Introduction
As preparation for this assignment, I read the first 4 chapters of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In this part of the work, I have learned more about Victor Frankenstein’s childhood and live, his interests and aspirations. With the information I have been given, I shall attempt to make a number of specific predictions about the future story developments. This will allow me to train my observational skills and pay better attention to the narrative.
Prediction
Following the plot developments thus far, it is obvious that Victor will succeed in creating a living being. However, I would like to assert that the way in which the “monster” will be created surmised even in this early stage. I predict that the lightning young Victor saw will become an influence on the creation process. More specifically, I think that Victor will use lightning to bring his project to culmination and animate the creature. I came to this conclusion due to a number of factors. First, the lightning has made a deep impression on the main character. The narrative devotes considerable time to describing the devastation it brought to a tree near Victor. Second, the use of deadly force in the creation process will work as a symbolic inversion of the natural order, showing how the man’s actions go against the established principles of morality.
Lightning also has heavy ties to Christianity, which works to embolden my prediction. In the time period Mary Shelley lived, Christianity would be the prominent religion and underlying moral philosophy. In this context, lightning would be understood as a sign of divine, godly power. If lightning is primarily wielded by God himself, Victor’s appropriation of it are a form of blasphemy.
Further building on the contrast between the ambitions of the man-maker and principles of Christianity, I think that Victor will be punished for his actions and suffer greatly. The narrative appears to portray his actions in an unsympathetic light, showing that the desire to create a body out of the dead is bad. Therefore, I think that Victor will suffer. In addition, I would like to make a claim that his future fiancée Elisabeth will be killed at some point in the future. I consider this to be true because death plays a large part in the story as a whole, and Victor’s life specifically. His actions, along with the general course of his life, make it highly likely that she will die as well, acting as punishment for his hubris.
Counter Claim
I can imagine that a counter claim can be made to my prediction about lightning. In such a case, one can assert that the detailed description of lightning is purely to give Victor a strong reason to be interested in science, and its appearance is not foreshadowing. In such a case, a potential way for Victor to create a monster would be by simply using alchemy or some type of knowledge he obtains through his studies.
Response
I think that the second appearance of lightning makes better thematic and narrative sense. It would be a good example of a set up and payoff, rewarding the audience for their attention. In addition, it would reinforce the symbolism of Victor’s actions going against the natural order. Lightning is an occurrence dictated by the law of the world, one that brings destruction and death. The use of its power to bring a creature to life, then, betrays its original purpose and cements the Frankenstein’s monster as alien to the world itself. Therefore, lightning will be used in later parts of the book.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to state that this exercise was both extremely interesting and stimulating. I found speculating on potential future plot points to be a productive task, one which allowed me to consider different parts of the plot and my own understanding of them. I would like to continue using a similar approach in my free reading time, as it helped me better understand the text.