Frankenstein: ThemeTracker

The LitCharts ThemeTracker is a mini-version of the entire LitChart. The ThemeTracker provides a quick timeline-style rundown of all the important plot points and allows you to track the themes throughout the work at a glance.

	Preface	Explanation of the novel’s origin as a ghost story.
	Letter 1	Walton writes to his sister of his plans to journey to the North Pole on a mission of exploration and scientific discovery. He feels that he deserves to “accomplish some great purpose.”
	Letter 2	Walton is lonely, yet he remains resolute about trying to reach the North Pole..
	Letter 3	The voyage is going well. Walton writes: “What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?”
	Letter 4	Walton and his crew see a huge “savage” figure in a dogsled speeding across the ice. The ship then comes upon and rescues another man, who gets upset when Walton describes himself as on a quest for knowledge. The man describes himself as having lost everything, and decides to tell his story to Walton.
	1	Victor grows up in Geneva, Switzerland. His family adopts an orphan, Elizabeth Lavenza, who becomes to Victor “more than sister.”
	2	Victor describes his perfect childhood with Elizabeth, and with his friend Henry Clerval, who like Victor wants to leave his mark on human history. Victor grows up, and develops a fascination with “natural philosophy” and a desire to unlock the secrets of nature.
	3	Victor turns 17 and his mother dies of scarlet fever. Victor goes to university in Ingoldstadt, Germany. Professor M. Waldman supports Victor in his goal of revealing “to the world the deepest mysteries of creation.”
	4	After two intense years of study in which he has no time for anything else, including his family, Victor discovers the secret of life. He begins work on creating and then reanimating a being that will bless him as its creator.
	5	Victor brings a creature to life, but is horrified by its appearance and abandons it, running from his apartment. In the streets of Ingoldstadt, he runs into Clerval, and brings Clerval back to his apartment. The monster is gone, but Victor falls into a nervous fever that lasts for months. .
	6	Elizabeth and Victor exchange letters. She tells him that Justine Moritz, a former servant, has come to live with the Frankensteins in Geneva. Victor ceases to study natural philosophy. His health improves. He and Clerval tour Germany, admiring nature. .
	7	On returning to Ingoldstadt, Victor learns that his younger brother William has been murdered. He and Clerval rush back to Geneva. Victor sees the monster near the spot where William was murdered. Justine Moritz is accused of the murder. Victor knows she isn’t guilty, but says nothing about the monster.
	8	Justine Moritz is tried, convicted, and executed on circumstantial evidence. Victor feels guilt over William and Justine’s deaths, but remains silent.
	9	Victor goes with his family to their vacation home in Belrive, but is wracked by guilt. Victor takes a nature tour through France, but the sublime beauty of nature is not enough to keep his dark thoughts at bay for long.
	10	During a hike to the top of Montanvert, Victor comes upon the monster. The monster tells Victor it turned to violence only after Victor abandoned it. The monster forces Victor to consider his responsibilities as a creator and convinces Victor to listen to its story.
	11	Just created, the monster’s appearance terrifies any people who see it. Eventually, it finds a place to hide near a small cottage and watches the family (the De Laceys) that lives inside.
	12	The monster realizes the De Laceys are poor and that the grandfather De Lacey is blind. It collects and leaves firewood for the family. The monster discovers its own ugliness in a pool of water, but is hopeful that with kind words and actions it can convince the De Laceys to see past its appearance.
	13	Safie arrives to live with the De Laceys. The monster learns English along with Safie. The monster also becomes aware of its own isolation.
	14	The monster relates the De Lacey’s family history.
	15	The monster finds a copy of Paradise Lost and feels at times like Adam, but at times like Satan because it does not have the love of its creator. The monster introduces himself to the blind old man De Lacey, who responds favorably. But Felix soon arrives home and attacks the monster, who flees.
	16	The monster plunges into a fit of rage, but the beauty of the next day calms him. He goes to see the De Lacey’s again, but they have moved away. His last link to society destroyed, the monster heads to Geneva to find Victor. Along the way, the monster encounters William, who screams in terror at it. The monster strangles the boy to silence him, then frames for the murder a girl whom the monster finds sleeping nearby. The monster finishes its story, and demands that Victor create a female counterpart for him.
	17	Victor at first refuses, but then finally agrees to the monster’s request. The monster says it will monitor his progress.
	18	Victor’s father wants him to marry Elizabeth. Victor wants to marry her as well, but not with the obligation to the monster still hanging over his head. Victor leaves for England with Clerval, but worries about what might happen if he creates another monster.
	19	Victor seeks solitude, and travels alone to a remote island in Scotland to create the new monster.
	20	Victor notices the monster watching him work, and, overcome by loathing, destroys his work on the second monster. The monster vows revenge, saying, “I shall be with you on your wedding night.” Victor returns by boat to the mainland to continue his travels with Clerval, but when he lands he discovers that he is a suspect in a murder.
	21	Victor learns that the murdered man is Clerval, and realizes that the monster killed him. Victor falls ill. Victor’s father comes to get him. Victor is released because there is no real evidence against him. He returns with his father to Geneva.
	22	Victor refuses to engage with society. But a letter from Elizabeth convinces him to marry her whether or not the monster plans to kill him on his wedding night. Victor and Elizabeth wed. The couple departs for Italy, but Victor is so fearful of the monster he can take no joy in the beauty surrounding him.
	23	The monster kills Elizabeth. Victor rushes back to Geneva. Victor’s father dies soon after learning the news of Elizabeth’s death. Victor goes mad and is kept in a cell for several months. When he recovers, he vows revenge on the monster.
	24	Victor tracks the monster to the North Pole, but the ice breaks up beneath his sled before he can catch the monster. It is at this point that Walton’s crew rescues Victor.
	Walton	Walton’s crew forces Walton to turn back because the way forward is too dangerous. Victor dies. Walton sees the monster grieving over Victor’s body. The monster says that it abhorred itself even as it was doing evil, but wonders why only it, and not Victor, is thought to be a wretch and criminal. It vows to kill itself and jumps from the ship onto the ice.

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