The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein

In reflecting on Victor’s development, Elizabeth notes that “He had never been able to feel things as deeply as he should; he had been raised in a home where everything was pretense and no one spoke the truth” (this page). Based on Elizabeth’s belief, what is the effect onVictor of his parents’ lack of nurturing, especially as he gets older? Is the inability to feel deeply the reason for Victor’s quest for perfection? How does the lack of truth affect the people in the Frankenstein household?

GENDER

When Victor returns, he tells Elizabeth, “You are mine. You have been since the first day we met. You will be mine forever,” leading her to reflect that she “was still safe, then” (this page). How does Victor’s statement lead her to this conclusion? Does Victor’s response ensure her safety? How does Elizabeth define safety in this circumstance, and should this be her primary concern? What does Victor imply here about the way he sees Elizabeth, and the way she sees herself? What is revealed about their relationship? Do they see each other in the same way?

As they discuss Henry’s proposal, Victor notes that “Men will ever strive for that which is out of reach. For that which is higher than themselves. For that which is divine” (this page). How does this statement apply to Henry’s proposal? How might this statement apply to Victor? What is Victor revealing about his understanding of gender dynamics?

Once she is placed in the asylum, Elizabeth divulges that “[The institution] had stripped [the women] of everything we were taught made us women, and then told us we were mad.” What had they been “taught made [them] women”? What does this tell us about how women are viewed in this society? What is their purpose? Why does taking away the “collars up to our chins, long skirts, and corsets” (this page) have such an effect on their self-images? After explaining that she was committed for trying to leave her abusive husband, one woman on the floor says, “Ask the other women what they are in for and you will find more of the same” (this page). What does this tell us about the purpose of the asylum? Why would Victor put Elizabeth there?

MOTIVATION

After Elizabeth wakes from illness, Victor tells her that he “had to save her.” When she says she is “better,” he responds, “But you will not always be. Someday death will claim you. And I will not allow it….You are mine, Elizabeth Lavenza, and nothing will take you from me. Not even death” (this page). What is the motivation behind Victor’s experiments? Why does he feel the need to ensure that Elizabeth is never taken from him?

As they discuss Henry’s proposal, Victor notes that “Men will ever strive for that which is out of reach. For that which is higher than themselves. For that which is divine” (this page). How does this statement apply to Henry’s proposal? How might this statement apply to Victor? What is Victor revealing about his understanding of gender dynamics?

Once she is placed in the asylum, Elizabeth divulges that “[The institution] had stripped [the women] of everything we were taught made us women, and then told us we were mad.” What had they been “taught made [them] women”? What does this tell us about how women are viewed in this society? What is their purpose? Why does taking away the “collars up to our chins, long skirts, and corsets” (this page) have such an effect on their self-images? After explaining that she was committed for trying to leave her abusive husband, one woman on the floor says, “Ask the other women what they are in for and you will find more of the same” (this page). What does this tell us about the purpose of the asylum? Why would Victor put Elizabeth there?

RESPONSIBILITY AND PROTECTION

After visiting the charnel house, Elizabeth realizes, “Victor had left, possessed by the need to defeat death, and without me here to temper his obsessions, he had descended to hellish depths. I had driven Victor to this madness. I would repair it in any way necessary” (this page). Has she driven Victor to “this madness”? Why does Elizabeth feel as though she must always save and protect Victor? Why does she feel she must be the one to fix the problems he creates or encounters?

In the flashback when Madame Frankenstein is on her death bed, she tells Elizabeth that she “can never leave….You have to stay here, with Victor….Victor…is…your…responsibility” (this page). Why does Victor’s mother insist that Elizabeth is responsible for Victor? Is he really her responsibility? Should this responsibility also fall on Judge Frankenstein? What about Victor himself?

Mary is the first to wonder why Elizabeth searches for Victor and tries so hard to protect him. When she questions whether Elizabeth loves him, Elizabeth responds that “He is my entire life….And my only hope of a future” (this page). Do you agree with Elizabeth’s statement? What might happen to her future if she does not continue to protect him? Is she doing this out of love?

As Elizabeth searches again for Victor and the monster, she notes that Victor “thought he was protecting me, but he was the one in need of protection” (this page). Do you agree with her statement? Why does Elizabeth feel Victor needs her protection? Why does she feel that she doesn’t need protection?

When Elizabeth realizes what Victor has done on the island for the monster, she decides to take action, saying, “I did not care if it threatened my life, or even if it killed me. Victor would disagree, but my safety was not worth this steepest of costs” (this page). What is the cost that Elizabeth is referring to? She has always prioritized her safety; why is taking action now more important to her than safety?

Elizabeth excuses Victor’s crimes, noting they were “pride and ambition, stepping beyond the boundaries God set for the world.” She then claims that the monster “was punishing him enough” for these crimes. Do you agree with her assessment? She poses the question “How did one punish those [crimes]?” (this page). What do you think would be an appropriate punishment?

As Elizabeth confronts Victor, he claims, “You made it clear from the start you did not care what I did so long as you did not have to know the specifics. It was our agreement” (this page). Did Elizabeth agree to this, and if so, when? Do you agree with Victor’s statement, given prior events and Elizabeth’s role in them?

Near the end of the text, Mary shares with Elizabeth that “Not being blameless is not the same as being guilty” (this page). What does this statement mean? How does it pertain to Elizabeth? To Victor?

WRITER’S CRAFT

Each chapter of the text begins with an epigraph that sets the thematic tone for that section of the book. Each of these epigraphs is actually an allusion to John Milten’s Paradise Lost. Choose one of these epigraphs. What is the connection between Elizabeth’s story and the epigraph that the author has chosen to begin the chapter? What themes does the epigraph helps to establish? What tone does it set?

When Elizabeth is describing a tree being hit by lightning to Justine, she notes that “To me,

[this experience] was the great and terrible power of nature. It was like seeing God” (this page). What does this reveal about Elizabeth’s view of God’s power? How is the power of God linked to nature, and why might this experience be one she calls “glorious,” when Justine sees it as “terrifying” (this page)?

Upon returning to the Frankenstein estate after her experience in Ingolstadt, Elizabeth realizes it “was all boastful artifice hiding the truth: The house was dying” (this page). What does she mean when she says this? How might the house be a metaphor for the Frankenstein family? What has changed about the way Elizabeth sees this home and the people in it from the beginning of the story to now?

When Elizabeth arrives at the island off the coast of Scotland, she describes feeling “exposed and unprotected.” She believes this could explain the “military aggression of this tiny island country: they could never feel the edges of their land, so they pushed forever outward” (this page). How might this island represent Elizabeth in this moment? How might it also represent Victor, who has escaped to this island? How might it represent the monster?

Compare the first epigraph from Part One, “How Can I Live Without Thee?” (this page), with the first one for Part Three, “Long is the way, and hard, that out of hell leads up to light” (this page). What has shifted in Elizabeth’s perspective since the beginning of the text? How does this compare to the progression of the original Frankenstein story?

What is the effect of shifting the telling of this story from Victor Frankenstein’s perspective to Elizabeth Lavenza’s? What is gained? What is lost?

In Kiersten White’s Author’s Note, she shares that “it isn’t the answers in stories that are interesting—it is the questions” (this page). What questions are readers left with at the conclusion of The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein?

Correlates to Common Core Standard Reading Literature: Speaking Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration S.L. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1-3

EXTENDED WRITING PROMPTS

Follow-up questions to consider, posed by Kiersten White’s Author’s Note: