Frankenstein: Plot Summary (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Frankenstein: Plot Summary

Having an in-depth knowledge of the plot of Frankenstein will help you to draw different aspects of the narrative together. It’s important that you know what occurs and where so that you’re able to link key events to larger ideas. By making sure that you have a thorough understanding of the text, you should be well-prepared for your exam and able to find the most relevant references to support your response. 

The following guide will provide you with:

• An overview of the plot

• A chapter-by-chapter breakdown

Overview

Frankenstein is a novel published in 1818 and written by Mary Shelley. Walton starts as the narrator of the text. He is on a voyage to the North Pole, during which he experiences extreme loneliness. He sees a figure in the distance and then sees a figure on the ice. The man he finds is brought on the ship and starts to recover from his illness and injuries; that man is Victor Frankenstein. Victor begins to recall his story to Walton as a cautionary tale.  

Victor recounts his childhood and his aspirations to create a new life form. The reader learns that Victor was brought up in Switzerland by his father, Alphonso, and his mother, Caroline, and that during his childhood, his family took in a girl named Elizabeth, whom they planned would one day become his wife. Victor then recalls that his mother caught scarlet fever and died. Subsequently, Victor, an excellent student, is portrayed as generating a passion for alchemy and the reanimation of corpses. 

In Chapter 5, Victor is shown to create a new life form. After seeing its appearance, he runs away. Victor becomes ill and Henry Clerval, his childhood friend, is shown to care for him. Victor is then told that a servant, who was taken in by the Frankensteins, has killed his brother, William. In fact, the creature framed the servant, Justine, by planting William’s locket on her. As a result, Justine is put on trial and, despite the best efforts of Elizabeth, is condemned to death. Victor knows the creature killed William; however, he fails to help Justine. Victor heads to the alps for nature’s solace; however the creature is there and tries to reason with Victor and tells him his story.  

The creature tells Victor how he was attacked by villagers and then escaped and hid in a hovel. He watched a family – the De Laceys – socialise and was in awe because of their kindness and benevolence. He starts to learn language from them and he finds several books, such as Paradise Lost, in a knapsack. He decides that he will try and talk to them in the hope that they will help him. When he attempts this, he is initially successful as Mr De Lacey is blind and unable to see his hideous appearance. However, when the others come back, they attack him and sell their cottage. As a result, the creature burns down their house. The creature then finds William and strangles him to death.  

The creature asks Victor to create a female monster for him and Victor agrees. He travels to England and refuses to marry Elizabeth until he has completed his task. He starts, but decides that he should not create a female creature, as this may lead to a race of devils if the two creatures have children. Victor disposes of the body out at sea. The winds, however, will not let him get back to shore. He reaches a town and when he arrives, is told that he is under suspicion for murder. After two months of illness, he is put before the magistrate and is found innocent. 

Victor’s wedding to Elizabeth is set to take place. Victor is nervous that the creature will be present as he told Victor that he would be with him on his wedding night. The creature attends and kills Elizabeth. Due to grief, Victor’s father also dies. Victor tries to pursue the creature. In doing so, he meets Walton.  

Walton’s crew is then trapped in ice. Victor tells the crew that they should continue; however, Walton decides to turn back. Victor dies of pneumonia. Some days later, Walton hears a noise from where Victor lies. The creature is found weeping over his creator's dead body. He states his regret for his actions and decides to commit suicide.  

Chapter-By-Chapter Plot Summary

Letters 1–4 

• The novel begins with Walton’s letters to his sister, Margaret  

• Walton is travelling to the North pole from St Petersburg to obtain “glory” by going to explore an unknown region

• Walton tells his sister of his great loneliness and his desire for a friend  

• Walton sees two figures: one is “gigantic” in size, while the other was not a “savage inhabitant”:

  • These characters are the creature and Victor

• Walton rescues Victor: 

  • Over time, Victor and Walton become friends

• Victor says that he will tell Walton his story the next day  

Chapters 1–4 

• Walton details his happy childhood and his upper-class upbringing in Geneva 

• Victor is shown to have a strong interest in alchemy

• When Victor is five years old, he is given Elizabeth as a “pretty present”:

  • The family takes her in as their own

• Elizabeth catches scarlet fever, and this is transmitted to Victor’s mother, Caroline:

  • Caroline dies a few weeks before Frankenstein leaves for Ingolstadt university

• When Frankenstein gets to university, he is told that his study of alchemy is futile by Dr Kempe:

  • However, Mr Waldman takes an interest in these studies and suggests that alchemy is not pointless  

• Frankenstein then starts to work on a creation

Chapters 5–9 

• Victor creates the creature, but he is disgusted by its horrific appearance 

• Victor goes to bed in order to escape his creation and dreams about Elizabeth dying, as his mother did

• Due to his creation’s horrible appearance, he flees his house and returns later:

  • In this time, the creature escapes

• Victor sees Clerval, his childhood friend, in a tavern

• Clerval nurses Victor back to health 

• Victor gets a letter from Alphonso, his father, informing him that his brother, William, has been killed

• Victor is told that Justine is the killer:

  • However, he sees the creature appear and subsequently knows that he was the one who killed William

• Justine is put on trial and is condemned to death

• Victor does not declare that he knows who really killed William, and Justine is put to death

• Victor is taken by his father to a house near the Alps:

  • He wanders the Alps to try to reduce his pain

Chapters 10–12 

• While in the Alps, the creature runs over to Victor with incredible speed  

• Victor calls the creature a “devil”:

  • However, the creature is measured, composed and endeavours to reason with Victor

• The creature tells Victor about his story and about how he found fire and light

• The creature then notes how he went to a village and a hut and was attacked due to his appearance:

  • He subsequently found safety in a hovel

  • From here he observed a family and stole a small amount of their food

• However, when he learned of their poverty, he stopped stealing and provided the family with wood

• The creature admires their beauty and when he sees himself in a pool of water he is disgusted

Chapters 13–15  

• The creature sees that the De Laceys, a family living in exile who the creature watches in secret, and who then take him in, are unhappy

• A beautiful woman arrives, called Safie, and she becomes Felix’s De Lacey’s love interest

• As Safie is taught the language, the creature learns with her:

  • But via language, the creature realises humanity’s flaws 

Chapters 15–17 

• While trying to locate food, the creature finds several books, such as Paradise Lost, which he reads

• The creature also has Victor’s journal and, now that he can read, he understands the disgust that Victor has for him

• The creature decides he is going to introduce himself to the cottagers and goes to see Mr De Lacey, who is blind

  • Mr De Lacey offers to help the creature  

• Felix and Safie return and attack the creature  

• In the following days, the De Laceys sell their cottage, but the creature burns down the house in fury at his rejection  

• The creature heads to Geneva and finds William:

  • When he learns William is a Frankenstein, he strangles him to death  

• After his story, the creature beseeches Victor to craft another female monster for him:

  • He argues that he will go into rural South America and live in peace 

• Victor agrees  

Chapters 17–20 

• Victor decides that he will go to England to create the new creature  

• Alphonso becomes nervous about Victor’s mental state:

  • Alphonso is worried that Victor does not want to marry Elizabeth

• Victor and Henry journey to Scotland to make the creature

• However, he becomes nervous that making the new creature could lead him to create a species of creatures

• After seeing the creature’s monstrous appearance once more, he decides he cannot produce a new creature

• He therefore destroys the female creature:

  • As a consequence, the creature tells Victor he will be with him on his wedding night and vows revenge

• Later that night Victor goes out to sea and disposes of the female creature

• He is unable to return to shore because of the wind and, when he does, he is told he is under suspicion of murder, as someone has been found dead in the village

Chapters 21–24 

• The villagers see Victor dispose of a body in the sea

• Victor is then shown the body of Henry Clerval

• Victor becomes ill after viewing Clerval's dead body and awaits trial 

• Victor is found innocent as there is no evidence against him

• Victor and his father return home:

  • Victor plans to marry Elizabeth quickly  

• In the evening of their wedding night, Victor and Elizabeth walk the grounds, but Victor is plagued by his fear of the creature’s arrival

• Later, Elizabeth is heard screaming and is killed by the creature 

• Consumed with anger, Victor vows revenge on the creature

• After a few days, Alphonso dies of grief

• Victor decides to kill the creature and follows him to the North Pole

Walton in Continuum 

• The narrative returns to Walton: 

  • His crew are trapped in ice and wish to return to England

• Victor attacks Walton’s crew for their cowardice, but Walton decides to turn back  

• Days before they start to return to England, Victor dies

• A few days later, Walton hears crying from where Victor’s body is resting and sees that the creature is there

• The creature confesses his sins and states his regret before saying he will commit suicide