Frankenstein'08

Frankenstein opens with a series of letters written by the outer frame narrator, Richard Walton, to his sister, Mrs Saville. The fourth, and final letter at this stage of the novel, is in three parts, written on three separate days over a two week period. These letters represent a time span of approximately eight months, from the December of one year through to the August of the next, and take place during the final decade of the 18th century. This series of letters is then once again taken up at the end of the novel, when Walton resumes his narration of the events from his perspective.

These initial four, and then five final letters - the last one dated September 12th - 'bookend' the the inner narrations of Frankenstein and then the Creature, and then Frankenstein once more. Thus, the Creature's narrative is located at the heart of the novel, embedded within the framing narratives of Frankenstein and Walton.

In addition to the use of multiple narrators, Shelley also use letters within the text, thus giving a distinctive voice to other characters in the novel.

Through these techniques, Shelley enables the reader to view both Frankenstein and the creature (and their actions) from other viewpoints. (By restricting the use of the first person viewpoint to just one narrator, a novelist inevitably limits the reader's ability to make an informed assessment about narratorial reliability.) In Frankenstein, however, Shelley is inviting the reader to make judgements about Frankenstein and his actions, by presenting certain events and actions from opposing viewpoints.

Consider, for example, Frankenstein's view of the Creature's early life and the reasons why he abandoned his creation, and then compare these with the Creature's account of his upbringing:

"It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half frightened, as it were, instinctively, finding myself so desolate. Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes, but these were insufficient to secure me from the dews of night. I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.

"Soon a gentle light stole over the heavens and gave me a sensation of pleasure. I started up and beheld a radiant form rise from among the trees.*I gazed with a kind of wonder. It moved slowly, but it enlightened my path, and I again went out in search of berries. I was still cold when under one of the trees I found a huge cloak, with which I covered myself, and sat down upon the ground. No distinct ideas occupied my mind; all was confused. I felt light, and hunger, and thirst, and darkness; innumerable sounds rang in my ears, and on all sides various scents saluted me; the only object that I could distinguish was the bright moon, and I fixed my eyes on that with pleasure.

"Several changes of day and night passed, and the orb of night had greatly lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink and the trees that shaded me with their foliage. I was delighted when I first discovered that a pleasant sound, which often saluted my ears, proceeded from the throats of the little winged animals who had often intercepted the light from my eyes. I began also to observe, with greater accuracy, the forms that surrounded me and to perceive the boundaries of the radiant roof of light which canopied me. Sometimes I tried to imitate the pleasant songs of the birds but was unable. Sometimes I wished to express my sensations in my own mode, but the uncouth and inarticulate sounds which broke from me frightened me into silence again."

Consider the 'voice' that Shelley has created for the creature - what is the tone? How is his innocence and vulnerability portrayed? Compare this with the ways in which Frankenstein portrays his creation.