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 thecrime.
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.
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The article summarizes the events of "Frankenstein" through the perspective of Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole. Walton recounts the progress of his dangerous mission in a series of letters to his sister back in England. He initially describes the success of his mission, but it is soon interrupted by the presence of impassable ice in the seas, trapping his ship.
During this time, Walton encounters a weakened Victor Frankenstein, who has been traveling across the ice on a dog-drawn sledge. Walton takes him aboard his ship and nurses him back to health. It is during this time that Walton learns about the incredible tale of the monster that Frankenstein has created.
Victor Frankenstein, in his narrative to Walton, begins by describing his early life in Geneva. He enjoyed a blissful childhood with his cousin Elizabeth Lavenza and his friend Henry Clerval. He then enters the University of Ingolstadt to study natural philosophy and chemistry. It is there that he becomes consumed by the desire to discover the secret of life.
After years of research, Victor becomes convinced that he has found the secret. He feverishly fashions a creature out of old body parts and brings it to life one climactic night in his apartment. However, upon seeing the monstrous creation, Victor is horrified by what he has done. This leads to a fitful night of sleep, haunted by the specter of the monster. Victor runs into the streets in remorse and encounters Henry, who takes him back to his apartment.
Victor falls ill due to the guilt of his creation and prepares to return to his family in Geneva. However, before leaving Ingolstadt, he receives a letter from his father informing him of his youngest brother William's murder. Victor believes the monster he created is responsible for the murder and becomes despondent. He later finds out that Justine Moritz, a kind girl adopted by the Frankenstein household, has been wrongly accused and executed for the crime.
In an attempt to ease his grief, Victor takes a vacation to the mountains. It is there that he encounters the monster, who admits to William's murder but pleads for understanding. The monster, lonely and rejected by society, begs Victor to create a mate for him. Initially horrified by the idea, Victor eventually agrees.
Victor returns to Geneva accompanied by Henry, and then heads to the Orkneys to create a female monster. However, plagued by doubts about the morality of his actions, Victor destroys his second creation. Enraged, the monster vows revenge and tells Victor that he will be with him on his wedding night.
On the night of Victor's wedding, he fears for his own life but realizes that the monster's intention was to kill his new bride, Elizabeth. Victor returns home to find Elizabeth dead and his father dying of grief. He vows to dedicate his life to seeking revenge on the monster and sets off on his quest.
Victor tracks the monster northward into the icy wilderness, but their pursuit is interrupted by the swelling sea and breaking ice. At this point, Walton encounters Victor and the narrative aligns with the time of Walton's fourth letter to his sister.
Walton concludes the story in a series of letters to his sister, recounting Victor's worsening illness and subsequent death. When Walton returns to the room where Victor's body lies, he is surprised to find the monster weeping over him. The monster shares his immense solitude, suffering, hatred, and remorse with Walton. He believes that with his creator's death, he can finally end his own suffering and departs for the northernmost ice to die.
In conclusion, the article you provided summarizes the events of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" through the letters of Robert Walton. It delves into the creation of the monster, Victor's guilt and remorse, and the tragic consequences of his actions. The story explores themes of ambition, responsibility, and the consequences of playing god.
