England

England is a pivotal setting in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a nation that represents both the height of civilized achievement and the stage for the novel's most profound horrors. It is the home of Robert Walton's sister, Margaret Saville, to whom he addresses his letters, and the country to which he ultimately returns after his failed Arctic expedition. More significantly, England is the native land of the De Lacey family, whose tragic history of exile and persecution forms the emotional core of the monster's narrative, and the destination of Victor Frankenstein's journey to create—and then destroy—a female companion for his creature, a decision that leads directly to the murder of his closest friend, Henry Clerval.

England as the De Laceys' Lost Homeland and the Site of Injustice

The De Lacey family, whom the monster observes and learns from, originally lived in Paris, France, but their ruin was orchestrated by the father of Safie, a Turkish merchant who was imprisoned and condemned to death by the French government. Felix De Lacey, the son, helped the Turk escape, but the plot was discovered, and the entire De Lacey family—the blind father, Felix, and Agatha—were thrown into prison in France. After five months of confinement, they were tried, stripped of their fortune, and condemned to perpetual exile from their native country. They found a miserable asylum in a cottage in Germany, where the monster discovered them. England itself is not their home, but the legal and political systems of Europe—of which England is a part—are implicated in their suffering, as the injustice of the Turk's sentence and the harsh punishment of his benefactors reflect the arbitrary power of monarchical governments. The monster, through his reading of Volney's Ruins of Empires under Felix's tutelage, learns about the history of nations, including the rise and fall of empires, and weeps with Safie over the fate of the original inhabitants of the Americas, a lesson that shapes his understanding of human cruelty and injustice.

England as the Destination for Victor's Fatal Scientific Journey

After agreeing to create a female companion for the monster, Victor Frankenstein resolves to travel to England to consult with natural philosophers whose discoveries are essential to his work. He conceals his true purpose from his father, Alphonse, and his beloved Elizabeth, claiming a desire for travel and a change of scene. His father, pleased to see Victor emerging from his melancholy, arranges for Henry Clerval to accompany him. They travel from Geneva to Strasbourg, then down the Rhine River through Germany and Holland, finally arriving in England in late December. Victor describes the sight of the white cliffs of Britain and the banks of the Thames, noting the historical landmarks—Tilbury Fort, Gravesend, Woolwich, Greenwich—and the towering steeples of London, including St. Paul's and the Tower of London. In London, Victor visits distinguished natural philosophers to gather the information he needs, but he finds company irksome and is haunted by the memory of William and Justine. Clerval, by contrast, is eager and inquisitive, pursuing his own plan to visit India and assist in European colonization and trade. After several months in London, they receive an invitation to visit a friend in Perth, Scotland, and they travel through Windsor, Oxford, Matlock, and the Cumberland lakes before Victor separates from Clerval to complete his work in the remote Orkney Islands.

England as the Scene of Clerval's Murder and Victor's Imprisonment

Victor's decision to destroy the female creature on the Orkney Islands, rather than complete it, enrages the monster, who vows revenge and threatens to be with Victor on his wedding night. Victor then sails from the island in a small skiff, is caught in a storm, and is driven ashore on the coast of Ireland. There, he is immediately arrested and charged with the murder of a young man—Henry Clerval, whose strangled body has been found on the beach. The evidence against Victor is circumstantial but damning: a fisherman testifies that he saw a boat with a single man in it near the spot where the body was discovered, and Victor's own boat matches the description. Victor is brought before Mr. Kirwin, the local magistrate, and when he sees Clerval's corpse, he collapses in convulsions and falls into a fever that lasts for two months. During his illness, he raves in his native language, calling himself the murderer of William, Justine, and Clerval. Mr. Kirwin, who has examined Victor's papers and written to his father in Geneva, treats him with kindness, providing a physician and a nurse. Victor's father, Alphonse, arrives to support him, and after three months in prison, Victor is acquitted when it is proved that he was on the Orkney Islands at the time of the murder. The experience leaves Victor shattered, and he returns to Geneva with his father, haunted by the memory of Clerval's death and the monster's threat.

England as the Destination of Walton's Return and the Frame of the Narrative

The novel's frame narrative begins and ends with Robert Walton's letters to his sister, Margaret Saville, in England. Walton writes from St. Petersburgh and Archangel, describing his preparations for an Arctic expedition, and later from the ship itself, where he rescues Victor Frankenstein and records his story. At the conclusion of the novel, after Victor's death and the monster's final appearance and vow to die, Walton's crew demands that he return south, and he reluctantly agrees. He writes to Margaret that he is returning to England, having lost his hopes of glory and his friend. The final image of the monster, leaping from the cabin window onto an ice raft and being borne away into the darkness, is framed by Walton's return to England, a return that signifies the end of the quest and the containment of the story within the domestic sphere of Margaret's reading. England, then, is not only a geographical location but also the symbolic space of home, civilization, and the audience for the tale of horror, a place where the story can be told and, perhaps, understood.