Victor Frankenstein défie les lois de la nature en donnant vie à une créature assemblée de morceaux de cadavres. Mais l’homme, horrifié par son œuvre, l’abandonne à un destin de solitude et de vengeance.
Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist from Geneva who becomes obsessed with discovering the secret of life. The novel begins with letters written by Robert Walton, an Arctic explorer who finds Victor exhausted and near death on the ice.
Victor tells Walton his story as a warning. As a student at the University of Ingolstadt, he becomes consumed by scientific ambition. Working in secret, he assembles a human body from dead matter and succeeds in bringing it to life.
When the creature awakens, Victor is horrified by its appearance and abandons it. Left alone in the world, the creature suffers rejection because of his frightening form. He learns language, emotion, and morality by observing a poor family, the De Laceys, but they reject him when he tries to reveal himself.
The creature becomes bitter and turns against Victor, blaming him for creating him and then refusing him love or guidance. He murders Victor’s young brother William and frames Justine, a servant, who is executed for the crime.
The creature later confronts Victor and asks him to create a female companion, arguing that loneliness has made him cruel. Victor begins the work but destroys the second creature before completing it, fearing the consequences of creating another being like the first.
In revenge, the creature kills Victor’s friend Henry Clerval and later murders Elizabeth, Victor’s bride, on their wedding night. Victor’s father dies of grief, and Victor dedicates the rest of his life to hunting the creature.
The pursuit leads to the Arctic, where Victor dies aboard Walton’s ship. The creature appears, mourns Victor, and declares that his crimes have brought him only misery. He disappears into the ice, intending to end his own life. The novel explores ambition, responsibility, isolation, revenge, scientific ethics, and the need for love and acceptance.
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