Europe

Europe is the vast and varied continent where nearly the entire narrative of Frankenstein unfolds, from the domestic tranquility of Geneva to the wild Alpine glaciers, the university town of Ingolstadt, the pastoral German countryside, the capitals of London and Paris, and the remote Orkney Islands. It is the world of human society, law, and culture that the monster desperately seeks to enter and from which he is violently excluded, and it is the territory across which Victor Frankenstein pursues his creation in a spiral of mutual destruction. The continent's geography—its mountains, lakes, rivers, and cities—shapes every phase of the story, providing both the sublime backdrop for Victor's ambitions and the intimate settings for his family's tragedies.

The Continent of Creation and Ambition

Victor Frankenstein's scientific journey begins and is largely consummated within Europe. He is born in Geneva, Switzerland, into a distinguished family, and his early education at the schools of Geneva is followed by his pivotal departure for the University of Ingolstadt in Germany. It is in Ingolstadt, under the influence of professors M. Krempe and M. Waldman, that Victor immerses himself in natural philosophy and chemistry, ultimately discovering the secret of life. His laboratory, a solitary chamber at the top of his house, becomes the site of his greatest transgression: the creation of the monster. The creature's first moments of life occur in this European city, and Victor's immediate horror and flight from his creation set the entire tragedy in motion. The continent thus serves as the cradle of Victor's overreaching ambition and the birthplace of the being who will haunt him.

The Monster's European Education and Rejection

The monster's early experience of the world is entirely European. After fleeing Ingolstadt, he wanders through the German countryside, learning to survive by observing the seasons, discovering fire, and enduring the hostility of villagers who attack him on sight. His most formative period occurs when he takes refuge in a hovel attached to a cottage inhabited by the De Lacey family, exiled French aristocrats living in Germany. Through a chink in the wall, he learns human language, customs, and history by watching Felix teach Safie, a Turkish woman, from Volney's Ruins of Empires. He reads Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and The Sorrows of Werter—all European texts that shape his understanding of virtue, suffering, and his own monstrous identity. His desperate attempt to befriend the blind De Lacey ends in violent rejection when Felix, Agatha, and Safie return and are horrified by his appearance. This rejection, occurring on European soil, crystallizes his despair and turns him toward vengeance. He burns the De Laceys' cottage and sets out for Geneva, the home of his creator, committing his first murder—of Victor's younger brother William—in the European countryside near the city.

The Continent of Pursuit and Tragedy

Europe becomes the arena for the escalating conflict between Victor and the monster. After the monster demands a female companion during their confrontation on the glacier of Montanvert in Switzerland, Victor reluctantly agrees but soon destroys the half-finished female creature on the Orkney Islands, fearing the propagation of a race of devils. The monster's immediate retaliation is the murder of Victor's closest friend, Henry Clerval, on the coast of Ireland, a crime for which Victor is imprisoned. Upon his release, Victor returns to Geneva and marries Elizabeth Lavenza, only to have the monster fulfill his wedding-night threat by murdering Elizabeth in their bridal chamber at Evian, on the shores of Lake Geneva. The deaths of Victor's father, Alphonse, and the devastation of his family all occur within Europe, making the continent the graveyard of Victor's hopes and the site of the monster's most intimate cruelties.

The Final Flight from Europe

Victor's pursuit of the monster ultimately leads him beyond Europe's borders. After swearing revenge at the graves of his family in Geneva, he follows the monster across the continent—through the Rhone valley, across the Mediterranean, into the wilds of Tartary and Russia, and finally onto the frozen Arctic Ocean. The monster leaves taunting inscriptions on trees and stones, guiding Victor northward. It is only when Victor, exhausted and near death, is rescued by Robert Walton's ship in the Arctic that the European narrative frame closes. The monster's final appearance occurs in Walton's cabin, where he laments over Victor's corpse before vowing to immolate himself on a funeral pyre in the northernmost extremity of the globe, declaring that he will quit the vessel and seek the most northern extremity of the globe, so that the very remembrance of them both will speedily vanish. Europe, the continent that gave him life and then denied him fellowship, is left behind as he chooses a solitary death in the uninhabited polar wastes.