Let's dive into the story! Grab your book, get comfortable, and read the real opening of Frankenstein now – start the reading timer below. Then come back and decide if the sentences are true, false, or not in the text, and finally write a short text.
Were you ill last lesson? Did you not manage to read? Or was the text too difficult to understand on your own? Use this short summary instead – but try to read the real opening as soon as you can.
The novel does not begin with Victor, but with a man called Robert Walton. Walton is an explorer who sails north, trying to reach the North Pole. 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
Read each statement. Is it true, false, or simply not mentioned in what you just read? Click one box per row, then Check.
The whole novel is reported speech – Walton writes down what Victor tells him. Pick the correct reported version of each sentence.
When we report what someone said, the tense usually moves one step into the past (backshift): am/is → was, have → had, will → would. Pronouns often change too (I → he/she, my → his/her).
Still unsure? Go back to Reported Speech in our Klasse 9 folder and practise it again.
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.