Step 1 – Read the text about the beginning of the novel. Step 2 – decide if the sentences are true or false. Step 3 – write a short text.
The novel does not begin with Victor, but with a man called Robert Walton. Walton is an explorer who sails north, towards the cold Arctic Ocean. He dreams of fame and new discoveries. In letters to his sister he describes his journey. One day his ship gets stuck in the ice, and the sailors find a half-frozen, very weak man. This man is Victor Frankenstein. Slowly, Victor begins to tell Walton his strange and sad story.
Victor grew up in a happy, rich family in Geneva. As a young man he went to the university of Ingolstadt to study natural science. There he became fascinated by one great idea: he wanted to discover the secret of life itself. For months he worked in secret, often alone at night, collecting dead body parts. At last he built a huge creature and, using his knowledge of science, he gave it life.
But the moment the creature opened its yellow eyes and began to move, Victor felt only horror. The being he had made looked terrible. Full of fear and disgust, Victor ran away and left his creature completely alone. When he came back, the creature had disappeared. Victor became ill, but he hoped his problem was gone forever. He was wrong.
Words: explorer = Entdecker · half-frozen = halb erfroren · secret of life = Geheimnis des Lebens · disgust = Ekel · disappear = verschwinden
Imagine you are Victor on the night of the creation. Write 4–5 sentences in English about how you feel and what you do.
It is late at night and I am very excited. For months I have worked hard, and now my creature is almost ready. Then it opens its yellow eyes and moves. Suddenly I feel terrible fear, because it looks like a monster. I cannot stay with it, so I run out of the room and leave it alone.