EXTEND – The monster’s last victim

Imagine this is a short follow-up letter Walton writes to his sister after his original account. Complete it with the words given.

To Mrs. SAVILLE, England.
My dear sister,
Since writing my last account, I find my thoughts returning to the final meeting between Victor Frankenstein and his creation. What strikes me most now, is not his ________ appearance, but the depth of his emotions. He spoke of actions driven by ________, not ________, and of a heart once capable of ________ before it was twisted by suffering. The destruction he caused cannot be ________ or excused, but I admit that the scene has left me with a deep sense of ________ for him. Wasn't he also a victim, ________ by ambition without ________? There are many lessons to be learned from this tragedy.
Most affectionately yours,
R. W.

After reading the passage and reflecting on the novel as a whole, choose the alternative that best captures the creature's nuanced character.

1 The creature is feared and rejected by everyone, making him an ________.
2 In his earliest days, the creature resembles Rousseau's idea of the ________, learning through experience and wanting only kindness.
3 The creature's desire for companionship demonstrates his ________.
4 Through his education and self-reflection, he shows true ________.
5 At the end of the novel, the creature appears more as a ________ than anything else.

Read the passage, then choose the correct alternative to complete the table.

Setting: the ________ of Walton's ship.
Characters present: ________.
Narrative voice: ________.
Writing style: ________ epistolary.

Read the passage taken from an essay by George Levine, a literary critic, in which he argues that Victor Frankenstein and his creature mirror each other. Decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts below and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

'[T]he monster and Frankenstein are doubles, two aspects of the same being.
This seems an entirely just reading given that Frankenstein creates the monster and that, as they pursue their separate lives, they increasingly resemble and depend upon each other so that by the end Frankenstein pursues his own monster, their positions reversed, and the monster plants clues to keep Frankenstein in pursuit.
As Frankenstein's creation, the monster can be taken as an expression of an aspect of Frankenstein's self … As he dies, he severs the monster's last link with life so that, appropriately, the monster then moves out across the frozen wastes to immolate himself.'

(George Levine, 'Frankenstein' and the Tradition of Realism. NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction 7, no. 1 (1973): 14–30.)

Prompts:
1 Why might Victor need to create another being and 'double' himself?
2 How does the theme of isolation apply both to Victor and the creature?
3 In which ways does the frozen Arctic landscape contribute to the sublime atmosphere of the novel, and how does this setting reflect the bond between Victor and the creature?