Frankenstein_Chapter_1_Overview

Victor Frankenstein, begins his narration. He starts with his family background, birth, and early childhood, telling Walton about his father, Alphonse, and his mother, Caroline. Alphonse became Caroline’s protector when her father, Alphonse’s longtime friend Beaufort, died in poverty. They married two years later, and Victor was born soon after. “He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care; and after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva, and placed her under the protection of a relation. Two years after this event Caroline became his wife. There was a considerable difference between the ages of my parents, but this circumstance seemed to unite them only closer in bonds of devoted affection” - pg 27, Ch.1 Victor Frankenstein then mentions his childhood companion Elizabeth lavenza, who was adopted by his parents into the family. Elizabeth was discovered by his mother, while they were in Italy. “this child was thin, and very fair. Her hair was the brightest living gold, and despite the poverty of her clothing, seemed to set a crown of distinction on her head. Her brow was clear and ample, her blue eyes cloudless, and her lips and the moulding of her face so expressive of sensibility and sweetness that none could behold her without looking on her as a distinct species, a heaven-sent” -pg 29, Ch.1 (This quote mainly describes on how Elizabeth’s appearance) “his child became an orphan and a beggar. She continued with her foster parents, and bloomed in their rude abode, fairer than a garden rose among dark-leaved brambles” -pg 30, Ch.1 Romanticism: The love between the parents. Relationship between Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth Lavenza “my more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only.” -pg 31, Ch.1. The Frankensteins emotional admiration for Elizabeth. “When my father returned from Milan, he found playing with me in the hall of our villa a child fairer than a pictured cherub - a creature who seemed to shed radiance from her looks and whose form and motions were lighter than the chamois of the hills”-pg 30, Ch.1 “Everybody loved Elizabeth” -pg 30, Ch.1