Frankenstein tells Walton about his Genevese origins. Frankenstein describes how his father, Alphonse Frankenstein, was a wealthy, respected and benevolent man who rescued his mother, Caroline from poverty before marrying her. She was the daughter of Beaufort, Alphonse's friend who lost his fortune and relocated to escape the shame of his poverty. Alphonse traveled to Beaufort and his daughter with the intention of offering assistance, but when he arrived at their home, Beaufort was dead and Caroline was left impoverished and alone.
Alphonse took her back to Geneva with him and married her two years later. Although much younger than her husband, Caroline loved him dearly and he doted on her, so their relationship was a happy, loving one. Victor, their first son, was born as they traveled through Italy, and although Caroline wanted a daughter, she had not conceived again by the time that Victor was five. On a walk through the Italian countryside where Caroline visited the poor, she found a beautiful orphan girl being raised by a peasant family. Elizabeth Lavenza, the fair-haired, lovely orphan child, was adopted by the Frankenstein family, and Victor considered it his job to care for Elizabeth. The two became inseparable from that moment.
