preliminary circumstances
Victor's holding us in suspense constitutes more than a novelist's
manipulation of her readers. Frankenstein, unlike much of the
gothic fiction of the previous half century, is a novel without much
interest in the sensational per se, rigorously subsuming its dynamic effects
to a larger narrative logic. Such a train of logical premises is here
invoked by Victor, as Mary Shelley emphasizes that a major structural
division in the narrative is about to occur.
- Contexts:
- Critical Approaches:
- Themes:
