Frankenstein - Volume 1

Chapters 1 - 8
The novel begins with Victor Frankenstein describing his parents. His Mother and Father were a well travelled couple that moved around europe during the years before his birth. They continued to travel during his early childhod, adopting a young girl named Elizabeth int their family, before eventualy settling in Geneva, Switzerland (the city that the author, Mary Shelly, lived in, at the time she wrote the novell).
From a young age, Frankenstein discovered a love for learning, with a particular yearning for the 'Secrets of heaven and earth', and he began to read into the works of natural philosophy; more magic-orientated than scientific based texts however. His mother expresses her wish that Victor and Elizabeth will be joined in union one day, and this leads victor to beleve Elizabeth to be his posession. Later on, a journey's companion introduced him to the idea of Galvinism, which Frankenstein took an immediate interest in, and would later use to create his monster.
His father wants to see Frankenstein's education go further, so he enrolls him at the University of Inglostadt at the age of 17. Frankenstein meets the M.Krempe, who informs him that the texts he has been studying are outdated and irrelevant. An other university professor, M.Waldman, teaches him Chemistry, and is much more sympathetic to his older influences. Frankenstein becomes engrossed in his Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, and becmes friends with Waldman. This obsession with science means that he does not go home fr tw years, although it will actully be fur more until he returns. He obtains body parts to study decay, and finds the secret behind life and animation. Loking back, he decides not to reveal the secret that he discovered, as he beleves that if his experiments were replicated, the same horror that he found would ensue.
The monster is born! Frankenstein's state of mind becomes fragile, a falling leaf causing him to jump, and a horrific nightmare abut Elizabeth decaying in his arms finds him at night. He spends the night hiding in his courtyard, and in the church yard that he obtained the monster's components from.
This seems an odd reaction to being chased by a monstrosity; finding your bed and going to sleep. This can be critisized as a floor in Frankenstein's character, or an unrealistic reaction for Shelly to put in her novel.
The way that Frankenstein behaves when his friend Clerval comes to visit is also unrealistic and eratic. Frankenstein welcomes his friend into his home, where he, for some reason, completely forgets about the monster he has just created that is wondering around somewhere. Where it can be argued that Frankenstein's reaction is his attempt to cover up his creation from his friend, we get an insight into his mental state, and he makes no mention of fear or anxiety, until he suddenly remembers this creature moments later.
Victor reads a letter from Elizabeth, who expresses that she misses him, and has taken in a young orphan called Justine. He then takes Clerval to meet his university lecturers, and feels immense guilt when Waldman praises him as a star pupil, as Frankenstein knows how he has turned his great science into a hideous creation. Frankenstein spends time learning languages of other cuntries, taking a break from the science he craved too much.
His father then delivers him a letter, explaining that Victor's brother, William, has been murdered. He was found strangled near where a family went for a walk, and his brotech of his mother was missing. As the broetch was found amongst Justine's things, the blame was placed on her, and she admitted to killing him. Pained, Victor informs Clervil that he must return home, and finally makes his way back to Geneva. This adds another flaw to Frankenstein's character; he seems heartless until extreme prvocation causes him to do something that drags him away from his own work. Victor's character has been criticised as being too self-involved to be genuine.
Upon nearing Geneva, Victor goes walking to witness the storm rising overhead. The storm grows in power, as Vicor reaches the spot that William was killed. As he cries out, the monster appears, and seems to not notice his creator there. Victor is stunned with fright, and becomes convinced of the idea that the wretch is the murderer of his cousin. Victor then journeys back home
He stands in his home for the first time in Six years, and tells his father, Elizabeth and Ernest that he knows who the killer is, wheras they explain to him that they have heard Justine admit to the crime. Victor feels guilty, but does not spill the beans about his daemon creation, for his fear of what will happen. Victor's father tells Elizabeth to rely on the system of justice to find Justine innocent.