Group 2: Characters By Eileen Chen, Aly Rosenberg and Brian Castelloe 1. Caroline Beaufort 2. Alphonse Frankenstein 3. Henry Clerval 4. The Creature "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Caroline Beaufort -Daughter of Beaufort, Alphonse Frankenstein’s friend -Took the role of a caretaker and nurturer during her father’s illness, supported her father domestically (this role parallels the outlook on women held throughout) “Caroline Beaufort possessed a mind of an uncommon mould, and her courage rose to support her in her adversity. She procured plain work; she plaited straw; and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life” (18, Signet Classics). -After her father's death (the death of the only man in her life), digresses into a female stereotype, needing the protection of another man. “This last blow overcame her; and she knelt by Beaufort's coffin, weeping bitterly, when my father entered the chamber. He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care, and after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva, and placed her under the protection of a relation. Two years after this event Caroline became his wife” (18, Signet Classics).

Caroline Beaufort (cont'd) -Her marriage to Alphonse Frankenstein treated her as frail and as someone to be “recompensated” for hardships “There was a show of gratitude and worship in his attachment to my mother, … a desire to be the means of recompensing her for the sorrows she had endured” (18, Signet Classics). -(Which, funnily enough, the same sentiment never occurs to Victor regarding his creation [which perhaps may have surfaced due to the fact that the creature did not fuel Victor's ego as he so desired]) -She desired a daughter and it was her insistence that led Alphonse and her to take in Elizabeth (Alphonse's niece in 1818 version, orphan in 1831 version). Note: Unlike the creature, Elizabeth's existence as a part of the Frankensteins' life, while not entirely natural, is accepted, appreciated. -"...a desire to bind as closely as possible the ties of domestic love, determined my mother to consider Elizabeth as my future wife; a design she never found reason to repent" (20, Oxford University Press).

Caroline Beaufort (cont'd) -Dies after saving “her favorite” Elizabeth from scarlet fever, playing a sacrificial role (an almost Christ-like figure in a rough sense) and introduces a personal tragedy to spur on the actions of the tale. -"She had, at first, yielded to our entreaties; but when she heard that her favourite was recovering, she could no longer debar herself from her society, and entered her chamber long before the danger of infection was past" (26, Oxford University Press). -Impresses upon Elizabeth the duties of womanhood: caring for her brothers -"Elizabeth, my love, you must supply my place to your younger cousins. Alas! I regret that I am taken from you; and, happy and beloved as I have been, is it not hard to quit you all?" (26, Oxford University Press). -Her death is the first tragedy in Victor’s life, arguably a latent motivation for Victor to dabble in human life, death, preservation (an action that can be viewed as borderline immaturity, a lack of an ability to sink into acceptance or the inevitable) and creation.

Alphonse Frankenstein -Victor’s father -Attempts to dissuade Victor from reading Aprippa, an old alchemist, but this attempt only spurs Victor on further in his pursuits -"'Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash'" (23, Oxford University Press). -Propositions to Victor that he marry Elizabeth “He wished as much as possible to obliterate the memory of the scenes that had taken place in Ireland and never alluded to them or suffered me to speak of my misfortunes” (164, Signet Classics). -A slight parallel of the relationship between Victor and the creature, in that a relationship or a support system between the two is practically nonexistent, ultimately avoided, in order for the former to avoid facing ills that he does not wish to personally cope with—leading to the latter’s inability to ever receive resolution for their actions.

Alphonse Frankenstein (cont'd) -Serves as a voice of reason and justice, society and order. -"'Sweet niece,' said my father, 'Dry your tears. If she is, as you believe, innocent, rely on the justice of our judges, and the activity with which I shall prevent the slightest shadow of partiality" (61, Oxford University Press). -Tries to assume a nurturing role but ultimately fails. He assumes he comprehends Victor's problems and offers his own conceptions of what the solutions should be. But, he never is able to transcend his world view to understand the inexplicability of Victor's situation. -"My father had... during my imprisonment... sometimes seemed to desire an explanation, and at others he appeared to consider it as caused by delirium... The conclusion... convinced my father that my ideas were deranged, and he instantly changed the subject of our conversation, and endeavoured to alter the course of my thoughts" (156-7, Oxford University Press)

Alphonse Frankenstein (cont'd) -A slight parallel of the relationship between Victor and the creature, in that a relationship or a support system between the two is practically nonexistent, ultimately avoided, in order for the former to avoid facing ills that he does not wish to personally cope with—leading to the latter’s inability to ever receive resolution for their actions. -"'Alas! my father,' said I, 'how little do you know me'" (156, Oxford University Press). -Eventually dies of grief from Elizabeth’s death

Henry Clerval -Childhood friend, always a positive portrayal -Aptitude for adventure, imagination, books -Nurses Frankenstein back to health after the creation; *man taking a nursing role “He knew that I could not have a more kind and attentive nurse than himself” (46, Signet Classics). “He was alive to every new scene, joyful when he saw the beauties of the setting sun, and more happy when he beheld it rise and recommence a new day” (133). “But in Clerval I saw the image of my former self; he was inquisitive and anxious to gain experience and instruction. … His design was to visit India, in the belief that he had in his knowledge of its various languages, and in the views he had taken of its society, the means of materially assisting the progress of European colonization and trade” (137-8, Signet Classics). -Clerval is ebullient and joyful, a foil to Frankenstein, for his knowledge is beneficial to mankind, not monstrous. This impresses the view that science can go “too far”, absolutely ruining Frankenstein’s life from what it could have been. Yet…

Henry Clerval (cont'd) “The delight of Clerval was proportionately greater than mine; his mind expanded in the company of men of talent, and he found in his nature greater capacities and resources than he could have imagined himself to have possessed while he associated with his inferiors” (140, Signet Classics). -Here, Clerval’s curiosity and imagination is once again glorified, despite the catastrophe that was Frankenstein’s foray into his scientific experiments. I do not think Shelley was to criticize the nature of science discovery and exploration, rather the dangers of a lack of foresight and caution that Frankenstein took in his endeavors. -Killed by the creature as vengeance towards Frankenstein

The Creature -Created hideous; Victor does not notice how horrifying his creation is until it comes to life, at which point its ugliness drives him to abandon the creature completely (the shock of parenthood without the motherly drive to nurture.) “These luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shriveled complexion and straight black lips” (42, Signet Classics). -Though pieced together from man parts, it is decidedly not human (physically and in turn determined inhuman in mental capacity- a common leap in logic made by societies); it is eight feet tall, survives on less sustenance, endures harsher heat and cold, and is more agile and strong than ordinary man -(Slightly interesting that Frankenstein [via the author's decision] chose to make the creature male; perhaps he was more familiar with male anatomy, but at the very least it reinforces the insignificance of women at the time—either by the inference that women were not a significant part of scientific/medical studies, or the fact that Frankenstein would not, in any case, have thought about creating a woman despite the role of women in his life and his mother’s death)

The Creature (cont'd) -Compares himself to Adam, cast out of the Garden of Eden, of his creator’s light; yet he feels more similar to Satan, hideous and utterly abandoned “I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel” -(Yet Satan’s story implies an initial uprising against the Creator; an ominous statement that implies tension and aggression between the two) -The monster is horrified at his own appearance; though he never gains acceptance externally, more importantly, he never finds self-acceptance and instead turns to bitterness and hate. *The monster reads Victor’s notes on him, and the sort of horrible descriptions of himself. “You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself” (197, Signet Classics).

The Creature (cont'd) -The creature never actually develops relationships. (similar place as females in the novel) -Yet Victor Frankenstein never deigns to formulate a relationship between himself and the creature, despite their inherent connection. -Initially benevolent, helping out the De Laceys out of an appreciation for their beauty, for his appreciation of mankind. He eventually attempts to develop a relationship with the De Laceys. -Accepted by the blind Mr. De Lacey, rejected for his ugliness by the others “Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted; and Safie, unable to attend to her friend, rushed out of the cottage. Felix darted forward, and with supernatural force tore me from his father, to whose knees I clung: in a transport of fury, he dashed me tot he ground, and struck me violently with a stick" (110, Oxford University Press).

The Creature (cont'd) -This incident and the subsequent departure of the De Laceys marks a turning point for the monster, which is catalyzed when the creature is shot after saving the child -"I could with pleasure have destroyed the cottage and its inhabitants, and have glutted myself with their shrieks and misery... I, like the arch fiend, bore a hell within me; and, finding myself unsympathized with, wished... spread havoc and destruction around me...from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species" (111, Oxford University Press). -"This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and, as a recompence, I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound...My daily vows rose for revenge..." (116, Oxford University Press). -Though the reactions of Felix and the rustic seem understandable given the circumstances (a large threatening-looking, re-animated corpse latching onto the blind man and the girl), the creature never actually empathizes with the aggressors he blames, despite his pleas to be sympathized with.

The Creature (cont'd) “I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph; clapping my hands, I exclaimed, ‘I too can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him’” (122, Signet Classics). -Justifies his murders as revenge upon Frankenstein -Here we wonder what is human? Does the creature qualify as human, able to feel the same despair as man, when he has been abused? Or does he qualify as inhuman, unable to forgive Frankenstein, to understand the implications of murder, to solely (like a child) demand his own happiness regardless of the consequences? Are these flaws inherent in mankind? Even so, because of societal conditioning and stigma, must these flaws be regarded as inhuman and inexcusable?

The Creature (cont'd) -Demands from Victor Frankenstein a companion -What entitlement is the creature owed? Even if he is owed a companion, happiness, or acceptance from his creator, does a lack of the afore-mentioned justify murder? -Furthermore, this assumption is inherently childish, under the opinion that a “like” monster would be his companion. Victor Frankenstein astutely brings up the following thoughts: “She, who in all probability was to become a thinking and reasoning animal, might refuse to comply with a compact made before her creation. They might even hate each other; the creature who already lived loathed his own deformity, and might he conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form? She also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man; she might quit him, and he being again alone, exasperated by the fresh provocation of being deserted by one of his own species” (144, Signet Classics).

The Creature (cont'd) -Ultimately, the monster leads Frankenstein on a goose chase. When Frankenstein dies, the creature confesses to Walton: -"'That is also my victim!' he exclaimed; 'in his murder my crimes are consummated... Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me?" (187, Oxford University Press) -"He suffered not in the consummation of the deed. Oh! Not the ten- thousandth portion of the anguish that was mine" (187, Oxford University Press) -"Nay, then I was not miserable. I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, to riot in the excess of my despair. Evil thencefore became my good" (188, Oxford University Press). -"A frightful selfishness hurried me on, while my heart was poisoned with remorse... My heart was fashioned to be susceptible to love and sympathy, and, when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture, such as you cannot even imagine" (188, Oxford University Press).

The Creature (cont'd) -"For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires... Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix... the rustic who sought to destroy the saviour of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings?... But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled the innocent as they slept... I look on the hands which executed the deed; I think on the heart in which the imagination of it was conceived, and long for the moment when they will meet my eyes, when it will haunt my thoughts, no more" (189-90, Oxford University Press) -"Some years ago, when the images which this world affords first opened upon me, when I felt the cheering warmth of summer and heard the rustling of the leaves and the warbling of the birds, and these were all to me, I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation" (190, Oxford University Press)

Thus, the story of the Creature tells us of a horrifying dichotomy: the rejection of the monster for no fault of his own, and the inexcusable violence to which he turns when he cannot find self-acceptance. On one hand, we see the immaturity of a creator who knows not how to face his creature, as well as the societal neglect and avoidance that follow, irreparably scarring the creature's psyche. On the other, we see the monster's first-degree murders and clear criminal intent, born out of vengeance and selfish pursuits.