Setting in Frankentstein

1. Setting in Frankentstein Nicole Haiduck, Shannon Wailes and Kasondra Campbell

2. Once Dr. Frankenstein decides to become godlike and steals a body, the setting helps us peer into his heart and experience his dark fascination. He looks down at the lifeless body and his instruments "on a dreary night of November" and "the rain pattered dismally against the panes." Thus, this dark setting in this scene serves as a window into the doctor's heart and exposes his intentions. The bleak setting is a perfect backdrop, displaying the regrets and remorse the doctor feels after creating the hideous creature. It foreshadows the continuous dark tone of the story. This darkness is nurtured when the doctor becomes aware that his creation may have played a role in the death of two of his loved ones. It's a foggy night when he sees the monster and calls him a "Devil," opening a window into the heart of the monster, revealing the loneliness and anguish he feels about his unique existence. In Frankenstein, the setting pushes the plot and creates the essence of many of the scenes in this dark story.

3. When the monster recounts his tale, many of the words he uses are dark. He talks about the changes from light to darkness, and he speaks of the disappearance of the moon. These analogies perfectly suit his inability to fit into society, in a world that is able to travel in daylight. The night is the only time he can be concealed from the fearful, disgusted eyes of others.

4. The gloomy, dark setting acts as a character, drawing two lost souls together and creating a frightening tale of life, death and loneliness. It's no wonder that it's a night of unrest that gives birth to the monster.

5.     Weather - cold-loneliness, revenge, the monster can endure much colder temperatures than man symbolizing his ability to kill multiple times and have that not effect is outward demeanor (he can be described as “cold-blooded”). The monster himself is cold and pretty much dead. Chapter 5, “the abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me…all gathered around me, and bade me be at peace” (1st paragraph of chapter)     Heat - passion, anger, Hell, the anger of the monster, Dr. Frankenstein and all those around them.     Ice – precariousness, physical obstruction, loss of control.     Snow – we never know what lies beneath the snow, it can cover up/mask all the dirtiness of the land; deception, mystery, like fog it can cloud our vision and foresight.

6. Rain – “the rain was pouring in torrents and thick mists hid the summits of the mountains, so that I even saw not the faces of those mighty friends. Still I would penetrate their misty veil and seek them in their cloudy retreats. What were rain and storms to me?” (2nd Paragraph of ch 5 pg 94).  “…rain poured from the dark sky, and added to the melancholy impression I received from the objects around me…if our impulses were confined to hunger thirst and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us. “ pg 95

7. ARTIC VISUAL OCEANS VISUAL

8. Even in the early chapters of Frankenstein, Shelley uses natural metaphors to describe Victor’s childhood:     "I feel pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mind, and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self . . . I find it arise, like a mountain river, from ignoble and almost forgotten sources; but swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys." (Shelley, 21)  The use of the words “swelling” “swept away” symbolizes the tendencies of not just a river but also the sea. A river is something that is apart of a bigger connection, which would feed into a bigger body of water. The idea of human connections and how we all feed into one being, one group of people as a whole. The interconnection of this relationship is very reflective of the monster and society. Without the society, the monster would be nothing. He was born from bits and pieces of the society, and together the society will try to take him away.

9.     “The surface is very uneven, rising lie the waves of a troubled sea, descending glow, and interspersed by rifts that sink deep. The field of ice is almost a league in width but I spent nearly two hours in crossing it. “ (pg. 96) The sea symbolizes eternity whether that is heaven or hell, and the depth of it's power and ability. It is powerful and capable of dark deeds (drowning people). It is cold and mysterious and there isn't a light, or a certain understanding of things. The depth of the ocean also symbolizes the contrast between the character’s surface level actions and emotions and their deeper emotions and intentions.