After having made a few preparatory experiments, he concluded with a panegyric upon modern chemistry, the terms of which I shall never forget:A formal speech in praise of a person or a thing. Victor uses the word for the end of Waldman’s lecture.
Frankenstein
Chapter 3 — Teaching Companion
Mary Shelley · Mountaineers 10th–12th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Waldman says the new masters can show how nature “works in her hiding-places” and can “command the thunders of heaven”. When Victor leaves that lecture with “one purpose”, is it to understand nature or to command it?
The tension Krempe and Waldman pass the same sentence on Victor’s old authors. Krempe’s scorn (“such nonsense”, “useless names”) leaves him “not at all the more inclined” to the new studies; Waldman’s lecture, which says the old teachers “promised impossibilities and performed nothing”, leaves his mind “filled with one thought” and his inner being in “insurrection and turmoil” all night.
Today's focus
Waldman’s lecture as a piece of persuasion, and the vow it draws out of its listener before the night is over.
Two core ideas
- Krempe and Waldman give the same verdict on Victor’s old authors, but Krempe’s scorn leaves him unmoved while Waldman’s praise of what modern science has done fills his mind with “one purpose”.
- The chapter sets a household’s quiet self-giving, a mother’s nursing and Elizabeth’s “veiled” grief, beside Victor’s private vow and leaves the link to the reader; Victor himself, looking back, says the day “decided my future destiny”.
The shape at a glance
Victor’s departure for Ingolstadt is put off by Elizabeth’s scarlet fever and his mother’s death. He leaves a home where Elizabeth “veiled her grief” to comfort the rest, travels alone, and is met with scorn by Krempe. Waldman’s lecture keeps him awake all night. The next day he calls on Waldman in private and hides his enthusiasm. The chapter closes on Victor’s own verdict on the day.
A way in
Put the two professors’ verdicts on the old authors side by side: Krempe’s “such nonsense” and Waldman’s “promised impossibilities and performed nothing”. Ask the student what is the same. Then ask why one leaves Victor “not at all the more inclined” and the other keeps him awake. Let the student find the speech’s work before you name it.
Lesson plan
Retell Have the student tell the chapter back in four stretches: the sickroom and the farewell, the road alone, Krempe, Waldman. Listen for the order of events, and for whether the student notices that the mother’s death and the lecture share a chapter without a stated link.
Imitate the author The student copies both passages, then reads them aloud and marks where Waldman’s sentences begin to climb. For imitation, ask for three sentences praising something the student knows well, each larger and bolder than the one before.
Debate Let the discussion build to the closing written question. Have the student argue one side aloud, then the other, using Victor’s vow as the evidence, before writing the thesis, the strongest objection and the revision.
Purpose The student learns to read persuasion at work: what a speaker says, how the telling lands, and what the listener brings to it. The student also practices care with a narrator, since “it decided my future destiny” is Victor’s verdict looking back, not the book’s.
Easier Read Krempe’s verdict and Waldman’s speech aloud together, and sort what each says into two lists: what the old teachers did and what the new masters do. Take discussion questions 2 and 3 in talk only, then let the student answer the closing question in one sentence with one quotation before writing the rest.
On level The student does the copywork, talks through the five discussion questions, and writes both written questions in three marked parts: a thesis, the strongest objection, and a revision.
Harder Ask the student to take the opposite side of their own thesis, write the best case for it, and revise. Or have the student rewrite one paragraph of Waldman’s speech as Krempe would deliver it and report what is lost.
Discussion
- Before he goes, Victor calls it “sacrilege” to leave “the house of mourning” so soon. On the road, he says, “my spirits and hopes rose.” Why might both be true of him?Character
What it asks It asks how one young man can hold grief and eagerness at once. The chapter sets the two side by side and never says one causes the other, so the student has to decide what to make of them.
One reading
The two feelings are separate and both honest. The wish to go is older than the grief, and the road lets it out.
unwilling to quit the sight of those that remained to me
thought it hard to remain during my youth cooped up in one place
Another reading
The two feelings touch. The house he leaves is still, and the world he heads for is alive, so part of the lift may come from leaving that stillness.
akin to death, of the house of mourning
as I proceeded, my spirits and hopes rose
Listen for
- Quotes Victor’s own words for both feelings instead of describing them in general.
- Weighs how old the wish to leave home is, using what Victor says he had “often” thought in his youth.
- Stops short of saying grief made him eager for knowledge unless the student can show where the chapter says so.
If stuck
- What does Victor say about leaving before he goes, and what does he say once he is on the road?
- What had he often thought about staying at home?
A strong answer A strong response might start from Victor’s own words on each side: he is “unwilling to quit the sight of those that remained to me,” and he also says he had long found home too narrow. It can then weigh two readings. Either the longing to go is older than the grief and the road simply lets it out, or the stillness he calls “akin to death” makes the world look better. The chapter does not choose, so a good answer names the reading it finds stronger and keeps its claim to what the sentences show.
- Victor already thinks the old authors are “useless”, so he is not disappointed when Krempe scorns them. Still, he comes away “not at all the more inclined” to study what Krempe teaches. Why does Krempe fail to win him over?Inference
What it asks It asks why a teacher who agrees with Victor about the old authors still does not move him, and so what Victor needs from a teacher besides being right.
One reading
Krempe’s looks, voice and scorn put Victor off before the lesson starts.
a little squat man with a gruff voice
the teacher, therefore, did not prepossess me
that little conceited fellow
Another reading
Krempe offers Victor nothing he wants. He takes the old books away and points to a field Victor already scorned.
you must begin your studies entirely anew
Besides, I had a contempt for the uses of modern natural philosophy.
realities of little worth
Listen for
- Separates what Krempe says from how he sounds and how he looks.
- Notices that Victor himself admits the effect of a face, with the word “therefore”.
- Does not make Krempe a villain: he gives the same verdict on the old authors that Waldman gives.
If stuck
- What does Victor say Krempe looks and sounds like?
- What does Krempe tell Victor to study in place of his old authors, and does Victor want it?
A strong answer A strong response might begin by noting that Krempe is right by Victor’s own account, so being right is not what moves Victor. One reading puts the failure on manner: Victor dwells on the man’s squat shape and gruff voice, and the word “therefore” shows how far looks swayed him. Another puts it on what Krempe offers, which is only a clean start, “begin your studies entirely anew”, in a science Victor already scorned. The best answers say which of the two they weigh more and why.
- In Waldman’s list of what the new masters can do, “how the blood circulates” comes early. The list ends with the power to “mock the invisible world”. Why might he put the list in that order?Author's choice
What it asks It asks the student to read a speech as something built, and to say what the order of the powers does to a listener.
One reading
The order is a climb. Each power is larger than the one before, so the listener is lifted step by step and left at the top.
almost unlimited powers
mimic the earthquake
mock the invisible world with its own shadows
Another reading
The order borrows trust. The list starts with discoveries anyone could check, so the bigger claims at the end ride on their credit.
they know that metals cannot be transmuted
they have discovered how the blood circulates
Listen for
- Reads the list aloud and notices where the voice has to rise.
- Notices which verbs open the list (“penetrate”, “show”, “discovered”) and which close it (“command”, “mimic”, “mock”).
- Talks about what the order does to a listener, not only what the list says.
If stuck
- Which item in the list could be checked in a laboratory, and which could not?
- Read the last item aloud right after the first. How does it feel?
A strong answer A strong response might say the order works as a climb: each power is larger than the last, so the listener is carried up and left at “mock the invisible world”. It can test that against the start of the speech, where Waldman admits the new masters “promise very little” and so earns some trust before he claims more. Either way, the answer should say what the order does to a listener, not only what the list contains.
- Elizabeth “veiled her grief” so the family could be comforted. Victor tells Waldman that the lecture cleared away his “prejudices”, but he hides his “enthusiasm”. What is different about those two kinds of hiding?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to set two acts of concealment side by side and say what separates them: whom each serves, or what each hides.
One reading
The difference is who the hiding is for. Elizabeth hides her pain to ease other people. Victor hides his excitement to spare himself shame.
She forgot even her own regret in her endeavours to make us forget.
the modesty and deference due from a youth
made me ashamed
Another reading
The difference is what is hidden. Her grief is one the whole house shares. His purpose is one no one else knows.
I desired to see my sweet Elizabeth in some degree consoled
describe a sorrow which all have felt
unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation
Listen for
- Uses the chapter’s own reasons for each act of hiding.
- Notices that “modesty and deference” is the name Victor gives his silence.
- Does not call Victor’s silence a guilty secret; the chapter does not.
If stuck
- What does Elizabeth do for the family while she hides her grief?
- What does Victor tell Waldman, and what does he keep back?
A strong answer A strong response might say Elizabeth hides her grief to ease other people, while Victor hides his enthusiasm to spare himself shame, so the hiding serves different people. Another approach looks at what is hidden: her grief is one the whole house shares, and his purpose is one no one knows. Either way, the answer should use Victor’s own reasons, “modesty and deference” and being “ashamed”, and should not call his silence a guilty secret, since the chapter does not.
- Victor says “the Angel of Destruction” led him to Krempe, and that Waldman’s words were spoken “to destroy me”. Yet he went to the lecture partly from “curiosity” and partly from “idleness”. Why might he tell the story of that day as fate, and not as his own choice?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks why Victor, telling the story afterward, reaches for fate, and what that says about how he wants the day to be read. It keeps the student on Victor’s telling, not on what the day really was.
One reading
He tells it as he sees it now: a day that began his ruin, so the language of omen and destiny comes naturally to him.
an omen, as it were, of my future misery
it decided my future destiny
Another reading
His own account shows him choosing each step, and the language of fate takes some of the weight off those choices.
Partly from curiosity and partly from idleness, I went into the lecturing
On the same day I paid M. Waldman a visit.
Listen for
- Treats “fate” as Victor’s word for the day, not as the chapter’s verdict.
- Names at least one choice Victor makes in the chapter.
- Holds both readings long enough to say what the chapter gives for each.
If stuck
- What does Victor say led him to Krempe, and what reasons does he give for going to the lecture?
- Which of those reasons does Victor control, and which does he credit to something outside himself?
A strong answer A strong response might say Victor is telling the day with its ending in mind, so words like “omen” and “destiny” are what a man who has suffered would reach for. It can set that against his own account, in which he goes to the lecture from “curiosity” and “idleness” and calls on Waldman by choice. The chapter lets both stand. A good answer says which it finds more convincing and treats “fate” as Victor’s word, not the book’s.
Critical thinking
- In the lecture, Waldman says the old teachers “performed nothing”. The next day he calls them “men of genius” whose work helps mankind in the end. Was the lecture unfair to them?
What it asks It asks the student to hold two things Waldman says about the same men and decide whether the lecture bent the truth for effect or says something the private talk does not contradict.
One reading
The lecture is unfair. It flattens the old teachers so the new science shines, and the private talk is the fuller account.
promised impossibilities and performed nothing
men of genius, however erroneously directed
indefatigable zeal
Another reading
The lecture is not unfair. It measures the old teachers against their own promises, which they never kept. The visit judges what their work left behind, so both can be true.
promised impossibilities
however erroneously directed
modern philosophers were indebted for most of the foundations
Listen for
- Sets the lecture and the visit side by side, in Waldman’s own words, not from memory.
- Notices that the lecture’s sentence is about what the old teachers promised, and asks whether “performed nothing” claims more than that.
- Treats a speech of praise as a kind of writing with its own habits, without calling Waldman a liar.
If stuck
- Which words in the lecture are about promises, and which are about results?
- Reread the part of the next day that begins “These were men”. What does it say the old teachers left behind?
A strong answer A strong thesis might claim the lecture bent the truth for effect: it says the old teachers “performed nothing”, while the next day Waldman credits their “indefatigable zeal” with most of the foundations of modern knowledge. The strongest objection is that the two statements answer different questions, since the lecture measures them against what they promised and the visit counts what their work left behind, and the visit itself grants that they were “erroneously directed”. A revision might keep the charge of exaggeration but narrow it to the one word “nothing”.
- Waldman says the new masters can show how nature “works in her hiding-places” and can “command the thunders of heaven”. When Victor leaves that lecture with “one purpose”, is it to understand nature or to command it?
What it asks It asks the whole of the chapter’s question: whether the one purpose Victor takes from Waldman’s speech is to learn how nature works or to gain power over it, judged by Victor’s own words and not only Waldman’s.
One reading
His purpose is to understand. What he wants is to find out what is hidden, and the vow speaks of exploring and unfolding.
ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge
explore unknown powers
unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation
Another reading
His purpose is to command. What stirred him in the old masters was power and grandeur, and the vow is to outdo what has been done.
immortality and power; such views, although futile, were grand
realities of little worth
more, far more, will I achieve
Listen for
- Chooses a side and rests it on Victor’s own words, not only on Waldman’s.
- Notices that Victor never names the “one purpose”, so the vow that follows is the nearest the chapter comes.
- States the strongest objection from the other side in fair terms, with a quotation.
- Keeps to the chapter, which does not yet say what Victor will do with his purpose.
If stuck
- Which verbs does Victor use in his vow, and which of them are about finding out?
- What did Victor miss in the old masters when he first met modern science?
- Which of Waldman’s two phrases, “hiding-places” or “thunders of heaven”, do you hear in Victor’s vow?
A strong answer A strong thesis commits to one side and rests on Victor’s own words: for understanding, he “ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge” and vows to “unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation”; for command, he misses the old masters’ “immortality and power” and vows “more, far more, will I achieve”. The strongest objection to understanding is that the vow measures itself against what others have done, which sounds like a race for power; the strongest objection to command is that the vow’s closing verbs, “explore” and “unfold”, are about finding out. A good revision admits that Victor never names his “one purpose”, so the vow is the nearest the chapter comes.
Vocabulary definitions
- panegyric
- chimera
I was required to exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur for realities of little worth.
A wonderful thing that exists only in the imagination, never in fact.- prepossess
M. Krempe was a little squat man with a gruff voice and a repulsive countenance; the teacher, therefore, did not prepossess me in favour of his pursuits.
To make someone favor a thing before they have thought it over. Victor says Krempe’s face did not do this for his science.- benevolence
He appeared about fifty years of age, but with an aspect expressive of the greatest benevolence;
A habit of wishing people well. Here it is something Victor reads in a stranger’s face.- indefatigable
“These were men to whose indefatigable zeal modern philosophers were indebted for most of the foundations of their knowledge.
Never tiring; keeping at a task without giving up. Waldman uses it of the old teachers’ zeal.- palpable
As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy;
Able to be touched; solid and real. Victor uses it in a comparison: while Waldman speaks, his soul seems to wrestle an enemy real enough to touch.