Introduction Rationale (Henry Clerval)

I introduced Henry Clerval in a way that shows he is a good man who wants to make the world a better place and who is significantly different from Frankenstein. I also chose to show his concern for Victor. I wanted to show that he was a good friend and that he was of an exceptionally happy and positive demeanor. I didn’t include any specifics about what he experiences with Frankenstein or delve into the real despair he sees in his friend later in the novel because I wanted the character to be flexible when revisionary moves were made.

I used background information from the text to base his introduction on. In chapter one of Frankenstein it speaks about Clerval’s family situation and how he used to read romance novels and spend great lengths of time at the Frankenstein household, so I included those details. The romance novels make Clerval appear as a softer, more emotional character. Also, in the same chapter it speaks about how Clerval was unable to join Victor in pursuing an education at Ingolstadt and that Clerval’s father wanted him to “become a partner with him in business” (27) instead, which gave me the information about Clerval’s father being stern and Clerval feeling a disconnect from his father because of the disagreement in future plans. I thought it was important to include at least something about Clerval being concerned about Frankenstein because this is seen multiple times throughout the novel. These times include when Clerval sees Victor at the college and comments on his health, when he nurses him back to health after Frankenstein comes down with a nervous fever for several months, and when he continuously tries to cheer Victor up while traveling Europe. I thought that showing his concern showed both his characteristic of being a good friend and the dynamic of the friendship.

I wrote about how he wants to change the world and help humanity because I think that says a lot about him. While Frankenstein is working to get fame for doing something revolutionary, Clerval wants to be a hero, a helpful hand to mankind. He goes to Ingolstadt to study language, rather than science, and he says that he wants to open a field of self-instruction on his return to Geneva. His future plans that are mentioned in the novel, make him seem to be a much more selfless person than Frankenstein. I wrote about Clerval’s love for nature and beauty in nature in his introduction as well. This we see during his traveling in Europe. As Victor says in the novel: “He [Clerval] was alive to every new scene; joyful when he saw the beauties of the setting sun, and more happy when he beheld it rise, and recommence a new day” (119). The quote shows us Clerval’s appreciation of nature and how extensive it was. The nature made him feel more alive and he experienced much joy by way of nature. The extent of Clerval’s love for nature is mentioned in the novel again with Victor saying: “He felt as if he had been transported to Fairyland, and enjoyed a happiness seldom tasted by man” (120). Clerval felt as if he was in another world when he had so much natural beauty surrounding him and was very content, as if he was in a fairytale. These feelings were so obvious that Frankenstein felt the need to relay them in his story. Clerval’s appreciation of nature is then again mentioned with Frankenstein reflecting that “the scenery of external nature, which others regard only with admiration, he [Clerval] loved with ardour” (121). The repetition of these ideas of Clerval being very enthralled by nature caused me to feel it necessary to mention or allude to these things in his introduction.

Through Shelley’s depiction of Henry Clerval as kind, happy, oriented around others, and an attentive friend, she provides a foil character for Frankenstein, who is selfish, depressed, and fame oriented.

Works Cited
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2007. Print.