Frankenstein Plot Analysis

Initial Situation

Victor and his family are content, happy-go-lucky, adopting-future-wives-as-sisters kind of people.

This is super boring. We sure hope something happens soon. Something like a conflict.

Conflict

Victor’s mother dies.

Victor’s way of grieving his mother’s death is to get obsessed with death and to bring something dead, or rather, a compilation of many dead somethings, back to life. Adding conflict to conflict, the monster is really, really, ridiculously ugly. By playing God, Victor has gotten more than he had bargained for. He has created this conflict for himself. And now he will suffer for it.

Complication

The monster is unhappy with his life and kills William.

Victor’s monster is out of control. This was slightly unexpected. And it complicated matters. Again, this is Victor’s own doing; if he hadn’t neglected his creation, his creation wouldn’t have gone on a killing spree.

Climax

Victor decides to destroy the second monster he is working on.

At this point, Victor makes his pivotal decision. It is the only place in the text since this whole terrible chain of events started where he takes decisive action instead of sitting around whining about how fate is running its course. Once he chooses to destroy said second monster, he sets in motion the final stages of his self-destruction.

Suspense

The monster promises to be with Victor on his wedding night.

We as the reader realize that the monster means he is going to kill Elizabeth, but Victor thinks the monster is going to kill him. This disconnect (fine, "dramatic irony") brings about the most suspenseful part of the book, as we wait to see whether 1) Victor figures it out in time or 2) Elizabeth dies a gruesome death. You get two guesses.

Denouement

Henry, Elizabeth, and Victor’s father all die.

Things get wrapped up, but not in a happy way. Everyone dies, which is an efficient but also depressing way to tie up loose ends. Victor’s vow to kill the monster counts as denouement and NOT suspense, we think, because we didn’t sit around with our hearts racing wondering if he was going to succeed or not. Maybe it’s the way he said it, the sort of "I’m going to spend the rest of my life" bit. It suggests that nothing concrete is going to be happening any time soon. So don’t hold your breath.

Conclusion

Victor and the monster both die.

Again, a nifty way to tie up loose ends.