Professor Kasmer's Ivanhoe Games

Professor Lisa Kasmer| Clark University | Worcester, MA | 01610

Journal Entry for Second Move

While much of the character of William Frankenstein parallels Victor, I did not want to limit his interactions to just his foil character. Elizabeth has a strong relations with all of the Frankenstein’s and I saw her as the best option for William to reach out to through a dream.

Part of my second move involved showing Williams concern for Elizabeth. As previously mentioned that there is little in the novel to base Williams’s character, however, he appears to be innocent and caring. Through this little knowledge of Williams’s character, I have expanded upon his caring actions in my moves. I wanted to include this further in this move. When William visits Elizabeth, he reassures her that he is well and happy and to not burden herself with his death, showing how compassionate the young boy is. We were not able to see this side of William as it was only hinted at through his “endearing manners” (25) in the novel. In my previous moves, William has mainly shown concern for Victor yet I wanted to give another example of Williams caring nature and his love for his family. By visiting Elizabeth and reassuring her and through her, the Frankenstein family, that he is well and there is no one to blame other than the creature, the readers can further see the character of William.

In keeping with making William a foil character to Victor, I wanted William to reach out for help with is something that Victor never does. Victor keeps all of his problems and troubles to himself which isolates him from his family. As Victor won’t ask for help, having William try to get him help is part of his character that I feel I have developed through these moves. As another attempt to help save Victor, I included a description of the creature. The Frankenstein family was deeply distraught with the death of William and by providing details of his murderer, the family now has something to focus their grief on as well as a way to further help Victor. Overall, I feel that my moves have further portrayed William as a foil to his brother Victor and has allowed the readers to learn more about the character of William. 

Journal Entry for Second Move