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Schule > Englisch > Summary for each chapter of "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein - Summary of each chapter

Englische Zusammenfassung der einzelnen Kapitel von "Frankenstein" von Mary Shelley.

Letter 1
R. Walton writes to his sister about his expedition in Russia. He's going to Archangel from where he'll hire a boat and some whale catchers. He doesn't regret himself beginning this whole thing six years ago.

Letter 2
Walton complains that he hasn't got a friend, and he'd like one. He then writes about a Lieutnant he hired; he's a gentleman. Walton promisses to his sister that he won't do any BS and he hopes that they'll soon met themselfs again.

Letter 3
He's OK, everything goes fine.

Letter 4
They're on the boat heading the northpole. They see a stranger far away on a sledge (on the ice). On the next day they pick up somebody else on a sledge who obviously is after the person they saw the night before. He is very quiet.
- Walton talks to the stranger how he wants to know more about the basis of life; the stranger has strong emotions, because he had the same "disease". He
is, how he says, broken and can't start life from the beginning.
The stranger promisses him to tell him everything about him the next day, because he wants to prevent him from doing the same mistake as he had done.
The chapters 1-23 and the first part of chapter 24 are what the
stranger tells to Walton

Chapter 1
The stranger is called Victor. He speaks about his family: his father married himself rather late. His wife was the daugther of a friend who had died. The difference of age between Victors parents is "striking". Victor was the first born child. His mother gave him every love he could wish and she provided for him a good education. They later adoptet a girl which they named Elizabeth and which Victor liked very much. The family is from Switzerland.

Chapter 2
Victor gets two brothers. His "cousin" - how they calle Elizabeth - likes nature very much, while he, Victor, starts to interesst himself for the basis of life. He finds an old book of Agrippa, with thesis to this in it. But his father tells him, that it isn't worth anything, and that only increases the interesst of Victor for the book. So he keeps reading on. A lightnig which destroyes an oak, impresses Victor very much. This is his first contact with electricity. Now his destiny is clear: he has to search for the basis of human life. Clerval is a friend of him.

Chapter 3
Elizabeth gets a scarlet fever, and because of that their mother falls ill too and dies later on. Victor Frankenstein (VF) should start his studies in Ingolstadt, but the separation of his family isn't easy. In Ingolstadt he meets his professors of chimistry. One of them has a speech to him about the future of chimistry, and that leads VF to the decission of life: to go to the roots of life. His professors are Mr. Krempe and Mr. Waldman.

Chapter 4
VF learns eagerly and he soon makes remarkable progress. He wants to make a visit to his family in Geneva, but then something comes inbetween: he discovers how to animate dead matter to life (he won't tell Walton how he did it, of course). So VF starts to construct a huge body of muscles and bones, which was due to be animated to life. VF only thinks about his work and nothing else exists for him.

Chapter 5
The monster is animated to life and opens his eyes. VF flees with horror after having slept a bit. In front of a pub he meets Clerval, his ancient friend, who too has come to Ingolstadt to make his studies. When they return to the apartement of VF the monster has gone. VF falls ill: he has got a fever or something; he keeps having hallucinations of the monster he has created. Clerval is his nurse, and soon VF recovers.

Chapter 6
VF receives a letter from Elizabeth. she talks in it about Ernest, VF's first brother, who wants to start a military career. She also talks about Justine, a girl, who the family had taken to them because her mother was a wretch to her. Clerval noticies that VF doesn't like natural philosophy any more. VF should go back to Geneva soon, but his voyages are always delayed. He and Clerval do a finishing walk in the nature.

Chapter 7
After the walk VF receives a letter from his father telling him that William - his youngest brother - has been murdered. On that, he returns quickly to Geneva. Before returning to the house of his family he goes to the spot where his brother has been murdered. There he sees "his" monster running away, and he concludes that he must have been the murderer of his little brother. VF goes to his family: they tell him, that Justine is suspect of having murdered William, because they had found a picture that William had worn around his neck in one of her pockets. VF tells them, that it isn't true.

Chapter 8
In front of court Justine confesses her inocence. Elizabeth tries to help her, but all evidence is againt Justine. She is sentenced to death. Before diing she wants to talk to Elizabeth and VF. The two of them reassure her that they don't believe in her guiltyness. The next morning Justine gets executed.

Chapter 9
VF's mind is heavily charched, for he knows that Justine was innocent, Elizabeth tries to be cheerfull again. VF makes a journey to forget about the happenings a bit. He arrives in Chamounix.

Chapter 10
VF then makes a voyage in the mountains, alone. He then mets "his" creature, who he wants to kill. But as the other is much more vigourous than he, he doesn't succed. The monster wants him to listen at least to his story. The two go to a ut where the monster beginns to tell about what happened so far. In the chapters 11-16 VF tells what the monster said to him

Chapter 11
When he was "born", then in Ingolstadt, he didn't know very much, his senses were very confused. He first lived in the woods, and his food were berries and roots. He had to learn to use his senses right. He got know more about the world: he learned the use of fire, he saw what a house is. He slept a bit here and there, but he avoided people, for he had experianced that everybody hated him because of his frightening appearance. Somewhere he settled down where he could watch a family consisting of an old blind man, a younger man and a younger
woman.

Chapter 12
He stayed in the nearbys of the family and closely watched them all day. Slowly he got to know their language. During the night he did works for them, without them knowing who had done it. The family somehow appeared unhappy to him, and he wanted to inquire why it was so. He wanted to contact them, but he prefered to
learn their language first to be able to communicate with them better.

Chapter 13
A stranger, an arabian lady, arrived at their house. She did't speak french, but she learned it more and more, and he too, the monster, learned with her, listening at the window and so. He got to know more about history, about languages, about life and death. He started to wonder who he himself actually was for he couldn't remember himself of beeing educated by parents and so on.

Chapter 14
He got to know more about the family and the arabian woman: Felix, the man, had rescued a Turk in Paris from an innocent death. The turk had promissed him his daughter if would do it. Felix' plan flew up a bit later, and his blind father and his sister were arrested. So, Felix returned to Paris. During that
time the Turk fled away from him: his daughter resolved on her own to return to Felix, who now lived "in exile" in Germany. And thats how she then had arrived at their house.

Chapter 15
In the woods VF's creature found a portmanteau with three books in it (e.g. "the sorrows of Werther") and he read them all. This opened his mind a bit. In the jacket he had taken from VF in Ingolstadt he too found a diary in which VF had written every step of the creation of him (the creature had justed learned to read), so he now knew he is and why he lived. One day he finally knocked at the door of the family that he had been observing for nearly a year to present himself. The old blind man was alone. He told the old man about his misery (more or less), but just in the decessive moment the rest of the family came back and chassed him away, when they saw the monster and thinking that he wanted to harm their father.

Chapter 16
He wanted to return back to the house to explain everything but he saw that the family was moving away (because it was to dangerous for their father there). He decided to go to Geneva for he knew that his creatour had something to do with that city: so walking at night and sleeping during the day he finally arrived there. On the voyage to Switzerland he had once rescued a girl from drowning, but when her father who was looking for her passed by and saw them he thought that the monster wanted to kill her, and he took her away and shot in the direction of the creature. When he finally arrived in Geneva he met William and – seeing that he must be a relative of his creatour - he killed to young boy. He then puts the portrait he found around the neck of the boy in pocket of the sleeping Justine he saw. Now he wants VF to make him a female compagnion.

Chapter 17
First VF refuses to give him a compagnion, but then he's "d'accord", for the monster arguments quite reasonable. It will be better for him and for the rest of the world too, because he promises to leave Europe after having received a compagnion. The creature then runs away.VF returns to Chamounix, then to Geneva.

Chapter 18
VF's father proposes to him to marry Elizabeth, but he first wants to create the second monster to be able to sleep peacefully. He wants to go to England, for there is some new theory around concerning natural philosophy that he needs for the second creature. He then goes with Clerval to London.

Chapter 19
A friend of the two invites them to Scotland. They then go, passing Oxford- Derby- Cumberland- Edinburgh. VF wants to be alone a bit. So he rents a small hut near the sea, somewhere hardly anybody lives and he starts to create his second monster.

Chapter 20
VF works on his second biest: he then resolves not to finish, because the pair then might give life to children, and then ... who knows ? And anyhow, who says that the second biest won't be "bad" ?

VF's living creature comes and warnes him not to stop. During a night then, VF throws the rest of the second creature over board into the sea. He then falls asleep and wakes up near the coast of Ireland. He is suspected of murder, and he is led to the magistrate.

Chapter 21
After beeing at the magistrate's, he is lead to the dead body: it is Clerval. VF is thrown to prison. His father comes to visit him, voyaged up to hear from Switzerland. In front of court, VF is then freed from guilt. He returns to Geneva, but still, he can't enjoy life, for he alway has to think of the words the monster had told him before he left: "I shall be with you on your wedding-night."

Chapter 22
VF and his father arrive in Paris, where VF receives a letter
from Elizabeth. She writes, that she's looking forward to their
marriage, but only if he loves only her and nobody else. VF
writes back telling her, that he has got to say something
important to her, but only on the day after their marriage.
He must alway think of the words the monster said to him.
They arrive in Geneva, and the date of the wedding is fixed.

Chapter 23
After the wedding Elizabeth goes to bed while VF walks unsteadily up and down the house, waiting for the creature to arrive and kill him. He then suddenly hears shout from his wife, and he then knows whats happening: it HER, who the monster killed! Although people searched the sea and the woods, his monster cannot be found. His father soon dies out of weakness. VF wants help from the justice, but the magistrate doesn't believe his story. He swears to kill his monster, may happend whatever.

Chapter 24
- He leaves Geneva to follow his creature and kill him. That one goes in the direction of the northpole, so VF must suffer before it comes to a fight. VF always find traces from the other, so he can follow. Finally, both VF and his creature are on sledges, and one is "chassed" by the other. And that's when Walten picked up Victor Frankenstein. (letter) - Walton tries to ask VF about the secret of animating dead matter to life, but he won't tell him. VF's only target is to kill his creature (letter) - Will he, Walton, ever return ? (letter) - The sailors on the ship want to return, but VF talks to them in a way that afterwards they are persuaded, that it's better to continue their voyage. (letter) - If they'll come free of the ice, they'll return to England (letter) - VF gets weaker and weaker. One night Walton hears groans from VF: his creature has come to kill him. He tells Walton, the he himself is the only one who is remaining to be killed. He then complains about the world and the people living on it. He jumps off the boat, and will probably kill himself later on.

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