincerely hope’ this is almost as he is begging or wishing that his matters are at an end for good. ‘That I am at length free’, this phrase is ironic, and he will have to suffer some consequences.

Tension is built as the two men approach Victors apartment, through long sentences like; ‘I then reflected, and the thought made me shiver, that the creature whom I had left in my apartment might still be there, alive, and walking about.’ Those types of sentences grab the reader’s attention and make them think whether or not the creature is still there and makes them want to read on. ‘I trembled excessively’ this shows us that Victor cannot get over last night’s events. ‘The creature might still be there,’ ‘I feared that…Henry should see him,’ and ‘a cold shivering came over me’, these all build up suspense, and the reader is hooked in more and more. ‘I darted up towards my own room’, ‘I recollected myself’, these sentences show Victors uncertainty and that he doesn’t really know what he is doing, is his conscious acting up on him? ‘I threw the door forcibly open, as children are accustomed to do when they expect a spectre to stand waiting,’ Victor is comparing himself to a child. ‘Apartment was empty,’ ‘good fortune’ suggests Victor thinks his troubles are over, and he ‘claps his hands for joy’ and ‘runs’ to Clevral. He thinks this creature will never come back to him.

People were scared in the 1800’s about this book, but in this century it is more ‘relevant than ever’. With the world changing and so many hi-tech gadgets being introduced people need to realise when to stop, and when enough is enough. With the invention of Nuclear weapons where will it all stop? Will doctors really invent things to keep everyone alive forever and will they be able to play God? What about the media, so many celebrities are having so much work done who knows what they will want next. Frankenstein is a book that should be read for decades to come, and should never be forgotten; because people need to realise when things have got too far and that you always have to suffer the consequences and regrets of your actions.