Wednesday, December 10, 2014

In what country is Frankenstein mostly set?

The main setting of Frankenstein is not always clear as locations change often throughout the narrative. The story begins in the Russian Arctic, but it is clear that most of the action occurs elsewhere. Many of the descriptions that Frankenstein gives appear to take place in Switzerland, specifically around Lake Geneva where Doctor Frankenstein is from and spent his entire childhood before heading to university in Germany. Other parts of the story take place all over Europe, such as the French Alps, Bavaria, Italy, Britain, Ireland, and the Arctic. The entire story, however, is confined to the continent of Europe.
Lake Geneva and the area around it comes up throughout the story as Frankenstein recalls the better times he had there. Its natural beauty is symbolic of the peaceful time period of his youth before he went to university and created the monster. In many ways, Frankenstein is a rejection of modernism. Switzerland is portrayed as a simple and non-modern location and therefore is symbolic of a time before the hustle and bustle of the modern world.
However, to say that the story is mostly set in any one place would be inaccurate. The narrative frequently moves all over Europe. With the story moving all over the place, no single part of the narrative occurs in any one country.

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