Foreshadowing... and Doom.

Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Pages 14-29

In the first three chapters of the novel, foreshadowing plays a very prevalent role. It is ubiquitous in the section, consuming everything from character descriptions to the innermost thoughts of Victor Frankenstein. To begin, the introduction of Frankenstein's family further adds to his own characterization. We are first presented with his mother, Caroline Beaufort, who emphasizes the passiveness of women throughout the story. His mother also possesses the intrinsic caring nature of the archetypal mother character. "This, to my mother, was more than a duty; it was a necessity, a passion, - remembering what she had suffered, and how she had been relieved, - for her to act in her turn the guardian angel to the afflicted," (Shelley, 16). Also, his "more than sister" Elizabeth enters the story in this section (Shelley, 17). Elizabeth is beautiful and extremely good-natured, and she will come to play an important role in the course of the story.

Frankenstein also directly characterizes himself. He constantly refers to his destiny that he discovered in his adolescent years. He also speaks of his father's rejection of the matter of his studies, and how it even further piqued his curiosity. "It is even possible that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin," (Shelley, 21). The use of the various references to his impending doom in this section foreshadow a dark outcome for the life of Victor Frankenstein.