Riassunto Frankenstein, Sintesi del corso di Cultura Inglese I

Scarica Riassunto Frankenstein e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Cultura Inglese I solo su Docsity! Frankenstein Book  Mary Shelley Intro In her introduction she wrote about the composition of Frankenstein: where, when and most importantly how. In 1816 her husband and Mary visited Switzerland and became the neighbours of Lord Byron. It became a wet summer, which confined them for days to the house. Lord Byron proposed each to write a ghost story. There were four of them:  Lord Byron, who began a tale  Shelley, commenced one founded on the experiences of his early life  John Polidori, had some terrible idea about a skull-headed lady who was punished for peeping through a keyhole  Mary, who didn’t know what to write. She wanted to write a story which makes the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart. If not accomplished these things, the story would be unworthy. Every day, for several days, she has nothing to read to the other guests. But one night, after talking about the experiments of Dr Darwin about re-animated corpse, she started to imagine a student, kneeling beside the thing he had put together. It showed signs of life and stir with a half-vital motion. She opened her eyes in terror, a thrill of fear ran through her, she finally found the story! She announced to other and started writing a few pages, but her husband urged her to develop the idea to a greater length.  Percy Bysshe Shelley Preface He states that it’s the merely imagination of a tale of spectres and enchantment. It was commenced partly as a source of amusement, and partly as an expedient for exercising any untried resources of mind. VOLUME 1  Letter 1 The first letter is written by Robert Walton, a well- to-do Englishman explorer, to his sister Margaret Saville. He’s the captain of a ship headed on a dangerous voyage to the North Pole. He tells his sister of the preparations leading up to his departure and the desire burning in him since he was young to explore something new, maybe revealing the source of the Earth’s magnetism. He ends the letter with his blessing to her.  Letter 2 In the second letter, he bemoans his lack of friends and having nobody to share his dreams with, he feels lonely and isolated. He tells his sister the story of his lieutenant, who loved a young Russian lady, who on the day of their marriage she confessed her love for another man, who her father didn’t consent to the union. The lieutenant gave up on her, and since he had already bought a farm with his money, he bestowed the whole to his rival. Then he reassured himself that the woman would have married the man she loved. Then he returns talking of his voyage which is delayed for the weather conditions of that winter. He admits that inside him ‘there is a love for the marvellous’. Then he lovely greets her sister.  Letter 3 In the brief third letter, Walton tells his sister that his ship is set sail and that he has full confidence that he will achieve his aim. Some little accidents occurred, but nothing serious. He greets his sister.  Letter 4 In the fourth letter, the ship stalls between huge sheets of ice, and Walton and his men spot a sledge guided by a gigantic creature about half a mile away. The next morning, they encounter another sledge stranded on an ice floe. Only one dog remained alive, and the man on the sledge, not the man seen the night before, is emaciated, weak, and starving. Despite his condition, the man refuses to board the ship until Walton tells him that it is heading north. The crew is burning with curiosity, but Walton, aware of the man’s still- fragile state, prevents his men from burdening the stranger with questions. As time passes, Walton and the stranger become friends, and the stranger eventually consents to tell Walton his story. The man was chasing one who was escaping. Walton had grown fond of the man, and one day he explained the man that he would sacrifice his existence to succeed in this undertaking. The man burst into tears and told him he would tell him his story. A few days later the man was ready to tell it, and Walton promised to write down, if possible, the whole history of the man and to send it to his sister because it was a story that was strange and painful but worth reading in the future.  CHAPTER 1 The stranger, who is Victor Frankenstein, begins his narration. He starts with his family background, birth, and early childhood, telling Walton about his father, Alphonse, and his mother, Caroline. Alphonse became Caroline’s protector when her father, Alphonse’s long-time friend Beaufort, died in poverty. They married two years later, and Victor was born soon after. Once, they made a trip on Lake Como, across the Italian border, and when Alphonse went alone to Milan life, its awful appearance horrifies him. He rushes to the next room and tries to sleep, but he is troubled by nightmares about Elizabeth and his mother’s corpse. He wakes to discover the monster looming over his bed with a grotesque smile and rushes out of the house. He spends the night pacing in his courtyard. Then he set out on the road. Unexpectedly, he saw his friend Clerval, who had just arrived from Switzerland. Victor was very relieved, and sought a support in his friend, who was amazed to see him in painful conditions and visibly out of his mind. Victor escorted Clerval into his home and checked that there was no monster in his room. However, fatigue and fright undermined Victor's health to such an extent that, after a fainting, he had a nervous fever that forced him to bed for several months, with continuous visions of the creature. Fortunately, in the spring, Victor slowly recovered, without explaining what had happened, though Clerval had clearly understood that his friend's illness had originated from a traumatic event. Henry nurses him back to health and, when Victor has recovered, gives him a letter from Elizabeth that had arrived during his illness.  CHAPTER 6 Victor read the letter: Elizabeth was alarmed of the illness that had struck him and entreats him to write to his family in Geneva as soon as he can. Elizabeth wrote of the growth of Ernest, the son of sixteen with little attention in the study, and the story of Justine Moriz, a girl who used to live with the Frankenstein family, has returned to their house following her mother’s death. Victor replied with pleasure to Elizabeth and, as soon as he recovered from his illness, he had contacts with some of his university professors, who made him uncomfortable when they talked about natural philosophy; Henry had just begun studying oriental languages at this university and Victor studied with him. In this way, summer passed. Victor wanted to move to Geneva in the fall but, by a series of postponements, winter came. The winter passed pleasantly, and in May, before departure, Victor decided to take an excursion around the village of Ingolstadt and, completely recovered, he enjoyed himself very much.  CHAPTER 7 On his return from the excursion, he found a letter written by his father in the room, telling him that Victor’s youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Then, he explained to him how the fact had happened. Alphonse, his niece and the two brothers of Victor had gone for a walk and in the evening, they returned home, but Ernest and William were not present. The family waited till when they saw Ernest arrive, who asked them where William was. Everyone worried, and they began to look for him at home, but he was not there. Only the next morning they found him strangled dead, lying on the grass. Alphonse told Victor that it was the best time for his return. Victor departs immediately for Geneva. It was completely dark when he arrived in Geneva, and as the city gates were closed, he spent the night in a village near the city. Unable to get to sleep, he reached the place where William was found. At one point, he saw a strange figure in the darkness descend from a tree: it was the creature he had given life to, there was no doubt. Victor realized that he was his brother's killer; he decided to chase the monster, but he was already disappeared. He blamed himself, for he had left in circulation a being who could do such a terrible deed. The next day, he headed for Geneva and arrived at his parents' house and decided not to say anything. He went into the library, waiting for them to get up. Ernest welcomed him and told him to hope that his presence had helped Alphonse and Elizabeth. Ernest told Victor that they knew with certainty who the killer was. Victor thought it was impossible to capture the monster, but then Ernest he explained that it was Justine Moritz. A servant took a miniature of Victor's mother from the pocket of the clothes she wore on the night of the crime, which was thought to have been the motive for the murder and was then accused. Victor told Ernest they were wrong, and he knew who the killer was. At that moment, Alphonse arrived, who welcomed Victor, and then Elizabeth. Victor comforted them, telling them that he was sure that Justine had not committed the crime.  CHAPTER 8 Justine confesses to the crime, believing that she will thereby gain salvation, but tells Elizabeth and Victor that she is innocent and miserable. They remain convinced of her innocence, but Justine is soon executed. Victor becomes consumed with guilt, knowing that the monster he created and the cloak of secrecy within which the creation took place have now caused the deaths of two members of his family. VOLUME 2  CHAPTER 1 After Justine’s execution, Victor becomes increasingly melancholy. He considers suicide but restrains himself by thinking of Elizabeth and his father. Alphonse, hoping to cheer up his son, takes his children on an excursion to the family home at Belrive. Victor was very angry and wanted to throw the monster, and he also thought that this creature was preparing another crime. Alphonse's health had worsened, and Elizabeth was desperate and confused. Victor embarked on a journey to the valley of Chamonix, during which all his suffering vanished. Victor was very happy, and seeing some details of the mountain, he remembered happiness during his adolescence. Alternated to these moments of pleasure, all his unhappiness resurfaced, but Victor tried to push her away.  CHAPTER 2 One rainy day, Victor wakes to find his old feelings of despair resurfacing. He decides to travel to the summit of Montanvert, hoping that the view of a pure, eternal, beautiful natural scene will revive his spirits. When he reaches the glacier at the top, he is momentarily consoled by the sublime spectacle. As he crosses to the opposite side of the glacier, Victor saw the monster he had created arrive, and he got very angry. He wanted to kill him, but the monster told him that if he fulfilled his duties to him, the monster would leave his loved ones in peace. The monster told Victor that he had to take refuge on the glaciers because no human being respected him and asked him to listen to him and then decide whether to kill him or not. For the first time, Victor realizes that what he has created is not merely the scientific product of an experiment in animated matter but an actual living being with needs and wants.  CHAPTER 3 The monster told Victor that, as soon as he had created it, he did not know how to use the five senses; he went downstairs to his apartment, and a traveller who needed a little rest. The old man had him seated, and the monster told him that he was going to some friends to ask for protection, but that he was afraid of their judgment. The old man encouraged him by asking him to tell the details, when at one point the door opened: Agatha fainted, Safie escaped in fear, while Felix drives the monster away, horrified by his appearance. The monster did not defend himself, and without anyone noticing, he took refuge in his hut.  CHAPTER 8 The monster arrived at night, escaped into the woods, then declared war overall human species and in particular to who had created him. Felix tells other farmers that they would leave the house, because they were too scared to stay there. Later that day, the monster set fire to the hut and ran away. He began his journey to Geneva, to take revenge on Victor. At one point, he spots a young girl, seemingly alone; the girl slips into a stream and appears to be on the verge of drowning. When the monster rescues the girl from the water, the man accompanying her, suspecting him of having attacked her, shoots him. As he nears Geneva, the monster runs across Victor’s younger brother, William, in the woods. When William mentions that his father is Alphonse Frankenstein, the monster took him by the throat to silence him, and in a moment, he killed him. He noticed a picture on the neck of the shining child, took it and went to look for a hiding place. He went into a barn where a girl was sleeping (Justine Moritz), tried to wake her up, but before she did, he left the medal in his clothes and fled. Having explained to Victor the circumstances behind William’s murder and Justine’s sentencing, the monster implores Victor to create another monster to accompany him and be his mate.  CHAPTER 9 Victor refused to create a companion like him, and then the monster threatened to destroy him if he did not consent. He promised to go and live in South America in an isolated area, in contact with the animals and without killing anyone. Victor was taken by compassion but, in view of his appearance, his feelings turned into hatred. In the end, he agreed, as long as the monster left Europe and every other area inhabited by men forever. The monster disappeared, and Victor began to descend from the mountain; he arrived at home, and without saying a word, decided to devote himself to his task. VOLUME 3  CHAPTER 1 Back home, they spent days and weeks, but Victor did not decide to start his work; he would have to spend months and months on the new study, but any excuse was good not to start. His health was improving, and this pleased his father, who one day asked him if he wanted to wife Elizabeth. The father immediately wanted the marriage, but Victor needed time to complete his work. He accepted the marriage but asked a year for a trip to England: only then he could get married. The father agreed, as long as he did not go alone, and without saying anything to Elizabeth, they agreed that his friend Clerval would meet him in Strasbourg to continue his journey to England. Victor left, convinced that the monster would pursue him; he arrived in Strasbourg, where he would cross the Rhine with Henry, arriving in Rotterdam and continuing to London, where they admired the dome of San Paolo and the Tower, very famous in the history of the country.  CHAPTER 2 In London they stayed for several months; Clerval aspired to the company of men of genius and to Victor only needed to get the information needed to start the new job. With every excuse, Victor tried to stay alone to carry on his project. After a few months, Victor and Henry received a letter from a person who, to return the hospitality received in Geneva, invited them to his country: Scotland. Both accepted, and along the way, they stopped to visit Oxford and to admire the beauties of the other countries. Victor was anxious until he received the letters from his father and Elizabeth reassuring him. They reached Edinburgh, and then Victor told his friend that he would rather go around Scotland alone. Henry satisfied him and promised to keep in touch. Victor reached the Orkney Islands, and there he decided to start his work: he rented a hut and had it restored. He began his work only by day and then, to finish the work quickly, he also spent the night. Sometimes he did not even dare to enter the laboratory.  CHAPTER 3 One day, Victor thought that the creature he was doing could not accept the conditions imposed on him by the monster: he could join him and give rise to future generations. At one point, he saw the monster's face from the window: as expected, he had followed it. Victor destroyed what he was working on for anger and, leaving the laboratory, returned to his apartment. The monster, many hours later, joined him, and reminded him that he had suffered hunger and cold to follow him on his journey. Victor confirmed his decision not to continue the work, and so the monster threatened him that he would be with him on his wedding night and then escaped. Victor did not follow him, and wandered the next day for the island, thinking back to the monster's words. The following night, Victor receives a letter from Henry, who, tired of Scotland, suggests that they continue their travels. Victor cleans and packs his chemical instruments and collects the remains of his second creature. Late that evening, he rows out onto the ocean and throws the remains into the water, allowing himself to rest in the boat for a while. When he wakes, he finds that the winds will not permit him to return to shore. He reaches shore near a town. When he lands, a group of townspeople greet him rudely, telling him that he is under suspicion for a murder discovered the previous night.  CHAPTER 4 Victor hears witnesses testify against him, claiming that they found the body of a man along the beach the previous night and that, just before finding the body, they saw a boat in the water