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1 BCE
Letters: Walton Meets Victor at Sea
Page 23. Robert picks up a passenger while his ship was stuck in ice. This passage was in grave need of help and was found floating on an iceberg with only a dogsled. This passenger turns out to be Victor and allows for the whole rest of the Story to be told by Victor to Robert who remembers is story after Victor's death. -
1 BCE
Letters: The Reader Meets Robert Walton
Page 15. In the very first letter, we are introduced to a critical but not central cahracter Robert Walton. He is going on an Artic expidition to try to find a new passage to Asia and possible some magic at the North Pole. -
1 CE
Elizabeth is adopted
Page 34-35
Elizabeth is the daughter of royalty who was left with some farmers when her mom had died. Her dad was captured by Armenians and the farmers proceed to lose all their money. Frankenstein's family is on a vacation when they come through town and see the baby girl who they end up adopting from the family of farmers. Elizabeth becomes Frankenstein's childhood companion and best friend. -
1 CE
Victor's Parents Meet
Pages 31-33
Victor's dad is rather wealthy and has a friend who is a trader named Beaufort. He gets very ill and loses all his money and becomes a beggar who lives in a cave with his daughter. His condition worsened and he eventually dies while his daughter is trying to take care of him. The day after he passes, Victor's FAther finally tracked him down and finds a very broken up girl who he takes in and protects. He eventually marries her. -
Period: 1 CE to 24
Frankenstein Chapters
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2
Victor Meets Henry Clerval
Page 37. He meets another kid named Henry Clerval, the son of a Merchant, in school and become great friends. Henry wanted to go to a university and learn science like Victor but his father would not allow it for a long time. -
2
Victor Takes up an Interest in Old Alchemical Science - Character Development
Page 38. Victor finds some books of the alchemist Cornelius Agrippa. His dad tries to tell him that the books are old and disproven but Victor doesn't believe him and ends up spending years studying Alchemy that has been disproven for a very long time. This marks the start of his passion for science and Natural Philosophy. -
3
Elizabeth gets Scarlet Fever
Page 43. His sister Elizabeth gets the scarlet fever and manages to survive due to the help of their mother but she then succumbs to the sickness and ends up dying. -
3
Victor Departs for Ingolstadt
Page 44. Promptly after his mother dies, Victor leaves home for the university at Ingolstadt where he will continue his education into Natural Philosophy -
4
Chapter 4: Victor Becomes Very Enthralled by Chemistry
Page 49. Victor learns as much as he can about chemistry, actually making some progress in the field, designing new instruments and making discoveried. This shous how well he can do at anything that he puts his mind to. -
4
Chapter 4: Victor Figures out the Secret of Reanimatioj
Page 51. This discovery was the cause of all of Victor's hardships later in the story and for the rest of his life. He makes this discovery while studying the ways the body decays and seems to have found a way to reverse it's effects. -
5
Chapter 5: Clerival arrives at Ingloslad
Page 58. Clerval arrives in Ingloslad to study but ends up only helping to nurse Victor back to health after his horrific incident with the Monster. This mental episode is the first of many that unfortunately befall Victor. -
5
Chapter 5: Victor Makes the Monster
Page 56. Victor uses his knowledge and years of practice and planning to finally make the Monster. This is one of the most defining moments in the book as he realizes his horrible mistake moments too late -
5
Character Development 1-5: Victor Runs from the Monster.
Page 56. Right after Victor made the Monster, he realizes his mistake and runs away to his room. This sets the trend for his character, always living in fear or at least with anger towards the Monster for the rest of the book. -
6
Victor returns to Geneva
" Winter and snow arrived, the roads were deemed impassable...I felt this delay very bitterly, for I longed to see my native town and my beloved friends." (Page 67)
This quote describes his return trip to Geneva and how happy he is to see his family again. -
7
Chapter 7: Victor sees his creature
"...its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life." (Page 73)
This major event reconnects Frankenstein's life to the life of the monster and begins Frankenstein's chronic guilt that racks him for the remainder of the story -
7
Character Development - William is Murdered
"William is dead! That sweet child, whose smiles delighted and warmed my heart, who was so gentle, yet so gay! Victor, he is murdered!" (Page 69)
This huge event sets Victor into the downward spiral of mental health issues that plague him until his death and are a major part of his character. It is also a turning point in the time of the book, where it transitions from a mostly positive one to a very dark one very quickly. -
8
Chapter 8: Justine is Executed
"I wish that I were to die with you; I cannot live in this world of misery." (Page 84)
This is proclaimed by Elizabeth and actually foreshadows her death in the future. Justine's death is a trama for everyone in the family and plants the seed in Victor to later go off into the mountains to escape the world. -
9
Chapter 9- Victor and his family go to Belrive
"It was during an access of this kind that I suddenly left my home, and bending my steps towards the near Alpine valleys, sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my sphemeral, because human sorrows." (Pages 89-90)
This is one of the few times in the story that Victor has any happiness and shows us that he does in fact have the capacity to be happy. It also brings him to the Mountains that the monster resides in which helps to push the plot forward. -
10
Chapter 10: Meets The Monster
"I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretched whom I had created." (Page 94)
This is a crucial link from the main timeline of the story, the one centered around Victor's life to the parallel timeline of the Monster's experiences that are very, very critical to its character development. We also learn a bit more about how Victor really feels about the monster and sets up the creation of a companion for the original monster. -
11
Chapter 11: The Monster's Story is Started
"It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being; all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. " (Page 98)
This story that begins here, the backstory of the Monster's life up until the murder of William, is very critical in explaining the Monster's motives, reasoning, experiences, and choices both in the past and future of the story. -
12
Chapter 12: The monster expresses emotion to Victor
"I will soon explain to what these feelings tended, but allow me now to return to the cottagers..." (Page 116)
Here, the Monster describes that he does, in fact, have emotions despite his outward appearance. This gives us a different picture of his actions, putting a lot more malice into them since it makes clear that he understands the ramifications of his actions, both physically and emotionally. -
13
Chapter 13: The Creature Learns to Speak French
"My days were spent in close attention, that i might more speedily master the language; and I may boast that I improved more rapidly than the Arabian." (Page 113)
This event is very important since it gives the Monster a way to communicate his feelings and makes him seem somewhat closer to a human. However, this event is mainly important for what it says on the surface rather than some deeper meaning since it allows him to converse with Victor and progress the plot. -
14
Chapter 14: The Monster's Reaction to Safie's Backstory
"The government of France was greatly enraged at the escape of their victim and spared no pains to detect and punish his deliver. The plot of Felix was quickly discovered, and De Lacey and Agatha were thrown into prison." (Page 120)
This is one of the events that fuels the Monster's distaste for humans and contributes to the eventual killing of Victor's Family and his psychological torture. It helps to convince him that humans are, in general, bad. -
15
Chapter 15: The Monster Tries to Talk to the DeLaceys
Page 129. Here, the Monster tries to start conversing with the DeLaceys but that goes really poorly when the old man becomes suspicious and Felix comes home early, seeing the Monster as a monster -
15
Character Development Ch. 15: Victor Hears the Monster's Tale
Page 122. Victor listens to the Monster's story as told throughout the next few chapters. This gives Victor a new prespoective and forever changes how he views it, changing his avtions and mitives. -
16
Chapter 16: The Monster burns down the cottage
Page 132. The Monster becomes furious at the Delaceys for not appreciating him for who he really is and for leaving him and the cottage behind. He lapses into a monsterous mental state, burning down the cottage out of anger and desperation. It also demonstrates his capabilities to commit immense atrocities. -
17
Chapter 17: Victor Agrees to Create a New Monster
Page 141. This shows that the Monster can threaten Victor enough to force his hand and manipulate him into doing things he is not willing to otherwise do. The Monster's threats in this scene also show how truly monstrous he is, willing to kill innocent people for it's own benifit. -
18
Chapter 18: Victor Goes to England
Page 143. In this chapter, Victor leaves on his trip to England with Henery to secretly build the Monster. Victor also agrees to marry Elizabeth when he returns. He and Clerval travel up a river and sees lots of beautiful landscapes but doesn't respond to it the same way he did last time he was in the mountains. -
19
Chapter 19: Victor Starts Building the Monster's Companion
Page 156. The Monster had successfully bullied him into working on his companion. He leaves Clerval with some scottish peole in a town on the mainland while he goes up to a remote island with only 5 or so other inhabitants to work on his second creation and gets pretty far. He is reallly upset about the whole thing. -
20
Chapter 20: Victor Destroys the Companion Right Before He Activates It
Page 159. Victor realizes his mistake right before he makes the Companion rather than right after like last time. He destroys her nearly complete body and the Monster actually confronts him. They struggle but the Monster leaves and Victor return to the town Henry was in so they can begin their trip home. -
21
Chapter 21: Victor is Charged for the Murder of Henry Clerval
"But I was doomed to live and in two months found myself as awaking from a dream, in a prison, stretched on a wretched bed, surrounded by jailers, turnkeys, bolts, and all the miserable apparatus of a dungeon." (Page 169)
Victor arrives back on the main British Isles only to arrested and imprisoned for the murder of Henery Clerval. This represents yet another major blow to his psyche, he is isolated in a dungeon for a many months. Throughout the chapter, you can see him doing worse and worse. -
21
Character Development Ch. 21: Victor sees Henry Clerval's Body
"How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? I feel yet parched with horror, nor can I reflect on that terrible moment without shuddering and agony." (Page 169)
The horifing experience of viewing his friend's dead body adds more layers to the horrible mental problems he has been undergoing in recent years since the creation of the Monster. This is the second to last straw for him and is a very important moment, solidifing his total hate for the Mosnter. -
22
Chapter 22: Victor Marries Elizabeth and they go on their Honeymoon
"We passed rapidly along; the sun was hot, but we were sheltered from its rays by a kind of canopy while we enjoyed the beauty of the scene, sometimes on one side of the lake, where we saw Mont Saleve, the pleasant banks of Montalegre, and at a distance surmounting all, the beautiful Mont Blanc and the assemblage of snowy mountains..." (Page 183)
This quote represents how good Victor is feeling in that moment since he wasn't even excited about nature the last time he had a chance to enjoy it. -
23
Chapter 23: The Monster Kills Elixabeth
"Suddenly I heard a shrill and dreadful scream." (Page 196)
Here, the MOnster makes good on his promise of 'Being with you on your wedding night.' This is the last straw for Victor, with his one anchor grounding him in sanity being pulled away. He only degrades more from here, with his father died soon after. Things are not looking to good for him right now. -
24
Chapter 24: Victor Goes to the Arctic to Hunt Down The Monster
"Amidst the wilds of Tartary and Russia, although he still evaded me, I have ever followed in his track." (Page 194)
Victor breaks down and decides that he will chase the Monster to the ends of the earth if that is what it will take to end his problems. He chases it and has almost caught up to it when the sea ice breaks and he drifts away for a while ans is eventually found by the crew of Walton's ship and the story comes full circle. -
24
Letters: Victor Finally Dies
"His voice became fainter as he spoke, and at length, exhausted by his effort, he sank into silence. About half an hour afterwards he attempted again to speak but was unable; he pressed my hand feebly, and his eyes closed forever, while the irradiation of a gentle smile passed away from his lips." (Page 206-7)
Victor finally passes and is relieved of his mission to destroy his dreadful creation. Walton also sees the Monster but he lets it be and it leaves, presumably to kill itself.