How does Elizabeth Lavenza come to live with the Frankensteins?

Elizabeth Lavenza comes to live with the Frankenstein family after Victor’s mother, Caroline, discovers her as a young orphan in an Italian village and adopts her. Victor is five years old at the time. Elizabeth, who is beautiful and likable, quickly becomes central to the family’s happiness. Victor says that she became to him “more than sister.” As they grow older, their bond develops into romantic love, and Victor’s mother later expresses the wish that Victor and Elizabeth marry.

Mary Shelley presents Elizabeth’s adoption as part of the Frankenstein family’s generosity and domestic warmth. Early in the novel, Victor describes his childhood as almost ideal, surrounded by affection, companionship, and care for others. That sense of family and belonging later stands in sharp contrast to the monster’s total isolation after Victor abandons him.