My Story

I am from Geneva and my family is rich and influential. My father occupied public offices. He married at an old age.

One of his most intimate friends, Mr. Beaufort, was a merchant who fell into poverty after some bad businesses. Being unable to continue living in a country where he had been rich he went to Lucerne to live with his daughter. My father tried to find him and after some time he discovered him lying on bed, sick and with his daughter attending him.

The daughter had tried to find work but the father, worsening his illness, died, and left his child without any means of support. When my father found Caroline, the daughter, he decided to help her. After some time he married the daughter of his friend.

There was a great difference of age between them but my father loved her tenderly and tried to mend what she had suffered by giving her all she wanted. After some time my father quitted his job and decided to take his wife to Italy, where she could rest and recover.

I was born in Naples and my parents gave me love and for many years I was their only child.

My parents visited the poor areas of any town to help the families in need and my mother felt an obligation to give a hand to those in disgrace. One time when we were touring the frontiers of Italy, near the Lake of Como, my mother, with my company, at the time five years old, visited a poor village. When we entered a house we saw the parents trying to feed their hungry children. Among the children there was one girl who showed herself so beautiful that my mother wanted to know about her. The parents informed us that this girl did not belong to them. Another family had given her in custody. The child´s mother had been of German origin and the father was most surely in prison for fighting a noble cause. The parents were convinced to relinquish the child to my mother and after some consultations this child, Elizabeth Lavenza, became my companion and sister. When my father returned home he saw the most beautiful blonde child playing with me and was also convinced of the child´s adoption.

I was going to cherish, love and protect Elizabeth until our death. We were brought up together. She loved poetry and the observation of the beautiful landscape surrounding our home in the Swiss Alps. I preferred to investigate the causes of natural phenomena.

When my brother was born my family decided to establish near Geneva, in Belrive. I returned to school and became friend with Henry Clerval. He liked adventure books and made us be part of the plays he made up.

I could not have a happier life and found my parents nice. When we had the chance to visit other families I could discern how lucky I was to have those parents.

My temper was sometimes violent. I wanted to learn not about politics or governments but about heaven and earth, the mysterious soul of man, and the physical secrets of the world.

Henry Clerval was busy trying to imitate his heroes. Elizabeth gave us her love and tender, and soften my character.

At the age of thirteen I became interested in old philosophers and wanted to discover the secrets of nature. When I was fifteen I witnessed a thunderstorm. We were returning home when the most terrible tempest broke around us. I saw in amazement how an oak was destroyed by a light.

After a while a doctor came to the house. He was a scientist and was able to explain about electricity and galvanism. These subjects, which I have never heard of, caught my imagination. I left all my studies aside and became involved with what I consider was worth studying, mathematics and its branches… (Paragraphs from Frankenstein, in easy English, adapted from the original English version)

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Frankenstein

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