1.
Frankenstein says that he "first saw the white
cliffs of Britain"
"on a clear morning, in the latter days of December."
Then
he says that "We had arrived in England at the
beginning of
October." Which is
it? or Did something happen after sighting
Britain which delayed arrival for nine months? If so,
it must have
been something Homeric.
2.
What was Henry Clerval doing on the coast of Ireland
when he had
made an appointment to meet Victor Frankenstein in Perth,
Scotland?
3.
Adding up the periods of time mentioned in the monster's
account of
his travel to Geneva, when would spring weather have
begun in order
for him to have arrived in the environs of Geneva while
William
Frankenstein was still alive? Would that have been an
early or a late
spring? Does the monster's account agree with Frankenstein's
account
regarding the arrival of spring that year?
4.
Having left London on March 27, Victor and Henry
remained
a few days at Windsor, passed a considerable period at
Oxford
rambling among its environs, rested at Matlock, Derby,
spent
2 months in Cumberland and Westmoreland, spent a week
in
Edinburgh, and passing through Coupar, St. Andrews, made
their
way along the banks of the Tay to Perth. If it takes
another five
days to reach the remote Orkney island, what is the earliest
time
of the year that Victor would have been able to be working
on
his project on the Orkney island? Remember to allow for
such
time as would be required to make the repairs and acquire
the
furnishings he mentions.
5.
The night of destruction of the female, as Victor Frankenstein
describes it:
I sat one evening in my laboratory; the sun had
set, and the
moon was just rising from the sea; I had not sufficient
light
for my employment, and I remained idle, in a pause
of
consideration of whether I should leave my labour
for the
night, or hasten its conclusion by an unremitting
attention to it.
How much time does it appear elapsed between the sunset
and the
rising of the moon that evening? Choose a sunset moonrise
that
fits your understanding of the evening Frankenstein describes
from
the table and count the number of days until the moonrise
is
between two and three in the morning. Orkney
table Twilight lasts
about 43 minutes after sunset during the summer. While
Leonard
Wolf's Essential Frankenstein (Appendix
D) puts the destruction
of the female in August, our Orkney table includes summer
and
winter months. The reason for this is that Victor is
more definite
about the period of time of his imprisonment and trial
than he is
about the period of time in which he worked on the female.
His
account suggests a winter destruction of the female,
when we
work backward from his arrival on the continent.
The day following the destruction of the female Victor
receives a
letter from Henry. The next morning Victor packs his
instruments
and puts the remains of the female in a basket. Between
two and
three the next morning Victor sails out about four
miles from the
island to dispose of the remains.
By how many days does this differ from Frankenstein's
account
of his disposing of the remains of the female? Orkney
table
Note that, in her early teens, Mary had spent some time
in
Newburgh, Scotland, where the summer days are quite long.
There is significant predawn illumination in Newburgh
by 2 a.m.
from late May to early July and evening illumination
continues
past 10 p.m. during that period. Discernable nighttime
solar
illumination is continuous from the last week of May
to the
last week of July.
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Orkney Islands latitude: (source: U.S. Naval Observatory)
Sunset Moonrise/Phase
Day
July 19, 1796
9:02 pm 9:04 p.m.
Tuesday
July 20, 1796
9:00 pm 9:35 p.m. /Full
Wednesday
July 21, 1796
8:58 pm 9:57 p.m.
Thursday
July 22, 1796
8:56 pm 10:14 p.m.
Friday
July 23, 1796
8:54 pm 10:27 p.m.
Saturday
July 24, 1796
8:52 pm 10:38 p.m.
Sunday
July 25, 1796
8:50 pm 10:49 p.m.
Monday
July 26, 1796
8:48 pm 11:00 p.m.
Tuesday
July 27, 1796
8:46 pm 11:12 p.m.
Wednesday
July 28, 1796
8:44 pm 11:28 p.m./Last 1/4
Thursday
July 29, 1796
8:41 pm 11:49 p.m.
Friday
July 30, 1796
8:39 pm
Saturday
July 31, 1796
8:37 pm 12:21 a.m.
Sunday
August 1, 1796
8:34 pm 1:10 a.m.
Monday
August 2, 1796
8:32 pm 2:19 a.m.
Tuesday
August 3, 1796
8:30 pm 3:44 a.m./New
Wednesday
November 13, 1796 3:27 p.m.
3:27 p.m.
Sunday
November 14, 1796 3:25 p.m.
3:40 p.m.
Monday
November 15, 1796 3:23 p.m.
3:58 p.m./Full Tuesday
November 16, 1796 3:21 p.m.
4:24 p.m.
Wednesday
November 17, 1796 3:19 p.m.
5:04 p.m.
Thursday
November 18, 1796 3:17 p.m.
6:04 p.m.
Friday
November 19, 1796 3:16 p.m.
7:23 p.m.
Saturday
November 20, 1796 3:14 p.m.
8:51 p.m.
Sunday
November 21, 1796 3:12 p.m.
10:22 p.m./Last 1/4 Monday
November 22, 1796 3:10 p.m.
11:50 p.m.
Tuesday
November 23, 1796 3:09 p.m.
Wednesday
November 24, 1796 3:07 p.m.
1:15 a.m.
Thursday
November 25, 1796 3:06 p.m.
2:37 a.m.
Friday
6.
After Frankenstein destroys the female:
Several hours past, and I remained near my window
gazing on
the sea; it was motionless, for the winds were
hushed, and all
nature reposed under the eye of the quiet moon.
Adding these several hours to the period of time Frankenstein
"remained idle, in a pause of consideration",about
what time
did the monster return to speak with Frankenstein?
7.
The night Frankenstein says he disposed of the remains
of the female, the moon rose between two and three in
the morning. After that time, Frankenstein loads the
skiff
with the basket containing the remains and sails out
about
four miles. How much time would it take to accomplish
the
disposal, allowing for the time necessary for Frankenstein
to
distance his boat from the others he sees? How much time,
if any, remains before it is light?
Dawn (Beginning of Civil Twilight) at Orkney latitude 1796
2:01 a.m. July 10
2:04 a.m. July 11
2:06 a.m. July 12
2:09 a.m. July 13
2:12 a.m. July 14
2:14 a.m. July 15
2:17 a.m. July 16
2:20 a.m. July 17
2:23 a.m. July 18
2:26 a.m. July 19
2:28 a.m. July 20
2:31 a.m. July 21
2:34 a.m. July 22
2:37 a.m. July 23
2:40 a.m. July 24
2:43 a.m. July 25
2:46 a.m. July 26
2:49 a.m. July 27
2:52 a.m. July 28
2:55 a.m. July 29
2:57 a.m. July 30
3:00 a.m. July 31
3:03 a.m. August 1
3:06 a.m. August 2
3:09 a.m. August 3
3:12 a.m. August 4
3:15 a.m. August 5
3:17 a.m. August 6
3:20 a.m. August 7
3:23 a.m. August 8
3:26 a.m. August 9
3:29 a.m. August 10
3:32 a.m. August 11
3:34 a.m. August 12
3:37 a.m. August 13
3:40 a.m. August 14
3:43 a.m. August 15
3:45 a.m. August 16
3:48 a.m. August 17
3:51 a.m. August 18
3:53 a.m. August 19
3:56 a.m. August 20
3:59 a.m. August 21
4:01 a.m. August 22
4:04 a.m. August 23
4:07 a.m. August 24
4:09 a.m. August 25
4:12 a.m. August 26
4:14 a.m. August 27
4:17 a.m. August 28
4:19 a.m. August 29
4:22 a.m. August 30
4:24 a.m. August 31
4:27 a.m. September 1
4:29 a.m. September 2
4:32 a.m. September 3
4:34 a.m. September 4
4:37 a.m. September 5
4:39 a.m. September 6
4:42 a.m. September 7
4:44 a.m. September 8
4:47 a.m. September 9
4:49 a.m. September 10
4:51 a.m. September 11
4:54 a.m. September 12
4:56 a.m. September 13
4:59 a.m. September 14
5:01 a.m. September 15
5:03 a.m. September 16
5:06 a.m. September 17
5:08 a.m. September 18
5:10 a.m. September 19
5:13 a.m. September 20
5:15 a.m. September 21
5:17 a.m. September 22
5:20 a.m. September 23
5:22 a.m. September 24
5:24 a.m. September 25
5:26 a.m. September 26
5:29 a.m. September 27
5:31 a.m. September 28
5:33 a.m. September 29
5:36 a.m. September 30
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For a couple of questions about
Walton's progress click here.