Question

For part of Chapter 19 in Frankenstein, Victor structures his telling of the story by describing the places he and Henry Clerval visit on their way to Scotland. There is much description of their journeys through Windsor, Oxford, Matlock, Cumberland and Westmorland, and Edinburgh; however, Victor just briefly mentions passing through Coupar, St. Andrew’s, and Perth, where they are to meet their friend. Explain why Victor chooses to describe Oxford and Cumberland/Westmorland in much more detail than Matlock and Edinburgh, and only mentions Coupar, St. Andrew’s, and Perth. How do these descriptions affect the pacing of the story? How does this structure contribute to the overall visual impact of these descriptions? Provide examples and evidence from the text to support your responses.

Answer 1

Victor and Henry journey through England and Scotland, but Victor grows impatient to begin his work and free himself of his bond to the monster. Victor has an acquaintance in a Scottish town, with whom he urges Henry to stay while he goes alone on a tour of Scotland. Henry consents reluctantly, and Victor departs for a remote, desolate island in the Orkneys to complete his project.

Quickly setting up a laboratory in a small shack, Victor devotes many hours to working on his new creature. He often has trouble continuing his work, however, knowing how unsatisfying, even grotesque, the product of his labor will be

Answer 2

1. Explain why Victor chooses to describe Oxford and Cumberland in much more detail than Edinburgh and Matlock.
- The Victor's journey from Europe to England is a significant moment for the character. He is plagued with guilt that he created a monster and fear that his family is not safe from the monster's revenge. During his visit to Oxford and Cumberland (early stages of his travel to England) he wants to shake off the feeling of impending doom from overcoming his whole being. He wanted, in fact, to distract himself from the sights and places. However, in the latter part of this travel and his visit to Edinburgh and Matlock, Victor felt the tightening of his fear around him. He was not successful in throwing off the heavy feeling and decided to focus on getting to Scotland to finally finish his project. The character in this part limited his descriptions of the places to set another mood or pace for the story. The mere mentioning of Coupar, Perth and St. Andrews merely suggests that these places have been a part of the journey but is irrelevant to the character at the time when he is at his most stressful state.
2. How do these descriptions affect the pacing of this story?
At the beginning of Victor's travel to England, the pace of the story was somewhat slow. The character was taking his time for a breather from the events that happened in Geneva. As their travel lengthened, the character somewhat felt that his situation wasn't improving and the agony was eating him up, therefore, increasing the pace of the story. Up to the point where he is just in a hurry to get to Scotland and start on his project.

3. How does this structure contribute to the overall visual impact of these descriptions?
- The author tries to keep up with the writing style of that time which was Romanticism. Her idea was to romanticize a part of the trip by letting the character engage in his surroundings and enjoy the fresh view of a new place briefly giving him a breather. Now, the increase in the pace signals the end of the Romantic phase for the character, that would lead up to an important part of the story, the call to action. The focus again is on finding the resolution to the problem stated in the story.