#caroline frankenstein

[rosaniruby]

It's interesting how the second sentence victor starts the story with is "My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics" and while i always focused on the effect it has on, for example, victor; trying to see the life of alphonse is also interesting in the way we can observe his trauma leaking out into his parenting methods and attitude towards his kids and wife.

Like,

-It is said they have a long history with being important and engaged in country's business. And as we see Alphonsa followed it, (and i highly suspect even when he sent victor to college he still expected him to take over this position later on), probably not having much of a choice either. It was all passed down, and even the character of this job is being passed down too. For example, traits fitting this job - responsibilities/brain over feelings. A sense of duty that follows them everywhere. Love isn't unconditional, it's a duty, as well as everything else they do.

It seems like he's just passing down the generational trauma.

Another instances where his bad experiences are being reflected in his behavior towards victor and others is also seen here:

-His dearest friend suddenly disappeared. Turns out he hid because of hurt pride of losing his fortune, simultaneously almost destroying his daughter's life bc of that as well as his own. and Alphonse felt betrayed that this false pride was more important than their friendship = notice how Alphonse assumes the reason for victor's misery is a false pride. And desperatively wants to keep his family in close-circle, so they won't leave each other. And him.

-He looked for the friend for a long time without stopping, but in the end was disappointed. "But when he entered, misery and despair alone welcomed him. Beaufort had saved but a very small sum of money from the wreck of his fortunes; but it was sufficient to provide him with sustenance for some months, and in the mean time he hoped to procure some respectable imployment in a merchant’s house. The interval was consequently spent in inaction; his grief only became more deep and rankling, when he had leisure for reflection; and at length it took so fast hold of his mind, that at the end of three months he lay on a bed of sickness, incapable of any exertion." = notice how he always thinks despair is useless and leads to even worse consequences, so, feeling things is BAD.

-After making a big deal out of loving and finding the friend, the moment he actually sees him dead, instead of thinking about that or even mentioning alphonse was sad or smth, theres not a single sentence about alphonse's reaction or even of that friend anymore, instead all attention drifts to beautiful poor Caroline and suddenly it's a story about saving her. Everything got romantized. = Obviously, the romantization of grief and suffering was very ingrained in Victor's whole family. It probably came from Alphonse and his ancestors too.

- It's also said in 1818 ver that alphonse really loved his sister (the mother of elizabeth) and she abandoned him (cut him off).

"for some years my father had very little communication with her."

= Now remember alphonse's later words and lessons about how cutting your family off means you are neglecting yourself and your other duties etc.

So yeak, Idk I just love how Frankenstein is also about generational trauma and people who didn't process their feelings ruining their kids' lifes. (and don't get me started on Caroline.)

#frankenstein #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #victor frankenstein #mary shelly's frankenstein #viktor frankenstein #alphonse frankenstein #caroline frankenstein #goth lit #gothic literature #classic lit #classic literature #mary shelley #frankenstein the modern prometheus #the modern prometheus #caroline beaufort

[frankingsteinery]

victor and elizabeth were not the first grooming case nor the first pseudo-incest relationship in frankenstein: that would be alphonse and caroline.

alphonse was a friend of caroline’s father, beaufort. this is how they met, and so there was a significant difference in their ages. after beaufort dies, alphonse and caroline marry. take a look at how beaufort’s passing is described:

Her father grew worse; her time was more entirely occupied in attending him; her means of subsistence decreased; and in the tenth month her father died in her arms, leaving her an orphan and a beggar. This last blow overcame her; and she knelt by Beaufort’s coffin, weeping bitterly, when my father entered the chamber. He came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care, and after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva, and placed her under the protection of a relation. Two years after this event Caroline became his wife.

while "orphan" does not strictly mean the person is a minor, orphan still is most commonly used to describe a minor whose parents are both dead. if we interpret orphan in that sense, then caroline would have been a child when alphonse first took her in. the fact that he waits two years after this event to marry her also hints towards this, almost as if he was waiting for her to become legal and the age of consent. this is further supported by the diminutive language of “poor girl” used to describe her, who is in juxtaposition to the paternal “protecting spirit” of alphonse whom she commits herself into the care of.

even if caroline was not a minor, there was a large enough gap in their ages - and the fact that alphonse “saved” caroline from poverty, creating an economical reliance on him - that there was an unhealthy power balance in their relationship. because of this dynamic, it really does read like grooming: alphonse houses caroline till she is (supposedly) old enough to marry, and by that time she would have been pushed into consenting to the marriage because she relied on him for money and housing, and could have some sort of emotional obligation to him as well for supporting her in a time of need and grief, and he is a significant link to her deceased father. this difference in their ages is highlighted again when victor notes that alphonse was in the decline of his life by the time he and caroline were having children together, and by the time victor is 19 alphonse is old enough that he is physically incapable of traveling to ingolstadt.

in this way their relationship is pseudo-incestous, because alphonse (her father’s age) swoops in to support caroline (a child) after her father dies. this makes himself the father figure replacement, and caroline his daughter. once she is of age she transitions from the role of daughter to wife, and during her marriage caroline will go on to repeat this cycle of abuse, and recreate this same dynamic - except this time, it is in a situation that she can control: through victor and elizabeth.

from the beginning caroline deliberately sets up parallels between herself and elizabeth. she wants a daughter, and adopts elizabeth specifically because elizabeth reminds her of herself, but grander: like she was, elizabeth is also a beggar and an orphan and homeless, but her story is more tragic, she is more beautiful, her debt to her caretakers more extreme, and her romantic relationship will go on to be more explicitly incestous. caroline calls elizabeth her favorite and grooms her into becoming a second version of herself, so that she can recreate the traumatic event of her marriage with her two children.

so, as caroline dictates the marriage between victor and elizabeth, victor becomes to elizabeth what alphonse was to caroline: a man, who is also a familial figure, that she must marry in order to have a stable social and economic life. the frankensteins have provided elizabeth with everything she has, and the threat is there that they can also take it away if she does not comply (through marrying victor), which is the same kind of looming, unspoken threat that hung over caroline and alphonse’s marriage.

#rob.txt #frankenstein #frankenstein the modern prometheus #victor frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #caroline frankenstein #alphonse frankenstein #tw incest #tw grooming #gothic lit #analysis

[haanahaki]

Frankenstein designs!

(Victor Frankenstein, The Creature, Elizabeth Lavenza, Henry Clerval, Justine Moritz, William Frankenstein, Caroline Frankenstein, Ernest Frankenstein, Alphonse Frankenstein)

#Frankenstein #victor frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #henry clerval #justine moritz #william frankenstein #the creature #ernest frankenstein #Caroline Frankenstein #alphonse frankenstein #fanart #art #character design

[toaster-trash]

Absolutely despise her but she is SO fun to write.

#gothic lit #classic literature #gothic literature #goth lit #classic lit #frankenstein #frankenstein weekly #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #Caroline Frankenstein

[sirgawainofgalifrey]

You know, I really shouldn't be this invested in books written 200 years ago.

#you know the drill #click for better quality #i just think they're neat #no but really ive gotten unorthodoxly obsessed with this book #mary shelly's frankenstein #victor frankenstein #alphonse frankenstein #caroline frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #henry clerval #ernest frankenstein #william frankenstein #justine moritz #the creature #the frankenstein family #classic books #my art #original art #frankensteins monster #frankenstein musical #frankenstein art

[hypo-critic-al]

playing around with my Frankenstein character designs :]

#frankenstein #i’m not setting anything in stone i’m just playing around with them :] #henry will keep his baby ponytail dw! #caroline frankenstein #justine moritz #elizabeth lavenza #henry clerval #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #mary shelley’s frankenstein #the modern prometheus #gothic literature #goth lit #gothic lit #artists on tumblr

[mourningmaybells]

did anyone else think this painting of caroline was fucked up

#i already wrote this post down before... manry years ago... but didnt give a screencap for proof #frankenstein by mary shelley #victor frankenstein #caroline frankenstein

[fatecanberewritten]

I will endeavour to resign myself cheerfully to death, and will indulge a hope of meeting you in another world.

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

#quotes #frankenstein #the modern prometheus #mary shelley #shelley #classics #literature #caroline frankenstein #caroline beaufort #caroline beaufort frankenstein #frankenstein's mother #death #resignation to death #no fear of death #life after death #death of a loved one

[vlct0gram]

Caroline: I love all my children equally.

Victor: Hey mom, we were attacked while you were gone-

Caroline: IS ELIZABETH OKAY?

#this is how the book went right #frankenstein #caroline frankenstein #victor frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #incorrect quotes

[the-real-dev]

my and my boyfriend assigned frankenstein characters fruits & veggies on call here's what we've deduced:

victor -> sad pathetic green apple

henry -> aesthetic red apple

adam -> deformed carrot

elizabeth -> crisp raspberry

william -> small banana

justine -> unpicked blackberry

ernest -> normal lemon

alphonse -> guacamole avocado <- according to bf

caroline -> already ripped open pomegranate

old man de lacy -> sour grape

felix -> not too lumpy potato

safie -> dark pink & cut in half dragonfruit

whatever the other de lacy's name was (the girl) -> sweet grape

#dev talks #frankenstein #victor frankenstein #henry clerval #adam frankenstein #the creature #william frankenstein #ernest frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #justine moritz #alphonse frankenstein #caroline beaufort #the de lacy's #felix #safie

[the-dangerous-mute-lunatic]

Folks liked my Cave and Caroline Frankenstein drawing, so I cleaned it up and finished it!

#cave johnson #caroline #portal #portal 2 #my art #pineflower art #frankenstein

[frankensteinical]

Forty Days of Frankenstein, Day Sixteen: I find this 1988 illustration for the novel, by artist Caroline Church, almost eye-defyingly busy—of course, it depicts that fraught and transformative moment when the Monster, newly brought to life, awakens Victor in the middle of the night.  I could easily show you a dozen other such depictions.  What I like about this one, though, is the claustrophobic sense of menace in the uncomprehending blankness of the Monster’s face, and the way the open window actually creates a sense that this is happening in indistinct darkness.  “Awakened from a sound sleep by a monster of your own making” sounds like a metaphor.  Here, it isn’t.  This illustration was created for an abridged version of the novel put out by Peter Bedrick Books.  I would watch a whole two-hour animated cartoon in this style if it existed.

#frankenstein #1988 #Caroline Church

[toaster-trash]

why is caroline bad?

(I haven’t fully read the book yet)

I can not be bothered to type out an essay apologies HOWEVER I will repost this silly little conversation with one of my very hip and cool mutuals on Instagram because I’m pretty sure it sums all my thoughts up pretty well

#classic literature #gothic lit #gothic literature #goth lit #classic lit #frankenstein #frankenstein weekly #Caroline Frankenstein

[imsorryimlate]

I gazed on the picture of my mother, which stood over the mantlepiece. It was an historical subject, painted at my father's desire, and represented Caroline Beaufort in an agony of despair, kneeling by the coffin of her dead father. Her garb was rustic, and her cheek pale; but there was an air of dignity and beauty, that hardly permitted the sentiment of pity.

this is certainly… a Choice.

iirc the annotations made a whole thing about alphonse loving beaufort, caroline’s dad. and while him marrying her later was a bit sus, i’d say a more charitable reading could be that to him, it was a duty, to make sure his beloved friend’s daughter was taken care of.

i hadn’t really thought about it further until now, when reading this passage. because if i were to commission a portrait of my deceased wife, i’d probably go with a different scene, of her together with her beloved children perhaps. but i think it’s quite telling that alphonse wanted this scene specifically. to him, caroline’s love and devotion to her father was her best qualities; to him, caroline in agony and despair over her father’s death is her at her most beautiful. it is no coincidence that this is how he wants to remember her.

#his love for caroline rests on her love for beaufort #fellas is it gay #frankenstein weekly

[monstersofmancomic]

Older Frankenstein family drawing that I think I forgot to post

#scribes art #victor frankenstein #alphonse frankenstein #william frankenstein #elizabeth lavenza #caroline beaufort-frankenstein #ernest frankenstein

[queerpyracy]

we face the night

Frankenstein | Creature/Elizabeth Lavenza

III. The House

We engage in some light bible study and learn some really terrible things about Caroline's parenting style.

#my writing #my fic #elizabeth lavenza #frankenstein #gothic lit shrek #the alternate title for this fic is the character assassination of caroline frankenstein