FRANKENSTEIN

A Revision Guide

Vivienne Maistry

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 Plot Summary

Robert Walton, an explorer, tells how he has met Victor Frankenstein in the Arctic after earlier having seen
a 'gigantic figure' crossing the ice. Victor tells of his childhood and his caring family, particularly of his love
for his foster sister Elizabeth. His mother dies of fever just before he leaves to study at university. While at
university, Victor's interest in science becomes an obsession. Victor uses dead bodies to experiment on and
creates a monster made of body parts. He is immediately disgusted by the thing he has created and
abandons it. Victor's brother William is murdered and Justine Moritz, a family servant, is executed for it.
However, Victor believes the Monster is to blame after witnessing it at the scene of the murder. The
Monster and Victor meet in the Swiss mountains. The Monster tells the story of how it has survived and of
the time it has spent becoming educated. The Monster asks Victor to admit responsibility for his actions
and show some sympathy. He also pleads with Victor to build a female companion. Victor agrees and finds
a remote spot in the Orkneys where he begins to construct the female creature but suddenly, realising the
consequences of what he is doing, he tears it to pieces. The Monster, who has followed Victor, is enraged
and in revenge kills Victor's best friend, Henry Clerval. Victor and Elizabeth marry, but Victor finds his new
wife dead at the hands of the Monster. He vows to hunt the creature down. In Walton's last letters, back in
the Arctic, Frankenstein dies and the Monster, still miserable, heads off, probably to its own death.

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 Summary of Key Moments
Walton's ship
Robert Walton writes a series of letters to his sister Margaret Saville and tells the story of how his polar expedition becomes
trapped in ice and how one day he sees a 'gigantic figure' in the distance. The next day he takes on board a mysterious stranger,
Victor Frankenstein. Victor takes over the narration and tells Walton a complex tale about his life history and how he comes to
be alone so near to the North Pole.

Young Victor
As a child, Victor Frankenstein's life in Switzerland is safe and secure with loving parents (Alphonse and Caroline) and two
younger brothers (Ernest and William). Victor's charitable mother also gives a home to a young orphan girl, Elizabeth Lavenza,
and Victor grows particularly fond of her. Victor shows an inquisitive nature and is particularly fascinated by anything scientific.
Victor’s mother falls ill and passes away. It is her dying wish that Victor and Elizabeth will one day marry.

Creation of the Monster

Victor attends the University of Ingolstadt in Germany where he becomes fascinated by the creation of life. For two years he
pursues his ambition to create a man and bring him to life. During this time he neglects his family and friends and makes himself
ill. Victor hopes to create a perfect being but in reality the huge creature he produces is made up from pieces of various corpses
he has taken from graveyards and mortuaries. Eventually Victor succeeds in bringing this creation to life but when he realises
how monstrous it actually is, he abandons it, thinking it will die a natural death from neglect.

The death of William and the execution of Justine

Victor is by now very unwell but is nursed back to health by his closest friend, Henry Clerval. Together the two go travelling to
Italy. Just as they are about to return to Victor's home, they receive the news that the youngest Frankenstein, Victor's infant
brother William, has been tragically killed. The blame has fallen on Justine Moritz, a trusted servant of the Frankenstein family,
but Victor sees his creature near the scene of the crime lit up by lightning flashes. He realises the truth about William's death but
also knows that nobody will believe his fantastic story. The innocent Justine is tried and executed, so she and William become
the first to fall victim to Victor's ambition.

The Monster's story

A guilty Victor goes alone into the Swiss mountains where, eventually, he meets up with the Monster. He is surprised to find that
it has survived and that it also has the power of language. The Monster tells a long story about how he has secretly lived in an
outbuilding next to the De Lacey family following their lessons as they teach a foreign visitor their language and also learning
about other subjects such as history, geography, religion and culture. He repays the family by secretly doing many of their
household chores. He reveals himself to the family but they are so horrified by his appearance that the Monster goes on the run
again. He finds similar treatment from everyone he meets and becomes lonely and isolated. The Monster asks Victor to accept
that he is responsible for his loneliness and misery and to make him a female companion to be his partner through life. Victor
agrees in a desperate attempt to save the rest of his family from the Monster's revenge.

The Murder of Henry and creation of a companion

Without telling him why, Victor journeys to Britain with Henry as his companion. The two separate and Victor goes to the
remote Orkney Islands to carry out his promise of creating a companion for the Monster. Although he begins the work, he
suddenly realises the consequences of his actions and destroys his creation. The Monster, who has been following Victor all
along, is furious. He promises that on the night Victor marries he will return. Out of fury and revenge, the Monster murders
Henry.

Death of Elizabeth
Distraught Victor returns to Switzerland and Elizabeth. They are married and set out for their honeymoon. Remembering the
Monster's threat, Victor assumes that this is the night that the Monster will kill him but instead the Monster murders Elizabeth.
When Victor's father hears what has happened he dies broken-hearted. Victor has a mental breakdown. When he recovers he
tells a magistrate what has happened but no action is taken

The Death of Victor Frankenstein

Victor accepts that he must deal with the problem himself and sets out in pursuit of the Monster. He chases it right across
Europe and eventually finds himself in the Arctic, where Walton discovered him on the ice. Walton once again continues the
narration in the letters to his sister. He tells her how Victor eventually dies from a combination of exhaustion and exposure to
the cold and how he finds the Monster in Victor's cabin full of sorrow for the death and destruction he has caused. Telling
Walton of the misery it has suffered, the Monster leaps back onto the ice and disappears into the Arctic night, apparently intent
on killing itself.

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 Contextual factors

The Quest for Knowledge

Shelley presents her ideas about human nature; the attitude of inquiry through the
exploration and quest for knowledge that was prevalent at that time.

The Creature represents the dangers of science as it was written during a time of rapid
progress in science (Anatomy, Electricity). The novel explores the complex exploration
of the tension between developing the mind and knowing too much and violating the
accepted limit of human intervention.

Shelley cleverly uses the creature in the novel to warn governments about mistreating
the masses. Through the rejection that the creature experiences, Shelley presents
society’s attitudes to outsiders. Perhaps, Shelley also created the Creature as a
warning against the dangers of industrialisation. Interfering with nature ad creating
‘monsters’ that cannot be controlled has serious consequences.

Attitudes to Outsiders

Furthermore, the Creature is also a depiction of society’s weaknesses, flaws, faults and
judgemental attitude to foreigners and outsiders. Shelley reinforces that view that love
is a fundamental need, regardless of one’s origin, background and appearance.

Attitudes to women

Ideas of Romanticism-Through the description of the beauty in nature and women,

Shelley expresses ideas about Romanticism.

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 Key Characters

Frankenstein
Shelley presents Frankenstein as a passionate and ambitious scientist who pursues new
knowledge and goes beyond the accepted limits of human intervention. He is also presented
as a creator of life, who assumes that his creation would be grateful and happy to ‘bless me as
its creator’, ‘happy and excellent natures’; Frankenstein is portrayed as both disillusioned and
naïve about the nature of the monster and the consequences of his actions as he misjudges
the monster.
Shelley also depicts Frankenstein as obsessive and compulsive. He immerses himself in his
work and becomes obsessed with ‘unremitting ardour.’ Frankenstein is presented as working
to the extent of becoming ‘pale with study’ and ‘emaciated with confinement,’ suggesting
that his work takes priority and even makes him ill.
Shelley presents Frankenstein as confused and driven by a ‘variety of feelings’ that are
described with a simile: ‘like a hurricane.’ He speaks of binary opposites: ‘life and death’, ‘light
into our dark world.’ These oxymorons suggest an instability and a desire to express another
aspect of himself and of the world.
On the other hand, Shelley also presents Frankenstein as both romantic and secretive when
she personifies the natural elements ‘the moon gazed on’, ‘I pursued nature to her hiding-
place.’ Frankenstein loses his sense of humanity and becomes secretive when he speaks of the
‘horrors of my secret toils’, when he ‘dabbled amongst the unhallowed damps of the grave’
and ‘tortured the living animal’

The use of the assonance in ‘My limbs now tremble’, ‘my eyes swim’, creates an image of
Frankenstein in a state of utter nervousness. Furthermore, the metaphor in ‘eyes swim’
depicts his uncontrollable anxiety and fretfulness, emphasised by ‘resistless, and almost
frantic, impulse. ’ Shelley clearly portrays his sense of isolation and self – exile in ‘In a solitary
chamber, or rather cell…’, illustrating that he recognises that his work has taken a sinister and
macabre turn, making it unnatural and evil.

The first person narrative provides a chilling recount of the sequence of events that led to his
eventual decline and death. The sharing of his direct experience with the reader makes the
events horrifying.

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 The Creature
Shelley uses many devices in her presentation of the creature. At first Frankenstein creates a
horrific image of the creature and the reader starts to believe that the creature is monster.
Before we meet the creature, Frankenstein refers to him as a ‘catastrophe’ and portrays a
savage and dreadful image pf the Creature. However, when the reader meets him much later,
we discover that he is loving and caring and good natured. Shelley also presents the creatures
as a sympathetic being, longing for companionship and love. Shelley presents the creature as
sensible and as a thinking and feeling entity, needing a companion, just like in the bible, when
Adam requires a companion. The creature emerges as a very intelligent and inherently good,
as suggested in ‘kindness moved me sensibly’. However, Frankenstein refers to the creature as
a ‘catastrophe’ ‘wretch’ and ‘horrid,’ depicting Shelley’s seems to suggest that the creature
seems to parallel Frankenstein. The creature has become like Frankenstein, representing his
creator’s conscience, ego and fears. He is a product of his creator; however, he is an
experiment that has gone terribly wrong and therefore is subjected to rejection and fear.
Shelley presents the contrast in humanity through the interplaying of good and evil
simultaneously in one being; compassion and hatred surfacing when roused in the monster.
Shelley’s message might reflect the significance of the nurture versus nature debate; that if
good is cultivated and supported, then good will preside, however if hatred and cruelty is
fuelled, then disaster will prevail. Shelley gives the monster a powerful persuasive voice which
illustrates its intelligence and sophistication.

"You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me,
and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you comply I will leave them
and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with
the blood of your remaining friends."
The use of the personal pronouns and conditional clauses, depict his clear intentions, demands
and assertive, but sadistic personality. Shelley’s portrays the creature as a formidable threat.
The monster’s use of sophisticated language, rhetorical devices and different sentence types
reflect his intellect and mental strength.

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 Walton Roberts

Walton is presented as an enthusiastic and adventurous discoverer who is excited about

the prospect of new discoveries; the cold breeze fills him ‘with delight.’ Shelley’s portrays
Walton as an enthusiast through the language that he uses to describe the places that he
will visit. He is always in eager anticipation of the locations he visits, which to him are
areas of ‘beauty and delight’. He uses metaphors when he describes the pole as being ‘the
seat of frost’ and the sun ‘a broad disc. His intelligence and flamboyance with language is
depicted through his choice of words and phrases that describe the places. He is clearly
optimistic, illustrated through the use of positive language to express his hopes for the
journey: ‘perpetual splendour’, ‘calm sea’, ‘phenomena of the heavenly bodies’

He is also presented as incredibly enquiring as demonstrated through his ‘curiosity’

exploring an area ‘never before imprinted by the foot of man.’ His ego and pride drives
him forward and motivates him to confront treacherous conditions, despite the danger
they present to him, just like ‘the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat.’ The
‘fear of danger or death’ is outweighed by Walton’s positive outlook and excitement.

Shelley highlights the dangers of new discoveries and knowledge through Walton, who
believes that his adventure can bestow a ‘benefit’ on ‘all mankind’ by discovering a new
‘passage’ to make journeys quicker; he hopes to discover ‘the secret of the magnet.’
Shelley uses language effectively to convey Walton’s excitement . Her use of rhetorical
questions such as, ‘Do you understand this feeling?’, ‘What may not be expected in a
country of eternal light?’ makes the reader appreciate his excitement. His enthusiasm is
demonstrated when Walton hyperbolically says that he has: ‘an enthusiasm which
elevates me to heaven. ’The first person narrative conveys Walton’s inner thoughts which
are presented throughout in his letter. Furthermore, the structure allows the reader to
understand how exciting the adventure is for the captain.

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 Themes

Themes

Obsession
Shelley presents the characters as being obsessive in their nature. Through this compulsive
obsession, which has resulted in numerous deaths and destruction, Shelley seems to suggest
that there is danger in the acquisition of knowledge.
Shelley depicts Victor Frankenstein’s unnatural obsession through his pursuit of knowledge;
going beyond accepted human limits, when he accesses the secret of life. This unnatural
obsession is presented through his creation of the monster and later when he wants it
destroyed. Frankenstein's obsession with the creation of life alienates him from his loved ones;
his obsession with the act of creation eventually results in the destruction of everyone dear to
him; his obsessive hatred of the monster drives him to his death.

Similarly, Robert Walton is obsessive about surpassing previous human explorations by

endeavouring to reach the North Pole; we follow Walton's obsession through his letters to his
sister in which he tries to justify his motives; Walton confides in Frankenstein when he tells him
about his desire to reach and explore the North Pole. The obsession is also driven by his ego
which results in Walton leading his crew into danger and death. He restrains himself from
treacherous, obsessive mission, having learned from Frankenstein’s example how destructive
the thirst for knowledge can be.
On the other hand, the monster is obsessed with finding his creator; the monster's
loneliness leads him to seek knowledge, just like Frankenstein, but he is rejected by those he
meets. Through the monster's obsession with finding Frankenstein, he embarks on a path of
destruction, killing Frankenstein's brother and wife and Clerval, when he becomes desperate for
Frankenstein to make him a companion.

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 Nature vs Nurture

Victor Frankenstein and the creature he creates, are both subjected to two very different nurturing
styles. Although both nature and nurture are important throughout the novel, the nature argument is
responsible for the fall of Victor Frankenstein, while the nurture argument is responsible for the fall of the
creature. Shelley makes this idea clear to the reader through her powerful diction when describing Victor’s
and the creature’s personalities. Shelley also makes use of light and fire as a symbol for the creative but
physically destructive force.
Shelley first describes Victor’s nature as being born “a Genevese” with a family that is “one of the most
distinguished of that republic.” Victor explains that his ancestors, for many years, had been “counsellors and
syndics.” Frankenstein continues to describe his family with adjectives such as, “honour,” and
“integrity.” Shelley’s use of powerful words used to describe the Frankenstein family, as well as their
prestigious placement in society, indicate that the family’s innate ability to lead. This rich ancestral history is
part of Victor’s nature, being no exception to this prestigious heritage, and Victor ultimately becomes a
victim of his nature. Victor’s greed for power is too much for him to handle. The creatures is a reflection of
his greed for power and recognition as indicated in “I had worked…for the sole purpose of infusing life into
an inanimate body… I had desired it with ardor that far exceeded moderation,” Victor states (39). Shelley’s
use of powerful nouns and verbs such as ‘desire’, ‘ardor’, and ‘exceeded’ portray the idea of this
overwhelming need for power and control in Victor’s nature, and foreshadows Victor’s ultimate
downfall. . His father’s careful attitude speaks highly of Victor’s nurture. Through Victor’s upbringing,
education and family life, Shelley presents him as a product of his circumstances and a man who clearly has
an advantage in life because of his nurturing upbringing. He has had positive influences and has become a
victim of hiss innate desire to learn and have superiority.

On the other hand, the creature, is Victor Frankenstein’s polar opposite. He is left at the mercy of his
environment which has been unkind to him. The reader has small glimpses of the creature’s natural desire
to learn to read, write, and be accepted by other human beings, but beyond this, the creature’s lack of
nurture is solely responsible for the corruption of him and the terrible deeds he commits throughout the
novel. Shelley uses harsh adjectives to describe Victor’s feelings toward the “demoniacal corpse to which
[he] had so miserably given life to” (40). Shelley’s diction in the description of the creature is quite
striking. The phrase “demoniacal corpse” and the word ‘miserable’ generate a hostile and wretched
representation of this “birth” for the reader. Shelley’s use of this depressing diction creates a gloomy tone
and foreshadows coming events in the creature’s life. Victor is a father figure to the creature. He has given
life to the creature. After being left to fend for himself, the creature describes how he is treated by the
world around him. Again we see Shelley make use of light as a symbol for curiosity and knowledge, this time
through fire. Shelley utilizes the creature’s description of the first fire he sees fire as being “overcome
with…the warmth I experienced from it. In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers” (81). The creature
is not capable of understanding why he is met with horrific pain from this sublime element of nature, thus
beginning his quest for human knowledge. The creatures is detested by the first family he meets. Some of
the family fled, some fainted, and the male family member “struck [the creature] violently with a
stick.” Shelley’s use of emotive verbs and adjectives here portrays the intense cruelty, abuse and brutality
that the creature receives from other human beings. Shelley deliberately chooses the word ‘fled’, to indicate
the terror that the humans felt. Furthermore, the verb, ‘fainted’, indicates how fearful they were and how
horrific he looked. This devastating situation reinforces the creature’s awareness of his lack of a nurturing
and loving environment. In addition, the child screams at the creature, calling him an “ogre” and states that
he is a “hideous monster” suggesting that even an innocent child, free from most prejudices of the world,
will not accept the creature. Shelley’s conscientious choice of diction when referring to the creature as an
‘ogre’ allows the reader to fully understand the lack of a nurturing environment that he is subjected to. This
constant degradation fuels the creature’s symbolic fire and causes his horrific deeds. Much like an abused
animal, the creature lashes out at those around him, killing and harming fellow human beings because he is
constantly met with anger and violence himself. Perhaps the creature would have shown compassion to
others if he had been taught compassion himself and he was loved and treated with respect.

The Dangers of
8 Knowledge

Shelley presents Frankenstein as usurping the role of God in creating life. He attempts to create
 MOTIFS AND SYMBOLS

Journeys
All the trips in the novel reflect the physical, emotional, scientific and metaphorical
journeys. Frankenstein’s journeys represent his quest for knowledge, his internal
journey of discovery, as well as journey of discovery in his professional world of
science.
Similarly, the monster embarks on his journey, meeting cottagers to understand how
others perceive him. His journey also helps him discover his desire for love and
companionship, which sets him off on a journey to find Frankenstein to create a
companion for him, leading to disastrous consequences.
Walton’s journeys reflect his sense of adventure and discovery as well; resulting in
learning for him which eventually restrains and cautions him about the dangers and
blind desire for fame and recognition.
Elizabeth’s journeys, both physical and emotional. Her admiration for Frankenstein is
a journey in itself. She travels for the purpose of education and to be with her fiancé.

Religious Symbolism
The biblical references that Shelley uses in the novel. ‘Paradise Lost ‘ is the Creature’s
favourite book as he identifies with Satan who was also a victim of judgement.

Light and Lightning

Victor’s natural curiosity about the sciences is depicted through Shelley’s use of
lightning as a symbol for intellectual inquisitiveness. “I remained, while the storm
lasted, watching…with curiosity and delight…this excited my extreme
astonishment.” Shelley’s use of light symbolizes the spark of curiosity just before the
lightning flash and the discovery of a newfound intelligence or skill after the lightning
has flashed. Shelley introduces the reader to the symbol of light when Victor utilizes it
to give life to his creation during a storm. Victor explicitly states his curiosity for the
sciences is sparked by the sublime nature of lightning; however, he describes his father
“had taken the greatest precautions that [his] mind should be impressed with
supernatural horrors,” such as science

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 Key Quotations

Walton’s Narrative

 ‘I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and
may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man’.
 ‘…ascertaining the secret of the magnet…’.
 ‘…my father’s dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark on a seafaring life’.
 ‘…I preferred gory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path’.
 ‘…but I bitterly feel the want of a friend’.
 ‘What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?’
 ‘I never saw a man in so wretched condition’.
 ‘He must have been a noble creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so attractive
and amiable’.
 ‘One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge
which I sought for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our
race’
 ‘Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught?
Hear me- let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!’
 ‘Will you smile with the enthusiasm I express concerning this divine wanderer?’
 ‘You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of
your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine have been.’

Victor’s Narrative

 ‘And when, on the morrow, she presented Elizabeth to me as her promised gift, I, with childish
seriousness, interpreted her words literally and looked upon Elizabeth as mine – mine to protect,
love, and cherish.’
 ‘The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine.’
 ‘No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself. My parents were
possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence.’
 ‘It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn.'
 ‘Natural philosophy is the genius that regulated my fate.’
 ‘Wealth was an inferior object.’
 ‘…electricity and galvanism … was at once new and astonishing to me.’
 ‘Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.’
 ‘M Krempe was a little squat man, with a gruff voice and a repulsive countenance; the teacher,
therefore, did not prepossess me in favour of his pursuits.’
 ‘In a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder.’
 ‘Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed?’
 ‘Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the
acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to
be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.’
 ‘A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures
would owe their being to me.’
 ‘Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of
the grave or tortured the living animal to animate the lifeless clay?’
 ‘The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials’.
 ‘Sometimes I grew alarmed at the wreck I perceived that I had become…’
 ‘It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils’.

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  ‘…I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my
heart.’
 ‘…I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms…’
 ‘His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He
might have spoken but he did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but
I escaped and rushed downstairs.’
 ‘A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic
structure, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly
informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon to whom I had given life.’
 ‘During this whole wretched mockery of justice I suffered living torture.’
 ‘Ever since I was condemned, my confessor has besieged me; he threatened and menaced, until I
began to think that I was the monster that he said I was. He threatened excommunication and
hell fire in my last moments if I continued to obdurate.’
 ‘She was no longer that happy creature who in earlier youth wandered with me on the banks of
the lake, and talked with ecstasy of our future prospects.’
 ‘…men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other’s blood.’
 ‘These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable
of receiving.’
 ‘…its unearthly ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes.’

The Creature’s Narrative

 ‘All men hate the wretched.’

 ‘How dare you sport thus with life?’
 ‘Do your duty towards me.’
 ‘Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery?’
 ‘I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy and I shall again be
virtuous.’
 ‘Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not
alone, miserably alone?’
 ‘The guilty are allowed, by human laws, bloody as they are, to speak in their own defence before
they are condemned.’
 ‘The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones
and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country…’
 ‘..the barbarity of man.’
 ‘He raised her, and smiled with such kindness and affection that I felt sensations of a peculiar and
overpowering nature…’
 ‘What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but
dared not.’
 ‘I saw no cause for their unhappiness; but I was deeply affected by it. If such lovely creatures were
miserable, it was less strange that I, an imperfect and solitary being, should be wretched.’
 ‘A considerable period elapsed before I discovered one of the causes of the uneasiness of this
amiable family: it was poverty, and they suffered that evil in a very distressing degree.’
 ‘I often took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for
the consumption of several days.’
 ‘I viewed myself in the transparent pool! At first I started back, unable to believe that it was
indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality
the monster that I am…’

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 Knowledge Map

Match the Themes with the Characters and the Context

Theme Characters Evidence/ Key Moments/ Quotes (AO2) Context (AO3)

(AO1)
(AO1)

Family, Love
and
Acceptance

Scientific
Knowledge

Prejudice,
Fear and
Judgement

Justice and
Revenge and
Obsession

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Acknowledgements
These notes have been compiled after an analysis of the examination requirements for both the AQA and
Edexcel Literature examinations. The material has been adapted for the new spec GCSE Literature
examinations.
1. www.aqa.org.uk
2. www.edexcel.co.uk
3. www.bbc.com
4. UT English Lit Major

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