Frankenstein Close Reading Post

Throughout Frankenstein, Shelley frequently uses storms in order to foreshadow upcoming events, to reflect how her characters are feeling, and to manipulate the characters into actions they might not have taken otherwise.

The first storm happens on page 36. The storm rages while Frankenstein watches as “a stream of fire issues from an old and beautiful oak” that has been struck by lightning and is quickly and utterly destroyed. This storm is a critical turning point for Frankenstein, in which he decides to cast away his old studies and turned to studying mathematics and other branches of science.  Looking back, Frankenstein can see this storm for the omen it was, saying it was “the last effort made by the spirit of preservation to avert the storm that was even hanging in the stars…” This storm is what set Frankenstein on the path to creating his monster, and it was the first instance of using storms to foreshadow later events.

The second storm happens on page 68. Frankenstein has just arrived back in his hometown after William’s death, and it begins to rain and thunder. At first, it seems as if this storm is only used here to echo Frankenstein’s rage and grief at the loss of his brother. He calls it William’s “funeral,…thy dirge!” and he seems glad that the world is raging as much as he is. It isn’t until he sees his monster in a flash of lightning that it becomes obvious the storm means more. This storm leads to another revelation, just as the last one did, that the monster he created has returned to harm him and his family. This second storm isn’t used to foreshadow anything, but to mark that Frankenstein’s ruin has now begun in earnest.

The third storm takes place on page 152. While it’s a subtler storm than the previous two- no lightning or rain, just high winds- it still pushes Frankenstein towards his fate. Frankenstein has just dumped his instruments for creating another monster into the sea from his small boat when he falls asleep. He wakes up with “the wind high, and the waves continually threaten[ing] the safety” of his boat. In order to keep it from capsizing, he rides the waves aimlessly until the winds die down and he sees lands that he is able to safely guide his boat towards. It just so happens that this is the exact shore where his monster has just murdered his close friend, Henry. Frankenstein is overcome by yet another death on his hands, falls into sickness, and is imprisoned for the murder of his friend. In this case, Shelley has the inclement weather literally push Frankenstein directly into his fate, and he is forced to take responsibility for his monsters actions.

Shelley’s use of storms evolves over the course of the novel. She first using them to warn us of what’s to come, to reflect the feelings of her main character, and finally, to push him directly into his fate that was foreshadow in the beginning.