Teachable Quotations

Robert Walton: “I also became a poet and for one year lived in a paradise of my own creation. I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated.”

“When I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate in my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. . . “

“There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand.”

“I . . . may not see my native land, perhaps, for many years. . .”

“I may there discover the wondrous power that attracts the needle . . .”

“I shall do nothing rashly; you know me sufficiently to confide in my prudence and considerateness whenever the safety of others is committed to my care.”

Margaret Saville: Know the “you”: But, supposing all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine.

Identify “I”: But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, _____: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection.

Who is being described?: He had already bought a farm with his money, on which he had desired to pass the remainder of his life; but he bestowed the whole on his rival, together with the remains of his prize- money to purchase stock, and then himself solicited the young woman's father to consent to her marriage with her lover.

Who speaks in the quote? On perceiving me, the stranger addressed me in English, although with a foreign accent. "Before I come on board your vessel," said he, "will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?" Who is being spoken to? : "You may easily perceive, _____ that I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes. I had determined, at one time, that the memory of these evils should die with me; but you have won me to alter my determination. You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been

Fill in the blank: My father loved _____ with the truest friendship, and was deeply grieved by his retreat in these unfortunate circumstances. He bitterly deplored the false pride which led his friend to a conduct so little worthy of the affection that united them Who is “he”? : He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind, and to surround her with all that could tend to excite pleasurable emotion in her soft and benevolent mind.

Who is the “her” described in the selection above.

Fill in the blank: And when, on the morrow, she presented ______to me as her promised gift, I, with childish seriousness, interpreted her words literally, and looked upon _____ as mine--mine to protect, love, and cherish

Fill in the blank: My father looked carelessly at the title page of my book, and said, "Ah! ______! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash."

Who nurses the sick in the following quote? : She attended her sick bed--her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of the distemper--_____ was saved, but the consequences of this imprudence were fatal to her preserver.

Who is “saved”?

Fill in the blank: _____ spent the last evening with us. He had endeavoured to persuade his father to permit him to accompany me, and to become my fellow student; but in vain.

Who is the speaker? Good God! in what desert land have you lived, where no one was kind enough to inform you that these fancies, which you have so greedily imbibed, are a thousand years old, and as musty as they are ancient? I little expected, in this enlightened and scientific age, to find a disciple of Albertus Magnus and Paracelsus. My dear sir, you must begin your studies entirely anew."

Spoken to whom?: I see by your eagerness, and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be: listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject I thought I saw _____, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of ______in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. Speaker? "My dear Frankenstein," exclaimed he, "how glad I am to see you! how fortunate that you should be here at the very moment of my alighting!" Speaker? Oh, save me! save me!" Fill in the blank: "If this is your present temper, my friend, you will perhaps be glad to see a letter that has been lying here some days for you; it is from _____, I believe."

Identify the speaker

Victor Frankenstein Robert Walton The creature Elizabeth Alphonse Frankenstein Henry Cleval

__“Before I come on board your vessel, will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?”

__ “I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature.”

__ I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.

__“Get well, and return to us. You will find a happy, cheerful home and friends who love you dearly.”

__“Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pit, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred.”

__“Wretch!” I said,” It is well that you come here to whine over the desolation that you have made. You throw a torch into a pile of buildings, and when they are consumed, you sit among the ruins, and lament the fall. Hypocritical fiend!” __“So strange an accident has happened to us, that I cannot forbear recording it, although it is very probable that you will see me before these papers can come into your possession.”

__“But is it not a duty to the survivors, that we should refrain from augmenting their unhappiness by an appearance of immoderate grief?”

__“It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of my being; all the events of that period appear confused and indistinct. A strange multiplicity of sensations seized me, and I saw, felt, heard, and smelt, at the same time.”

__“I swear by the sun, and by the blue sky of Heaven, and by the fire of love that burns my heart, that if you grant my prayer, while they exist you shall never behold me again.”

__“I had rather be with you in your solitary rambles, than with these Scotch people whom I do not know; hasten the return, my dear friend, to return, that I may again feel myself somewhat at home, which I cannot do in your absence.”

__“I confess to you, my friend, that I love you, and that in my airy dreams of futurity you have been my constant friend and companion.”

__ “I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by al mankind?’

__“…and if I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness.”

__I had desired it with an ardent fervor that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.”

__“My dear Frankenstein, how glad I am to see you! How fortunate that you should be here at the very moment of my alighting!”

__None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder.”

__”Blasted as thou were, my agony was still superior to thine, for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever.”

Whose words are these?

“…I shall satiate (satisfy) my ardent (eager) curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man.”

Who is Robert Walton describing: “I said…that I should find no friend on the wide ocean, yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of my heart.” Themes: Glory to self Responsibility Fate/Destiny

Alienation Friendship Knowledge

 “I also became a poet and for one year lived in a paradise of my own creation. I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated.”

 “When I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate in my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavor to sustain me in dejection. . . “

 “There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand.”

 “I . . . may not see my native land, perhaps, for many years. . .”

 “I may there discover the wondrous power that attracts the needle . . .”

 “I shall do nothing rashly; you know me sufficiently to confide in my prudence and considerateness whenever the safety of others is committed to my care.”

Who says these quotes.

“One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion which I should acquire over the elemental foes of our race.”

“I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?’