Mole

The Mole is a mountain peak situated to the east of Lake Geneva, a landmark of the Swiss landscape that surrounds the Frankenstein family home. In the novel, it is mentioned only once, but its appearance is charged with significance, occurring during a dramatic thunderstorm that Victor Frankenstein witnesses as he approaches Geneva after learning of his brother William's murder. The mountain is described as being "darkened and sometimes disclosed" by the flashes of lightning, its presence emerging and vanishing in the storm's intermittent illumination. This fleeting glimpse of the Mole is part of a broader description of the tempest that rages over the lake, with other storms illuminating the Jura mountains and the summit of Mont Blanc. The scene is one of sublime terror, and the Mole's role is to contribute to the overwhelming natural spectacle that mirrors Victor's own agitated state of mind.

The Mole in the Storm Scene

The Mole appears in the seventh chapter of the novel, as Victor, having received his father's letter about William's death, travels back to Geneva. Unable to enter the city at night, he crosses the lake to Plainpalais, the site of the murder, and there witnesses a violent thunderstorm. The narrative describes how "another storm enlightened Jura with faint flashes; and another darkened and sometimes disclosed the Mole, a peaked mountain to the east of the lake." This brief mention places the Mole within a panoramic view of the storm's effects across the region, each mountain and peak responding differently to the lightning. The Mole, with its peak alternately hidden and revealed, becomes a symbol of the uncertainty and dread that pervades Victor's mind as he approaches the scene of the crime.

The Sublime and the Landscape

The Mole's appearance is part of the novel's broader use of the sublime, a concept central to Romantic literature. The storm, with its "vivid flashes of lightning" that make the lake appear "like a vast sheet of fire," and the mountains that echo the thunder, evoke both awe and terror. The Mole, as a distinct peak, contributes to this effect, its intermittent visibility heightening the sense of a world that is both beautiful and threatening. For Victor, the storm is not merely a natural phenomenon; it becomes a "noble war in the sky" that elevates his spirits even as he mourns his brother. The Mole, in this context, is a passive witness to Victor's anguish, a part of the landscape that reflects his inner chaos.

The Mole and the Narrative's Geography

The Mole is one of several geographical landmarks that anchor the novel's Swiss setting, alongside Mont Blanc, the Jura mountains, and Mont Saleve. Its location to the east of the lake places it within the familiar terrain of Victor's childhood, a region he associates with both happiness and, now, tragedy. The mountain's brief appearance serves to ground the story in a real, recognizable landscape, even as the events become increasingly fantastical. The Mole's obscurity in the storm—sometimes hidden, sometimes revealed—mirrors the way Victor's own understanding of the world is being obscured by the horrors he has unleashed. In this way, the Mole, though a minor element, contributes to the novel's exploration of the relationship between nature and human emotion, and the ways in which the external world can reflect and amplify internal states.