Previous
Chapter 10
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Frankenstein, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family, Society, Isolation
Ambition and Fallibility
Romanticism and Nature
Revenge
Prejudice
Lost Innocence
Summary
Analysis
The monster describes its early days after being created: running from Victor's apartment, seeing light and dark and feeling hunger and cold, and discovering fire and its ability to both cook and burn.
The monster's development mirrors the development of man. But as they went from beasts to men, men also lost their innocence.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
Wherever the monster goes its appearance terrifies humans, so it decides to avoid them. Eventually it finds a place to hide in the darkness near the side of a cottage. Inside it observes a man, woman, and an old man, and it watches them at their daily tasks.
The monster is pained by the isolation it must endure not because of its nature, but because of its appearance. The family is an example of the "domestic affection" it craves.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
