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What happens in Chapter 12 of Frankenstein?
The monster tells Victor about how he grew affectionate and benevolent toward his neighbors in the cottage and how he learned the rudiments of language by eavesdropping on them.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Chapters 11 & 12. (3-minute read)
What happens in Chapter 13 of Frankenstein?
The monster tells Victor that he noticed a lift in the mood in the cottage when a woman named Safie moved in. He reports that as she learned the cottagers’ language, so did he. He says he also learned about human society and history, as well as the fact that he was deformed and alone.
What happens in Chapter 14 of Frankenstein?
The monster says that was able to learn the cottagers’ story: The old man (M. De Lacey) had been a wealthy Parisian, and his children (Felix and Agatha) were well-respected until their attempt to help Safie’s father escape prison was discovered and the family was exiled. They moved to the cottage, where Safie later joined them.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Chapters 13 & 14. (3-minute read)
How do the De Lacey family chapters differ from the rest of Frankenstein?
Most of the first half of the novel is focused on Victor and was told from his perspective. But when the monster announced in Chapter 10 that he too had a story to tell, we were confronted with a different perspective to consider. Shelley accentuated this abrupt change by switching not just the story and perspective, but the characters and the setting as well. In Chapters 11–15, we don’t hear from Victor or anyone else we’ve met before except for the monster, who joined by new characters in the form of the De Lacey family. At the same time, the novel’s previously expansive settings shrink to a small area around the monster’s hovel and the family’s cottage.
Shelley’s streamlining of the setup in these chapters of the novel can be compared to the “bottle episode” concept employed in many modern television series when a sparse backdrop is used to intensify character development. In Chapters 11–15 of Frankenstein, we will learn a huge amount about the monster just by having him tell us what he observed and learned from the De Lacey family within the confines of their small cottage.
Are there any important themes in the De Lacey family chapters of Frankenstein?
The key idea the monster learns about in the chapters he spends observing the De Lacey family is goodness, specifically, The Nature of Goodness, or what makes some people good and others bad. In the context of these chapters and the overall novel, this focuses mainly on whether Victor and (especially) the monster are innately good or not.
Read about The Nature of Goodness as a Theme (#4) in Frankenstein. (2-minute read)
Read an essay about whether the monster is good or not. (3-minute read).
Are there any important quotes in Chapters 12 & 13 of Frankenstein?
“What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people; and I longed to join them, but dared not.”
This quote from Chapter 13 is one of several quotes from the monster in these chapters that help convey just how much he learns about goodness and the positive human traits of kindness, empathy, and charity during his time in proximity to the De Lacey family.
Read 3 key quotes from the monster in Chapter 12 and their explanations. (3-minute read)
Read 5 key quotes from the monster in Chapter 13 and their explanations. (4-minute read)
