Keyword Guide · book-summary
This guide explains Volume 1 of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818 edition) in clear, student-friendly terms. It’s designed for quick review, class discussion, and essay preparation without quoting the original text.
The novel opens with letters written by Robert Walton, an explorer traveling toward the Arctic. Walton describes his ambition, loneliness, and desire for glory through discovery. He meets Victor Frankenstein, who is physically weak and emotionally troubled. Walton’s framing story introduces key ideas: dangerous ambition, isolation, and the cost of pursuing knowledge without limits.
Victor recounts his childhood in Geneva, highlighting a loving family and close bond with Elizabeth. He shows an early obsession with understanding nature and its hidden laws. After leaving for university at Ingolstadt, Victor studies science intensely. His curiosity shifts into fixation, setting up the moral conflict between learning and responsibility.
Victor discovers a method to animate life and secretly builds a human-like being. When the creature comes to life, Victor is horrified by its appearance and abandons it. This moment defines Volume 1’s central tension: Victor achieves scientific success but fails ethically by rejecting his creation.
After falling ill, Victor returns home and learns that his younger brother William has been murdered. Justine, a family friend, is falsely accused and executed despite her innocence. Victor suspects the creature is responsible but remains silent. Volume 1 ends with guilt, fear, and the suggestion that Victor’s actions have unleashed irreversible consequences.
Volume 1 focuses on Victor’s background, his scientific ambition, and the creation of the creature, establishing the novel’s moral and thematic foundation.
The 1818 edition emphasizes personal responsibility and the dangers of unchecked ambition, presenting Victor in a more self-critical and morally conflicted way.
This guide offers a neutral, original explanation with study advice, while SparkNotes is a separate, well-known reference students may also consult.
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