Rotterdam

Rotterdam serves as the maritime gateway through which Victor Frankenstein and Henry Clerval pass from the European continent to England, a pivotal geographical transition in the latter half of the novel. After agreeing to descend the Rhine in a boat from Strasbourg, the two travelers pass through Mannheim and Mainz, enjoying the picturesque scenery of ruined castles and vineyards along the river, before reaching the plains of Holland beyond Cologne. The wind proves contrary and the stream too gentle to aid their progress, so they resolve to post the remainder of the way overland. Within a few days they arrive at Rotterdam, where they proceed by sea to England. It is on a clear morning in the latter days of December that Victor first sees the white cliffs of Britain, and the banks of the Thames present a new scene—flat but fertile, with almost every town marked by the remembrance of some story. They see Tilbury Fort and remember the Spanish Armada, then Gravesend, Woolwich, and Greenwich—places Victor has heard of even in his native country—until at length they sight the numerous steeples of London, with St. Paul's towering above all and the Tower famed in English history.

The Journey to Rotterdam

Victor's journey to Rotterdam is undertaken under the shadow of his solemn promise to the monster. He has agreed to create a female companion, and the voyage to England is a necessary step to consult with English philosophers whose knowledge is indispensable to his loathsome task. The journey itself is marked by a stark contrast between Victor's inner torment and Clerval's exuberant appreciation of the world around them. Clerval is alive to every new scene, joyful at the beauties of the setting sun and happier still at its rise, pointing out the shifting colours of the landscape and the appearances of the sky. He exclaims, "This is what it is to live; how I enjoy existence!" while Victor remains occupied by gloomy thoughts, neither seeing the descent of the evening star nor the golden sunrise reflected in the Rhine. Even Victor, depressed in mind and his spirits continually agitated by gloomy feelings, finds a measure of tranquillity as he lies at the bottom of the boat gazing on the cloudless blue sky, drinking in a peace to which he has long been a stranger. Clerval, by contrast, feels as if transported to fairy-land, enjoying a happiness seldom tasted by man.

The Significance of Rotterdam in Victor's Narrative

Rotterdam itself is not a location where any dramatic event occurs; rather, it functions as a threshold between two phases of Victor's ordeal. The city is the last point on the continent before the crossing to England, where Victor will collect the materials necessary for his new creation—a task he describes as "like the torture of single drops of water continually falling on the head." Every thought devoted to it is an extreme anguish, and every word spoken in allusion to it causes his lips to quiver and his heart to palpitate. The passage through Rotterdam thus marks the moment when Victor leaves behind the familiar landscapes of the Rhine and enters the unknown territory of his terrible obligation. The city itself is mentioned only in passing, but its role as the hinge between the river journey and the sea voyage gives it a quiet structural importance in the narrative's geography of despair.