Chapter 18 Practice Quiz — Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 18
Why is Victor unable to begin creating the female creature at the start of Chapter 18?
He fears the vengeance of the monster yet feels overwhelming repugnance toward the task. He also needs to study discoveries made by an English philosopher before he can proceed.
What does Alphonse Frankenstein fear about Victor's feelings toward Elizabeth?
He fears that Victor may regard Elizabeth only as a sister, or that Victor may have fallen in love with another woman and feels bound to Elizabeth merely out of duty.
How does Victor respond to his father's question about marrying Elizabeth?
Victor reassures his father that he loves Elizabeth sincerely and that his hopes are entirely bound up in their union, but he privately dreads an immediate marriage.
Why does Victor describe an immediate marriage as "one of horror and dismay"?
He is bound by his promise to create a female companion for the monster and feels he cannot celebrate a wedding until that deadly obligation is fulfilled.
What is the stated reason Victor gives his family for traveling to England?
He presents the journey as a restorative trip for his health and spirits, concealing his true purpose of consulting English scientists to aid in creating the female creature.
Who arranges for Henry Clerval to accompany Victor on his journey?
Alphonse Frankenstein arranges it, in concert with Elizabeth, without previously telling Victor.
How does Victor feel about Clerval joining him?
Initially it interferes with the solitude he wants for his task, but he ultimately rejoices because Clerval will save him from hours of lonely, maddening reflection and may stand between him and the creature.
What agreement is made about Victor's marriage before he departs?
It is understood that his union with Elizabeth will take place immediately upon his return from England.
What fear haunts Victor as he prepares to leave Geneva?
He fears that during his absence, his friends and family will be unprotected from the creature's attacks, since they are unconscious of the monster's existence.
How does Clerval contrast with Victor during the Rhine journey?
Clerval is alive to every scene, joyful at sunsets and sunrises, and enthusiastic about the landscape, while Victor is occupied by gloomy thoughts and barely notices the scenery.
What is the route Victor and Clerval take from Strasbourg to London?
They descend the Rhine by boat from Strasbourg through Mannheim, Mainz, and Cologne to Rotterdam, then travel by sea to London.
What poem does Shelley quote to characterize Clerval's love of nature?
She quotes from Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey," describing how the sounding cataract, tall rock, mountain, and gloomy wood were to Clerval "an appetite; a feeling, and a love."
What literary device does Victor's apostrophe about Clerval ("And where does he now exist?") represent?
It is foreshadowing—Victor narrates from a future point, revealing that Clerval is already dead and transforming the travelogue into an elegy.
What type of irony pervades Chapter 18?
Dramatic irony: the reader knows Victor travels to England to build a female creature, while his family believes the journey is for health and pleasure.
How does Victor describe himself in relation to the creature's demands?
He describes himself as a slave, using language of bondage and servitude—"miserable slavery," "slave of my creature"—highlighting the ironic reversal of creator and creation.
What does Victor order to be packed for the journey, and why is it significant?
He orders his chemical instruments packed, which is significant because it confirms his secret intention to build the female creature during the trip.
What time of year do Victor and Clerval travel down the Rhine?
They travel during the vintage season (autumn), hearing the songs of grape-harvest laborers as they glide downstream.
What English landmarks do Victor and Clerval observe upon arriving?
They see the white cliffs of Britain, pass Tilbury Fort (recalling the Spanish Armada), Gravesend, Woolwich, Greenwich, and finally the steeples of London including St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London.
What theme does Victor's concealment of his true motives from his family illustrate?
The destructive power of secrecy—Victor's habitual deception deepens his isolation and compounds the suffering of everyone around him.
How does nature function as a motif in Chapter 18?
Nature serves as a mirror of emotional states: Victor finds temporary but fleeting solace in the natural world, while for Clerval, nature is a source of endless joy and spiritual connection, highlighting their contrasting inner lives.