Foreshadowing In Frankenstein

At the beginning of the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, one cannot really tell what the outcome of the story will be because we are introduced with letters that steers us away from making any initial conclusions. We are not presented at first with the Creature or who Frankenstein really is so it makes it hard to assume anything at first. However, when Victor is presented, we see that through the way he talks about his life and through the foreshadowing, we can tell that something bad happens in the end. But, we do not know what that is yet. As readers, we have to make assumptions based on the things the characters in the book state. Therefore, through the lives and words of the characters, and clues from the author we are able to come

up with our own conclusions for the story even if it is not in plain sight.
Even though the outcomes of the story are not explicitly stated, one can make assumptions by the way the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein talks. In Chapter 2, he says, “I feel exquisite pleasure in dwelling on the recollections of childhood, before misfortune had tainted my mind and changed its bright visions of extensive usefulness into gloomy and narrow reflections upon self.” Just by this statement alone, Victor is trying to let the audience know that his story does not have a happy ending. The keywords of misfortune and gloomy are what set off red flags that something tragic happens to Victor. Comparing his childhood to his eventual end is crucial because it shows the readers that Victor’s happiness does not last. This is why he is more than happy to talk about his amazing childhood where he lived happily with his parents, friends, and true love. Moreover, he goes on to blame “natural philosophy” for his eventual demise. From this, we can conclude that the outcome of the novel has something to do with the sciences and Victor’s involvement with it.
Through Victor’s involvement in the sciences, the reader finally sees how the Creature finally comes to be. After, Victor’s abandonment of the Creature, the Creature’s revenge of killing Victor’s loved ones, and their reunion, one can conclude that the story does not end well for these two. In Chapter 17, the Creature states, “I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny her- self to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. Is being you must create.” Through the Creature’s heartfelt plea, one can see that if his Maker does not make his wish come true, then it will not end well for the Creature. One can assume that the Creature will eventually retaliate or choose to not live anymore because according to the Creature, why live if you cannot be happy? Victor’s creation of another monster is his only option because he does not have acceptance from any human.
The Creature is not accepted by any human, most especially, his creator, Victor who refuses to make the Creature a female companion.

The Creature then states in Chapter 17, “I will revenge my injuries; if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my archenemy, because my creator.” By this alone, one can tell that the Creature will not stop until he gets what he wants. After a while of the Creature’s begging, Victor makes it seem as if he will fulfill the Creature’s wish. The Creature departs with hope, however, after deep thought, Victor cannot proceed with the Creature’s plea. He then moves on with his life and hopes that the Creature will not find him. However, the Creature finds him and tells Victor that he will find him on his wedding night. Victor goes on thinking that the Creature will most likely try to kill him, but little did he know that the Creature’s intention would be to kill his wife, Elizabeth. In Chapter 23, Victor states, “A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife. I rushed towards the window, and drawing a pistol from my bosom.” The Creature was done compromising with Victor and wanted him to feel the loneliness that he has felt his entire life. This drives Victor mad to the point where he goes on a mission to kill the Creature once and for

all.
In Victor’s mission, his first step was to leave Geneva forever.

Therefore, he proceeded in finding the Creature’s whereabouts. This gives the reader the impression that the fate of the Creature will be at the hands of his creator. Victor says that many times he wishes we were dead, but it is revenge that keeps him going. Hours, days, and months pass by and Victor is still in his voyage across the seas to find the Creature. He cannot rest until the Creature is in his grasp. However, Victor becomes ill before he can even find the Creature. This is not an ending that anyone would have imagined happening. One could make the assumption that it was going to be Victor who was going to put an end to his own creation. Mary Shelley does a great job of pinning both main characters to each other and letting the reader decide their fates. Before dying, Victor begged Walton to fulfill his last dying wish. He wanted Walton to kill the Creature for him if he died in the process of killing the Creature himself. Walton is still in shock from the story Frankenstein told him and now this last piece puts everything together for

him.
Still trying to come to grasp with Frankenstein’s testimony, Walton comes face to face with the Creature himself over Victor’s body. The Creature is in complete remorse over his Creator’s death. He is in despair and cannot believe that Victor is actually dead. Even though Victor did not claim him, the Creature feels as if his “father” is gone forever and now he has no reason to live. One, Victor was the only way that the Creature could have his female companion, but that never worked. And even though no one accepted him, Victor was at least someone who was some what of an acquittance to him. Now that Victor is dead, the Creature has no one. The Creature is as dead inside as Victor is physically. The Creature has no reason to live now. The last lines of the novel state, “He sprang from the cabin window as he said this, upon the ice raft which lay close to the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.” One could conclude that the Creature is gone forever and due to the death of his maker decides to end his life as well because now he is in complete loneliness.
At the beginning of the novel, my assumptions did not match the eventual outcome of the story. I would have never anticipated that Victor would have died without killing the Creature himself. Or I thought that the Creature was going to end up killing Victor for not fulfilling his wish. I think that this is what makes the story most interesting because the ending comes as a shock. Then as readers, it is up to us to determine the fate of the Creature. I think that is why Mary Shelley chose to end the novel that way. This ending is up for interpretation and can be interpreted in many different ways. There are many possible endings that could fit this novel, but it is up to the reader to decide. In conclusion, I decide that the Creature cannot bare living anymore without love and acceptance.