Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort
Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort are the parents of Victor Frankenstein, and their relationship forms the foundational domestic narrative of the novel, establishing patterns of rescue, devotion, and loss that reverberate through the story. Alphonse, a respected Genevese syndic, first encounters Caroline in the most wretched of circumstances: she is the orphaned daughter of his bankrupt friend Beaufort, whom he finds kneeling in tears beside her father's coffin. Alphonse, acting as a "protecting spirit," brings her to Geneva and places her under a relative's care, and two years later she becomes his wife. This rescue from poverty and grief defines the moral and emotional character of their union, which is marked by a considerable age difference that paradoxically binds them closer in "devoted affection." Alphonse's love is described as containing a "show of gratitude and worship," inspired by reverence for her virtues and a desire to recompense her for her past sorrows. He shelters her like a "fair exotic" from every harsh wind, and after their marriage, they travel through Italy, Germany, and France to restore her weakened health, a journey during which Victor, their eldest child, is born in Naples.
The Marriage and Family Life
The marriage of Alphonse and Caroline is presented as one of deep mutual devotion, with Alphonse making everything yield to her wishes and convenience. Caroline, in turn, is described as possessing a mind of "uncommon mould" and a spirit of benevolence that makes tending to the poor a "necessity, a passion," a direct result of her own past suffering and relief. It is during one of these charitable excursions on the shores of Lake Como that Caroline discovers Elizabeth Lavenza, a fair-haired orphan living in poverty, and persuades her rustic guardians to yield her to the Frankenstein household, presenting her to Victor as a "pretty present." Caroline's role as the emotional center of the family is further emphasized by her care for Justine Moritz, whom she takes into the house at age twelve and educates, inspiring in the girl an almost worshipful devotion. The family resides principally at their campagne on Belrive, living in considerable seclusion, and Alphonse and Caroline are described as being "possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence" towards their children.
Caroline's Death and Its Aftermath
The first major misfortune of the Frankenstein family occurs when Elizabeth contracts scarlet fever. Despite arguments urging her to refrain from attending the sickbed, Caroline cannot control her anxiety when her favorite's life is threatened. Her "watchful attentions" save Elizabeth, but the consequences prove fatal to herself; on the third day she sickens, and her fever is accompanied by the most alarming symptoms. On her deathbed, Caroline displays the fortitude and benignity that never desert her, joining the hands of Elizabeth and Victor and expressing her firmest hopes for their future union. She charges Elizabeth to supply her place to the younger children, and resigns herself cheerfully to death, indulging a hope of meeting them in another world. Her death is a profound blow to the family, described as "the first misfortune of my life" by Victor, and it casts a long shadow. The miniature portrait of Caroline that William wears around his neck becomes the ostensible motive for his murder, and Elizabeth, upon seeing the corpse, exclaims in anguish that she has murdered her darling child by allowing him to wear it. Caroline's image also haunts Victor's dreams; on the night he brings his creature to life, he dreams of embracing Elizabeth only to see her features transform into the corpse of his dead mother, with grave-worms crawling in the folds of her shroud. This dream sequence directly links Caroline's death to Victor's transgressive creation, suggesting a deep psychological connection between his loss of the maternal figure and his attempt to master life and death. Her death is also a recurring point of reference in Victor's memory, as he recalls the "mad enthusiasm" that hurried him on to his creation and the night his hideous enemy first lived, all stemming from the period after her loss. The void left by Caroline's death is never truly filled, and her absence contributes to the unraveling of the family she helped build.
