Frankenstein
1/10
Scene Analysis
In the scene where the Creature observes the De Lacey family through the cottage wall during an entire winter, watching their daily routines with fascination, Shelley depicts the Creature's education in human emotion and society. Analyze how Shelley uses this moment to complicate the reader's understanding of the Creature's nature and his capacity for both goodness and violence. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“I am going to unexplored regions, to "the land of mist and snow," but I shall kill no albatross; therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I should come back to you as worn and woeful as the "Ancient Mariner."”
Letters, Letter 2
"I am," said she, "the cousin of the unhappy child who was murdered, or rather his sister, for I was educated by and have lived with his parents ever since and even long before his birth."
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Quote 2
Chapter 10
“Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me.”
Chapter 15
Quote 3
“They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.”
Chapter 3
"Before I come on board your vessel," said he, "will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?"
Letters, Letter 4
“This trait of kindness moved me sensibly. I had been accustomed, during the night, to steal a part of their store for my own consumption, but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots which I gathered from a neighbouring wood.”
Chapter 12