Foreshadowing In Frankenstein

When you think of evil, what do you think of? Death, blood, night, and darkness most likely come to mind. What about when you think of when you think of good? You probably think of hope, life, daytime, and clear, white light. In the romantic horror novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, an overambitious scientist, creates a monster from corpses. The creation ultimately leads to the horrific downfall of both him and his family. The monster starts out as an innocent creature, but thanks to being shunned and hated by mankind for his terrifying features, turns into a real monster, killing Victor’s family as payback for its own creation. Victor pursues the monster, planning to kill it, failing to catch him and …show more content…
“Night also closed around; and when I could hardly see the dark mountains, I felt still more gloomily. The picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings.” (Shelley, Mary. “Frankenstein.” Pg. 71.) Here we witness Victor in the mountains, mourning the recent death of his brother William. shortly before his first sighting of the monster, as night falls and a storm builds. He looks at the dark scene, and he can just tell that he is about to be met with a horrible outcome. We find out later that he's right, and that this scene is yet another moment of foreshadowing. The monster is also brought to life at night, and commits many crimes during evening hours, which adds to the spooky horror effect. “A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy daemon, to whom I had given life.” (Shelley, Mary. “Frankenstein.” Pg. 72.) This quote retells the moment that Victor first sees the monster in the mountains. It's raining hard, there's thunder and lightning, and he can barely see for the windblown mist and fog. But through it all he sees the monster. The storm alludes the creation of the monster. “It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.” (Shelley, Mary. “Frankenstein.” Pg. 51.) it was also stormy and gloomy on the night the monster was first brought to life, and now, as Victor comes across it once again, another storm appears, representing the coming of evil. This is often repeated throughout the book; if you see a storm, that means that the monster is likely to to be seen again, or that something terrible is about to happen.