Foreshadowing in Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's use of foreshadowing is indeed what makes Frankenstein a true horror story. A major clue to the course of the Victor's journey lays in a letter he wrote on August 13th, in which he states early on that "One man’s life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought" (22). This foreshadows the tragedies Victor will face for viewing life and death as insignificant compared to his mission to help humanity. Later in the novel Victor foreshadows the death of Henry while telling about their journey throughout Europe, "...these ineffectual words are but a slight tribute to the unexampled worth of Henry...[Victor is] overflowing with the anguish which his remembrance creates" (236). The use of past tense and the word "tribute" give context clues that Henry will die as the story progresses.
Another instance of foreshadowing is Victor's detailed description of his "more than sister" (34) Elizabeth Lavenza foreshadows that he and Elizabeth share a more intimate relationship which is verified by his mother on her death bed and later by his father suggesting the marriage be made. In Chapter 22, Victor foreshadows Elizabeth dead more blatantly stating "I thought that I had prepared only my own death, I hastened that of a far dearer victim" (293). Victor's love and adoration for Elizabeth foreshadows of the pain The Being can cause Victor by harming Elizabeth, as he in fact does. The Being knows that Elizabeth holds all of Victor's hope for a happy life, thus he realizes the best time to kill her is at the very precipice of Victor obtaining his happiness.
In chapter 5 after bringing The Being to life, Victor Frankenstein dreams of embracing Elizabeth but as he kisses her she becomes "lived with the hue of death" and she changes into the corpse of Victors mother crawling with maggots (59). This dream, or rather premonition foreshadows Elizabeth's death on their wedding night because Victor kisses the corpse instead of alive version of Elizabeth in the nightmare. At the end of Chapter 8 Victor foreshadows even more deaths when he states that William and Justine were "...the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts," the key word here is "first" alluding to the deaths of Henry, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's father all because he brought The Being to live to cause his misery (123).
In chapter 5 after bringing The Being to life, Victor Frankenstein dreams of embracing Elizabeth but as he kisses her she becomes "lived with the hue of death" and she changes into the corpse of Victors mother crawling with maggots (59). This dream, or rather premonition foreshadows Elizabeth's death on their wedding night because Victor kisses the corpse instead of alive version of Elizabeth in the nightmare. At the end of Chapter 8 Victor foreshadows even more deaths when he states that William and Justine were "...the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts," the key word here is "first" alluding to the deaths of Henry, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth's father all because he brought The Being to live to cause his misery (123).
Nature is a constant force of foreshadowing throughout the novel, it allows Shelley to not only set the mood of a scene but warn the audience of the mental state of Victor as well as coming events of his journey. For example, in chapter 7 Victor visits the spot where William's body was found and a "storm appeared to approach rapidly, and, on landing, I ascended a low hill, that I might observe its progress. It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming" this storm foreshadows the appearance of The Being for the first time as well as the sorrow and anger Victor will feel upon seeing his creation (100). Then after promising to create The Being's companion Victor looks out his window "gazing on the sea; it was almost motionless, for the winds were hushed, and all nature reposed under the eye of the quiet moon" (252). The "motionless" sea foreshadows Victor's dead body "reposed" or lying at the hands of his creation when he dies at the end of the novel with The Being over him as the "moon" does in the metaphor.