Frankenstein, Chapter 5 summary
Chapter 5 of 28 · Part 2 · 10 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 5, Victor Frankenstein brings his creature to life but recoils from its appearance, flees his rooms, and suffers a severe nervous illness. Henry Clerval arrives in Ingolstadt, nurses him through the winter, and helps restore his connection to the family whose letters he neglects.
What happens
- On a rainy November night, Victor gives life to his creature and immediately feels horror rather than satisfaction.
- After a nightmare about Elizabeth and his dead mother, Victor finds the creature beside his bed and escapes into the courtyard.
- The next morning, Victor meets Henry Clerval arriving by coach and briefly regains his happiness.
- Victor finds his rooms empty, but his frantic excitement gives way to visions of the creature and a collapse.
- Henry nurses Victor through months of fever while concealing the illness’s severity from Victor’s family.
- As spring helps Victor recover, Henry asks him to write home and mentions a waiting letter apparently from his cousin.
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Why does Henry conceal the severity of Victor’s illness from his family?
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