Frankenstein Full Book Summary
Frankenstein Full Book Summary
In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole,
recounts to his sister back in England the progress of his dangerous mission.
Successful early on, the mission is soon interrupted by seas full of impassable ice.
Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who has been traveling by dog-drawn
sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold. Walton takes him aboard ship, helps
nurse him back to health, and hears the fantastic tale of the monster that Frankenstein
created.
Victor first describes his early life in Geneva. At the end of a blissful childhood spent in
the company of Elizabeth Lavenza (his cousin in the 1818 edition, his adopted sister in
the 1831 edition) and friend Henry Clerval, Victor enters the university of Ingolstadt to
study natural philosophy and chemistry. There, he is consumed by the desire to
discover the secret of life and, after several years of research, becomes convinced that
he has found it.
Armed with the knowledge he has long been seeking, Victor spends months feverishly
fashioning a creature out of old body parts. One climactic night, in the secrecy of his
apartment, he brings his creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has
created, however, the sight horrifies him. After a fitful night of sleep, interrupted by the
specter of the monster looming over him, he runs into the streets, eventually wandering
in remorse. Victor runs into Henry, who has come to study at the university, and he
takes his friend back to his apartment. Though the monster is gone, Victor falls into a
feverish illness.
Sickened by his horrific deed, Victor prepares to return to Geneva, to his family, and to
health. Just before departing Ingolstadt, however, he receives a letter from his father
informing him that his youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Grief-stricken,
Victor hurries home. While passing through the woods where William was strangled, he
catches sight of the monster and becomes convinced that the monster is his brother’s
murderer. Arriving in Geneva, Victor finds that Justine Moritz, a kind, gentle girl who had
been adopted by the Frankenstein household, has been accused. She is tried,
condemned, and executed, despite her assertions of innocence. Victor grows
despondent, guilty with the knowledge that the monster he has created bears
responsibility for the death of two innocent loved ones.
Hoping to ease his grief, Victor takes a vacation to the mountains. While he is alone one
day, crossing an enormous glacier, the monster approaches him. The monster admits to
the murder of William but begs for understanding. Lonely, shunned, and forlorn, he says
that he struck out at William in a desperate attempt to injure Victor, his cruel creator.
The monster begs Victor to create a mate for him, a monster equally grotesque to serve
as his sole companion.
Victor refuses at first, horrified by the prospect of creating a second monster. The
monster is eloquent and persuasive, however, and he eventually convinces Victor. After
returning to Geneva, Victor heads for England, accompanied by Henry, to gather
, information for the creation of a female monster. Leaving Henry in Scotland, he
secludes himself on a desolate island in the Orkneys and works reluctantly at repeating
his first success. One night, struck by doubts about the morality of his actions, Victor
glances out the window to see the monster glaring in at him with a frightening grin.
Horrified by the possible consequences of his work, Victor destroys his new creation.
The monster, enraged, vows revenge, swearing that he will be with Victor on Victor’s
wedding night.
Later that night, Victor takes a boat out onto a lake and dumps the remains of the
second creature in the water. The wind picks up and prevents him from returning to the
island. In the morning, he finds himself ashore near an unknown town. Upon landing, he
is arrested and informed that he will be tried for a murder discovered the previous night.
Victor denies any knowledge of the murder, but when shown the body, he is shocked to
behold his friend Henry Clerval, with the mark of the monster’s fingers on his neck.
Victor falls ill, raving and feverish, and is kept in prison until his recovery, after which he
is acquitted of the crime
Shortly after returning to Geneva with his father, Victor marries Elizabeth. He fears the
monster’s warning and suspects that he will be murdered on his wedding night. To be
cautious, he sends Elizabeth away to wait for him. While he awaits the monster, he
hears Elizabeth scream and realizes that the monster had been hinting at killing his new
bride, not himself. Victor returns home to his father, who dies of grief a short time later.
Victor vows to devote the rest of his life to finding the monster and exacting his revenge,
and he soon departs to begin his quest.
Victor tracks the monster ever northward into the ice. In a dogsled chase, Victor almost
catches up with the monster, but the sea beneath them swells and the ice breaks,
leaving an unbridgeable gap between them. At this point, Walton encounters Victor, and
the narrative catches up to the time of Walton’s fourth letter to his sister.
Walton tells the remainder of the story in another series of letters to his sister. Victor,
already ill when the two men meet, worsens and dies shortly thereafter. When Walton
returns, several days later, to the room in which the body lies, he is startled to see the
monster weeping over Victor. The monster tells Walton of his immense solitude,
suffering, hatred, and remorse. He asserts that now that his creator has died, he too can
end his suffering. The monster then departs for the northernmost ice to die.
Frankenstein Full Book Summary
In a series of letters, Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole,
recounts to his sister back in England the progress of his dangerous mission.
Successful early on, the mission is soon interrupted by seas full of impassable ice.
Trapped, Walton encounters Victor Frankenstein, who has been traveling by dog-drawn
sledge across the ice and is weakened by the cold. Walton takes him aboard ship, helps
nurse him back to health, and hears the fantastic tale of the monster that Frankenstein
created.
Victor first describes his early life in Geneva. At the end of a blissful childhood spent in
the company of Elizabeth Lavenza (his cousin in the 1818 edition, his adopted sister in
the 1831 edition) and friend Henry Clerval, Victor enters the university of Ingolstadt to
study natural philosophy and chemistry. There, he is consumed by the desire to
discover the secret of life and, after several years of research, becomes convinced that
he has found it.
Armed with the knowledge he has long been seeking, Victor spends months feverishly
fashioning a creature out of old body parts. One climactic night, in the secrecy of his
apartment, he brings his creation to life. When he looks at the monstrosity that he has
created, however, the sight horrifies him. After a fitful night of sleep, interrupted by the
specter of the monster looming over him, he runs into the streets, eventually wandering
in remorse. Victor runs into Henry, who has come to study at the university, and he
takes his friend back to his apartment. Though the monster is gone, Victor falls into a
feverish illness.
Sickened by his horrific deed, Victor prepares to return to Geneva, to his family, and to
health. Just before departing Ingolstadt, however, he receives a letter from his father
informing him that his youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Grief-stricken,
Victor hurries home. While passing through the woods where William was strangled, he
catches sight of the monster and becomes convinced that the monster is his brother’s
murderer. Arriving in Geneva, Victor finds that Justine Moritz, a kind, gentle girl who had
been adopted by the Frankenstein household, has been accused. She is tried,
condemned, and executed, despite her assertions of innocence. Victor grows
despondent, guilty with the knowledge that the monster he has created bears
responsibility for the death of two innocent loved ones.
Hoping to ease his grief, Victor takes a vacation to the mountains. While he is alone one
day, crossing an enormous glacier, the monster approaches him. The monster admits to
the murder of William but begs for understanding. Lonely, shunned, and forlorn, he says
that he struck out at William in a desperate attempt to injure Victor, his cruel creator.
The monster begs Victor to create a mate for him, a monster equally grotesque to serve
as his sole companion.
Victor refuses at first, horrified by the prospect of creating a second monster. The
monster is eloquent and persuasive, however, and he eventually convinces Victor. After
returning to Geneva, Victor heads for England, accompanied by Henry, to gather
, information for the creation of a female monster. Leaving Henry in Scotland, he
secludes himself on a desolate island in the Orkneys and works reluctantly at repeating
his first success. One night, struck by doubts about the morality of his actions, Victor
glances out the window to see the monster glaring in at him with a frightening grin.
Horrified by the possible consequences of his work, Victor destroys his new creation.
The monster, enraged, vows revenge, swearing that he will be with Victor on Victor’s
wedding night.
Later that night, Victor takes a boat out onto a lake and dumps the remains of the
second creature in the water. The wind picks up and prevents him from returning to the
island. In the morning, he finds himself ashore near an unknown town. Upon landing, he
is arrested and informed that he will be tried for a murder discovered the previous night.
Victor denies any knowledge of the murder, but when shown the body, he is shocked to
behold his friend Henry Clerval, with the mark of the monster’s fingers on his neck.
Victor falls ill, raving and feverish, and is kept in prison until his recovery, after which he
is acquitted of the crime
Shortly after returning to Geneva with his father, Victor marries Elizabeth. He fears the
monster’s warning and suspects that he will be murdered on his wedding night. To be
cautious, he sends Elizabeth away to wait for him. While he awaits the monster, he
hears Elizabeth scream and realizes that the monster had been hinting at killing his new
bride, not himself. Victor returns home to his father, who dies of grief a short time later.
Victor vows to devote the rest of his life to finding the monster and exacting his revenge,
and he soon departs to begin his quest.
Victor tracks the monster ever northward into the ice. In a dogsled chase, Victor almost
catches up with the monster, but the sea beneath them swells and the ice breaks,
leaving an unbridgeable gap between them. At this point, Walton encounters Victor, and
the narrative catches up to the time of Walton’s fourth letter to his sister.
Walton tells the remainder of the story in another series of letters to his sister. Victor,
already ill when the two men meet, worsens and dies shortly thereafter. When Walton
returns, several days later, to the room in which the body lies, he is startled to see the
monster weeping over Victor. The monster tells Walton of his immense solitude,
suffering, hatred, and remorse. He asserts that now that his creator has died, he too can
end his suffering. The monster then departs for the northernmost ice to die.
