Frankenstein Chapter 16
Braelyn Parkman
Plot Summary
Characters & Character Development
Felix- Felix only appears briefly, but when he does, it's because he's giving up the cottage that he had been living in with his family because they are all so terrified of the Creature. He's indirectly characterized as being protective of his family, but also hateful towards the Creature.
Little Girl in the Woods (and her dad)- All the little girl does is fall into a stream and become unconscious, so we don't know much about her character, and it's not very important to the story. We do know a bit more about her dad. The two were playing together, so it is safe to assume that he cares about and loves her. The Creature represents the father as being representative of humanity's prejudice against him because of how ugly he is; however, the father didn't see the little girl fall into the stream, so upon seeing the Creature with his unconscious daughter he probably thought he was responsible.
William- The creature doesn't know the boy's name, but he does find out that he belongs to the Frankenstein family. The boy is young and active, but not unprejudiced- he calls the Creature "ugly" and "hideous" and insists that he has to let him go because his father is a very important man. William was probably pretty spoiled.
Literary Devices
Metaphor- The Creature compares his feelings to a stream, saying "I did not strive to control them; but, allowing myself to be borne away..." Throughout the book, Shelley compares emotion and nature, constantly reflecting one in the other, so this continues that trend.
The Alps in the Canton of Jura. Digital image. Jura- Traditional Mentality and Tranquility. Travelmyne, 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Themes
Treatment of Women- At the end of the chapter, the Creature plant's the picture from William's body on Justine, who was asleep in a barn. Justine had never done anything to the Creature or ever even seen him, but he decides to take his revenge on her anyway. He feels entitled to her affection but feels that he won't get it. It's important that he takes these feelings of entitlement out on a woman; in the same way that he asks for a female companion.
Important Quotations
"Nature decayed around me, and the sun became heatless; rain and snow poured around me; mighty rivers were frozen; the surface of the earth was hard and chill, and bare, and I found no shelter."
"This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and, as a recompense, I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound, which shattered the flesh and bone."
"... all joy was but a mockery, which insulted my desolate state, and made me feel more painfully that I was not made for the enjoyment of pleasure."
"Here, I thought, is one of those whose joy-imparting smiles are bestowed on all but me."
"'I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species, and have the same defects. This being you must create.'"