Elizabeth’s past is often juxtaposed with her present through flashbacks to childhood moments. What effect does her childhood have on her current conflicts and circumstances?
Elizabeth notes that Victor’s mother “present[ed her] to Victor as his special gift” (this page). Why does she accept being gifted to this stranger? What does this reveal about Elizabeth’s character? How does this affect the development of Elizabeth’s identity? How might it affect her future?
When Victor is killing a deer, Elizabeth stands by and watches without trying to stop him. She then takes in the scene and says,“Red leaves. Red knife. Red hands. But white dresses always” (this page). What does this reveal about the relationship between Victor and Elizabeth? What is the understanding between them? Why does Victor always want Elizabeth to wear white, and why does she mention this in this particular flashback? What else might Elizabeth be trying to show about the way Victor wants to see her? Does she create her identity to please him?
After Henry proposes, Elizabeth is conflicted about how she would behave as his potential wife, saying, “Who I truly was remained a mystery even to me” (this page). What does Elizabeth mean by this? Who is Elizabeth Lavenza?
As Elizabeth realizes she cannot save Justine, she laments, “I would lose my Justine for nothing. Would lose the one person I had tried to save in the midst of a life spent selfishly trying to make certain I stayed safe myself. The one person I love because she made me happy, rather than because my security depended on her” (this page). How does this showcase a shift in Elizabeth’s character? Why is she so affected by the death of Justine and her inability to prevent it?
As she is developing her plan to help Victor, Elizabeth says that “in helping to destroy the monster, I would no longer be able to feign innocence, and [Victor] could no longer deny the truth. Once it was dead, Victor would have nothing further to hide from me….We would only have each other….I yearned for the freedom I anticipated….Freedom from the fear of having nothing” (this page). Is this the reason Elizabeth wants so badly to aid in the destruction the monster? Does Elizabeth truly desire the truth? Once the truth is shared between Elizabeth and Victor, will this provide her freedom? How is she defining freedom? Is this really what freedom means?
During her stay at the asylum, Elizabeth ponders, “Who was I when I was not performing for someone else?” (this page) and continues to share that “It was so hard, sorting through what was left of me when I cut off the parts that existed for others” (this page). What is Elizabeth realizing about herself when she is in this forced isolation? Why is it that she feels she does not understand herself, and that is this her fault? What is left of Elizabeth once she removes those pieces of herself that “existed for others”?
In reflecting on Victor’s development, Elizabeth notes that “He had never been able to feel things as deeply as he should; he had been raised in a home where everything was pretense and no one spoke the truth” (this page). Based on Elizabeth’s belief, what is the effect onVictor of his parents’ lack of nurturing, especially as he gets older? Is the inability to feel deeply the reason for Victor’s quest for perfection? How does the lack of truth affect the people in the Frankenstein household?