Chapter 2
Frankenstein describes the perfect serenity of his childhood with his family, which grew to include two younger brothers as time passed. Elizabeth was his perfect complement and constant companion. Frankenstein was the kind of person who attached himself intensely to only a few people, and Elizabeth and Henry Clerval, a schoolmate, were his closest friends.
Topic Tracking: Friendship 4
At 13 Frankenstein became interested in the spark of life and studied theories of the creation of human life that, unbeknownst to him, were outdated. He explains that,
"The world was to [him] a secret which [he] desired to divine. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to [him], are among the earliest sensations [he] can remember....It was the secrets of heaven and earth that [he] desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied [him], still [his] inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in it highest sense, the physical secrets of the world." Chapter 2, pg. 22-3
He became absorbed in these studies until he saw lightning completely decimate a tree, and then he learned theories of electricity and galvanization (using electricity to give life to inanimate matter) from a guest at their home. Frankenstein abandoned his earlier, intense line of study and became a happier person. Destiny, however, had other plans for him.
Topic Tracking: Glory 6
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