Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus
(Mary Shelley)

The novel is framed as pieces of correspondence being mailed by Robert Walton to his sister (whom we never read from). Robert is planning an ambitious trip to the Arctic and while stuck in some ice, sees a large figure in the distance on a sledge. Later, they come upon Victor Frankenstein, who is slowly nursed back to health. Once better, Victor explains that he was chasing the large figure, and decides to tell Robert his tale as he sees in him the same blind ambition he once possessed.

Victor tells the story of how his parents were wed after his father married his friend’s daughter after saving her from poverty. Victor was their first-born and Elizabeth was adopted soon after as the mother wanted a daughter badly. Victor describes his childhood as joyful, gaining the friendship of Henry Clerval and gaining two younger brothers. Victor’s interest in science begins with reading about the ones from antiquity, and their grand designs inspire Victor.

Years later, Elizabeth gets sick with the scarlet fever and Victor’s mother catches it due to nursing Elizabeth back to health. Victor goes off to college in Germany where he combines the practical knowledge of modern chemistry with the goals of older scientists and discovers the process of creating life. He uses this knowledge to create another being, but quickly regrets his creation once finished, since it is hideous and large. The monster flees and Victor enters a long sickness but is nursed back to health by Henry.

Upon getting better and ready to go home, Victor receives a letter from his father informing him that their youngest family member was strangled. Victor is convinced that it was the monster that committed the crime, but a trial marks the family’s maid as the guilty one, condemning her to death. Victor takes a trip to the mountains to get away from the terrible events, where he runs into the monster, who is suddenly erudite and thoughtful. Though Victor wants to take revenge on the creature, the monster convinces him to listen to his story.

After coming to life, the monster escapes the apartment that served as Victor’s home and lab and wanders the forest, where he learns about light, fire, food, and water. He comes upon a village when hungry, but the terrified villagers pelt him with stones and drive him away. He eventually finds a hovel placed against a cottage, where he is able to secretly watch the family living inside.

He learns that the family is named the De Lacey’s and that they are French exiles that lost their fortune helping a wrongly incarcerated man. Against that man’s wishes, his daughter falls in love with the De Lacey son and escapes to live with him and the rest of the family in the cottage. As the family teaches her how to speak English, the monster is able to participate in the lessons as well, learning to speak, read, and write. He desires to have a meaningful relationship with the family and one day decides to introduce himself to the blind father. The father takes to the monster, but upon walking into their conversation, the De Lacey son attacks the monster due to his horrendous appearance. The family leaves the cottage, causing the monster to feel abandoned and burns down the small house. Having learned about Victor from a journal stored in the pockets of some clothes he took from the apartment, the monster decides to look for him.

On his trip, he saves a drowning girl, but is shot for how he looks. His hate for humanity grows, and it culminates when he reaches Switzerland and runs into William, whom he murders upon finding out he is related to Victor and plants evidence on the maid to make her seem guilty. The monster argues that Victor- as his creator- owes him some bit of happiness and demands a companion be made for him. Victor hesitantly agrees to the demands, as he sees reason in the monster’s argument.

Victor travels to England to acquire information that he needs to build a monster, and Henry travels with him. They split up in Scotland, where Victor begins building a female monster. He then realizes that there’s no guarantee that this new, thinking monster will abide by any deals made before her time, nor that they won’t make children and unleash a race of immensely strong beings on the world to dominate man. Victor destroys the body, whereupon the monster comes in and swears revenge on Victor, saying he’ll be there on his wedding night.

While dumping the evidence of his work, Victor ends up drifting into Ireland where he is immediately arrested for the murder of a man found on the beach earlier. Victor is shown the body, and it’s Henry's, strangled with the same marks as William was. Victor descends into delirium for two months. He is eventually acquitted of the crime and brought back home by his elderly father. Having arrived home, he finally marries Elizabeth.

On their wedding night, Victor awaits the monster- stalking the house and surrounding area while armed. He hears the scream of Elizabeth and knows that she has been strangled, as well. Returning home to his father with the bad news, the elderly Frankenstein dies within a few days. Victor swears to kill the monster and begins a worldwide chase of him that ends with Victor tracking the monster in the Arctic. After nearing death and having his entire sledge dog team dead, Victor is picked up by Walton’s ship, where the stories intersect.

The crew of Walton’s ship threatens mutiny, since some have already died and they are again stuck in the ice. Walton concedes, and Victor dies soon after the ship manages to get free. Walton runs into the monster mourning over Victor’s body, and the two talk. While Walton wants to blame the monster, the latter makes a sort of defense of himself, saying that his actions were both done by choice, but made inevitable because of the circumstances. As Victor died feeling justified in choosing not to be a good creator to his creation, so does the monster feel justified in his motivations of being given life without any hope. The monster decides to immolate himself in the Arctic so no other man can ever make another being like him again and leaves the ship on a raft of ice.