Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus E-Book

Mary Shelley

• Herausgeber: Reclam Verlag
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Reclams Rote Reihe – Fremdsprachentexte
• Sprache: Deutsch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Seitenzahl: 484

Beschreibung

Knapp 200 Jahre sind vergangen, seit Mary Shelley mit "Frankenstein" ihr berühmtestes Buch veröffentlichte. Ihr Romanerstling ist seither zu einem Klassiker der Weltliteratur geworden und hat von seiner Aktualität nichts eingebüßt. Schon Viktor Frankenstein im Roman muss sich der Verantwortung für die von ihm geschaffene Kreatur stellen, mehr noch begibt sich der Mensch im 21. Jahrhundert durch seine Forschungen in Bereiche, die moralisch zweifelhaft sind und unkalkulierbare, globale Risiken mit sich bringen. Diese Problematik macht den Roman zu einer beliebten Lektüre im Englischunterricht. Die Ausgabe bietet den ungekürzten Text der von der Autorin 1831 überarbeiteten Fassung. Ungekürzte und unbearbeitete Textausgabe in der Originalsprache, mit Übersetzungen schwieriger Wörter, Nachwort und Literaturhinweisen. E-Book mit Seitenzählung der gedruckten Ausgabe: Buch und E-Book können parallel benutzt werden.

Leseprobe

Mary Shelley

Frankenstein;

or, The Modern Prometheus

Herausgegeben von Andreas Gaile

Reclam

Prometheus: in der griechischen Mythologie einer der Titanen, dessen schöpferische Fähigkeiten ihn in Verbindung zu Frankenstein bringen.

2013 Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart

Coverabbildung: Boris Karloff als Frankensteins Monster im Film von James Whale, 1931 (Filmmuseum Berlin – Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek)

Gesamtherstellung: Reclam, Ditzingen

Made in Germany 2017

RECLAM ist eine eingetragene Marke der Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart

ISBN 978-3-15-960566-1

ISBN der Buchausgabe 978-3-15-019838-4

www.reclam.de

Inhalt

Introduction

Preface

Frankenstein

Editorische Notiz

Literaturhinweise

Nachwort

Hinweise zur E-Book-Ausgabe

[5] TO

WILLIAM GODWIN

Author of Political Justice, Caleb Williams, &c.

THESE VOLUMES

Are respectfullyinscribed

BY

THE AUTHOR

William Godwin: bedeutender englischer Soziologe (1756–1836) und Vater der Autorin. Er war in erster Ehe verheiratet mit der Frauenrechtlerin Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), Mary Shelleys Mutter.“Political Justice”:An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793). Grundlegendes Werk zum politischen Anarchismus. Jegliche Form von institutionalisierter Herrschaft, argumentierte Godwin hierin, wirke sich verderblich auf die menschliche Gesellschaft aus und müsse durch gesteigertes moralisches Empfinden und persönliche Verantwortung des Einzelnen ersetzt werden.“Caleb Williams”: Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794): dreibändiger Roman, in dem Godwin seine anarchistischen weltanschaulichen Grundpositionen anhand der zerstörerischen Auswirkungen des Gesetzes auf Individuen (hier auf den Protagonisten der Erzählung, Caleb Williams) verdeutlicht.respectfully: achtungsvoll, ergeben, ehrerbietig.to inscribe: hier: widmen.

[6] Did I requestthee, Maker, from my clayTo mould Me man? Did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me? –

Paradise Lost [X. 743–745]

to request s.o. to do s.th.: jdn. auffordern, etwas zu tun, jdn. um etwas bitten.thee (obsol.): heutzutage ungebräuchliche Objektform (Sg.) des Personalpronomens you.clay: Ton.to mould: formen.to solicit s.o.: jdn. ersuchen, jdn. bitten.to promote: hier: (fig.) emporheben, befördern.“Paradise Lost”: 1667 veröffentlichtes Versepos von John Milton (1608–1674) über den menschlichen Sündenfall und die nachfolgende Auseinandersetzung Gottes mit seinen Geschöpfen. Als Intertext ist er für Frankenstein interessant, weil es in beiden Werken um das Verhältnis eines Schöpfers zu seinen Kreaturen geht.

[7] Introduction

[1831]

The Publishers of the Standard Novels, in selecting “Frankenstein” for one of their series, expressed a wish that I should furnish them with some account of the origin of the story. I am the more willing to comply, because I shall thus give a general answer to the question, so very frequently asked me – “How I, then a young girl, came to think of, and to dilate upon, so very hideous an idea?” It is true that I am very averse tobringing myself forward in print; but as my account will only appear as an appendage to a former production, and as it will be confined to such topics as have connection with my authorship alone, I can scarcely accuse myself of a personal intrusion.

It is not singular that, as the daughter of two persons of distinguished literary celebrity, I should very early in life have thought of writing. As a child I scribbled; and my favourite pastime, during the hours given me for recreation, [8] was to “write stories.” Still I had a dearer pleasure than this, which was the formation of castles in the air – the indulging in waking dreams – the following up trains of thought, which had for their subject the formation of a succession of imaginary incidents. My dreams were at once more fantastic and agreeable than my writings. In the latter I was a close imitator – rather doing as others had done, than putting down the suggestions of my own mind. What I wrote was intended at least for one other eye – my childhood’s companion and friend; but my dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed – my dearest pleasure when free.

I lived principally in the country as a girl, and passed a considerable time in Scotland. I made occasional visits to the more picturesque parts; but my habitualresidence was on the blank and dreary northern shores of the Tay, near Dundee. Blank and dreary on retrospection I call them; they were not so to me then. They were the eyry of freedom, and the pleasant region where unheeded I could [9] commune with the creatures of my fancy. I wrote then – but in a most common-place style. It was beneath the trees of the grounds belonging to our house, or on the bleak sides of the woodless mountains near, that my true compositions, the airyflights of my imagination, were born and fostered. I did not make myself the heroine of my tales. Life appeared to me too common-place an affair as regarded myself. I could not figure to myself that romantic woes or wonderful events would ever be my lot; but I was not confined to my own identity, and I could people the hours with creations far more interesting to me at that age, than my own sensations.

After this my life became busier, and reality stood in place of fiction. My husband, however, was, from the first, very anxious that I should prove myself worthy of my parentage, and enrol myself on the page of fame. He was for ever inciting me to obtain literary reputation, which even on my own part I cared for then, though since I have become infinitelyindifferent to it. At this time he desired that [10] I should write, not so much with the idea that I could produce any thing worthy of notice, but that he might himself judge how far I possessed the promise of better things hereafter. Still I did nothing. Travelling, and the cares of a family, occupied my time; and study, in the way of reading, or improving my ideas in communication with his far more cultivated mind, was all of literary employment that engaged my attention.

In the summer of 1816, we visited Switzerland, and became the neighbours of Lord Byron. At first we spent our pleasant hours on the lake, or wandering on its shores; and Lord Byron, who was writing the third canto of Childe Harold, was the only one among us who put his thoughts upon paper. These, as he brought them successively to us, clothed in all the light and harmony of poetry, seemed to stamp as divine the glories of heaven and earth, whose influences we partook with him.

But it proved a wet, ungenial summer, and incessant rain [11] often confined us for days to the house. Some volumes of ghost stories, translated from the German into French, fell into our hands. There was the History of the Inconstant Lover, who, when he thought to clasp the bride to whom he had pledged his vows, found himself in the arms of the pale ghost of her whom he had deserted. There was the tale of the sinful founder of his race, whose miserabledoom it was to bestow the kiss of death on all the younger sons of his fated house, just when they reached the age of promise. His gigantic, shadowy form, clothed like the ghost in Hamlet, in complete armour, but with the beaver up, was seen at midnight, by the moon’s fitful beams, to advance slowly along the gloomyavenue. The shape was lost beneath the shadow of the castle walls; but soon a gate swung back, a step was heard, the door of the chamber opened, and he [12] advanced to the couch of the blooming youths, cradled in healthy sleep. Eternalsorrow sat upon his face as he bent down and kissed the forehead of the boys, who from that hour withered like flowers snapt upon the stalk. I have not seen these stories since then; but their incidents are as fresh in my mind as if I had read them yesterday.

“We will each write a ghost story,” said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to. There were four of us. The noble author began a tale, a fragment of which he printed at the end of his poem of Mazeppa. Shelley, more apt to embody ideas and sentiments in the radiance of brilliant imagery, and in the music of the most melodious verse that adorns our language, than to invent the machinery of a story, commenced one founded on the experiences of his early life. Poor Polidori had some terrible idea about a skullheaded lady, who was so punished for peeping through a key-hole – what to see I forget – something very shocking [13] and wrong of course; but when she was reduced to a worse condition than the renownedTom of Coventry, he did not know what to do with her, and was obliged to despatch her to the tomb of the Capulets, the only place for which she was fitted. The illustrious poets also, annoyed by the platitude of prose, speedily relinquished their uncongenial task.

I busied myself to think of a story, – a story to rival those which had excited us to this task. One which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature, and awaken thrilling horror – one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart. If I did not accomplish these things, my ghost story would be unworthy of its name. I thought and pondered – vainly. I felt [14] that blank incapability of invention which is the greatest misery of authorship, when dull Nothing replies to our anxious invocations. Have you thought of a story? I was asked each morning, and each morning I was forced to reply with a mortifying negative.

Every thing must have a beginning, to speak in Sanchean phrase; and that beginning must be linked to something that went before. The Hindoos give the world an elephant to support it, but they make the elephant stand upon a tortoise. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos; the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances, but cannot bring into being the substance itself. In all matters of discovery and invention, even of those that appertain to the imagination, we are continually reminded of the story of Columbus and his egg. Invention consists in the capacity of seizing on the capabilities of a subject, and in the power of moulding and fashioning ideas suggested to it.

[15] Many and long were the conversations between Lord Byron and Shelley, to which I was a devout but nearly silent listener. During one of these, various philosophical doctrines were discussed, and among others the nature of the principle of life, and whether there was any probability of its ever being discovered and communicated. They talked of the experiments of Dr. Darwin, (I speak not of what the Doctor really did, or said that he did, but, as more to my purpose, of what was then spoken of as having been done by him,) who preserved a piece of vermicelli in a glass case, till by some extraordinary means it began to move with voluntary motion. Not thus, after all, would life be given. Perhaps a corpse would be re-animated; galvanism had [16] given token of such things: perhaps the component parts of a creature might be manufactured, brought together, and endued with vital warmth.

Night waned upon this talk, and even the witching hour had gone by, before we retired to rest. When I placed my head on my pillow, I did not sleep, nor could I be said to think. My imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting the successive images that arose in my mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie. I saw – with shut eyes, but acute mental vision, – I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideousphantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world. His success [17] would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odioushandy-work, horror-stricken. He would hope that, left to itself, the slight spark of life which he had communicated would fade; that this thing, which had received such imperfect animation, would subside into dead matter; and he might sleep in the belief that the silence of the grave would quench for ever the transient existence of the hideous corpse which he had looked upon as the cradle of life. He sleeps; but he is awakened; he opens his eyes; behold the horrid thing stands at his bedside, opening his curtains, and looking on him with yellow, watery, but speculative eyes.

I opened mine in terror. The idea so possessed my mind, that a thrill of fear ran through me, and I wished to exchange the ghastly image of my fancy for the realities around. I see them still; the very room, the dark parquet, the closed shutters, with the moonlight struggling through, and the sense I had that the glassy lake and white high Alps were beyond. I could not so easily get rid of my hideous phantom; still it haunted me. I must try to think of [18] something else. I recurred to my ghost story, – my tiresome unlucky ghost story! O! if I could only contrive one which would frighten my reader as I myself had been frightened that night!

Swift as light and as cheering was the idea that broke in upon me. “I have found it! What terrified me will terrify others; and I need only describe the spectre which had haunted my midnight pillow.” On the morrow I announced that I had thought of a story. I began that day with the words, It was on a dreary night of November, making only a transcript of the grim terrors of my waking dream.

At first I thought but of a few pages – of a short tale; but Shelley urged me to develope the idea at greater length. I certainly did not owe the suggestion of one incident, nor scarcely of one train of feeling, to my husband, and yet but for his incitement, it would never have taken the form in which it was presented to the world. From this declaration I must except the preface. As far as I can recollect, it was entirely written by him.

And now, once again, I bid my hideous progeny go forth and prosper. I have an affection for it, for it was the offspring of happy days, when death and grief were but words, [19] which found no true echo in my heart. Its several pages speak of many a walk, many a drive, and many a conversation, when I was not alone; and my companion was one who, in this world, I shall never see more. But this is for myself; my readers have nothing to do with these associations.

I will add but one word as to the alterations I have made. They are principally those of style. I have changed no portion of the story, nor introduced any new ideas or circumstances. I have mended the language where it was so bald as to interfere with the interest of the narrative; and these changes occur almost exclusively in the beginning of the first volume. Throughout they are entirely confined to such parts as are mere adjuncts to the story, leaving the core and substance of it untouched.

M. W. S. London, October 15, 1831

“Standard Novels”: von den Publizisten Henry Colburn (1784/85? – 1855) und Richard Bentley (1794–1871) herausgegebene Serie mit kostengünstigen (da einbändigen) Romanen.to furnish: ausstatten; bereitstellen.account: Bericht, Darstellung.to comply: (einem Wunsch) entsprechen, sich einverstanden erklären.thus: dergestalt, auf diese Weise.to dilate upon: sich auslassen über.to be averse to: abgeneigt sein gegen.to bring o.s. forward: sich einbringen, (fig.) sich ins Spiel bringen.appendage: Anhang, Zusatz.to be confined to: beschränkt sein auf.authorship: Autorenschaft.scarcely: kaum.intrusion: Störung, Aufdrängen, Eindringen.singular: einmalig, außergewöhnlich.distinguished: angesehen, bedeutend.to scribble: kritzeln.pastime: Zeitvertreib.dearer: hier: schöner, lieber.to indulge: frönen, (Gedanken) nachgehen.train of thought: Gedankengang.succession: Abfolge.imaginary: erdacht, erfunden.agreeable: angenehm.childhood’s companion and friend: gemeint ist hier vermutlich Isabel Baxter (1793–?), eine Jugendfreundin Shelleys, in deren Familie sie von 1812 bis 1814 einquartiert wurde, um Reibereien mit ihrer Stiefmutter zu vermeiden (Shelleys Mutter war kurz nach ihrer Geburt gestorben).refuge: Zufluchtsort.picturesque: malerisch.habitual: gewöhnlich, gewohnheitsmäßig.residence: Wohnsitz, Domizil.blank: blank, kahl, leer.dreary: eintönig, trostlos, düster.Tay: längster Fluss Schottlands.on retrospection: in der Rückschau.eyry: Horst (Nest).unheeded: unbeachtet.to commune with: kommunizieren mit.fancy: Einbildung, Fantasie.common-place:commonplace: gewöhnlich.grounds (pl.): Gelände, Außenanlagen.bleak: öde, düster, trostlos.airy: verstiegen, (fig.) windig.flight: (fig.) Flug.to foster: aufziehen; hier: (Talent) fördern.heroine: Heldin.as regarded myself: was mich betraf.to figure: sich vorstellen, (fig.) sich ausmalen.woe: Leid, Kummer.wonderful: hier: wundersam, seltsam.lot: hier: Schicksal, Los.to people: bevölkern.sensation: Gefühl, Empfindung.anxious: besorgt.worthy: angemessen, würdig.parentage: Herkunft, (fig.) Elternhaus.to enrol o.s.: sich einschreiben.fame: Berühmtheit.to incite: antreiben, anspornen.reputation: Ruf, Ehre, Ruhm.on my own part: meinerseits.infinitely: unendlich.to be indifferent to: gleichgültig sein gegenüber.of notice: bemerkenswert, beachtenswert.Lord Byron: George Gordon Byron (1788–1824); schon zu Lebzeiten gefeierter englischer Lyriker; einer der führenden Köpfe der literarischen Romantik.canto: Canto, Gesang (Struktureinheit eines längeren Gedichts).“Childe Harold”: Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812–1818): berühmtes Versepos von Lord Byron.successively: nacheinander.to stamp: hier: kennzeichnen, stempeln.divine: göttlich.glories (pl.):Glanz, Glorie, Pracht.to partake: teilhaben.to prove: sich herausstellen. Eine massive Eruption des indonesischen Vulkans Tambora (1815) sorgte in der Folgezeit weltweit für klimatische Anomalien – Europa beispielsweise erlebte das »Jahr ohne Sommer« (die Sonneneinstrahlung war durch die Asche in der Stratosphäre deutlich reduziert, was sich merklich auf das Klima auswirkte).ungenial: (fig., Wetter) unfreundlich.incessant: unaufhörlich.volumes of ghost stories: Es handelt sich dabei wohl um die zweibändige GeschichtensammlungFantasmagoriana; ou Recueil d’Histoires d’Apparitions, de Spectres, Revenans, Fantômes, & c. Traduit de l’allemand, par un Amateur (1812)vonJean Baptiste Benoît Eyriès (1767–1846).to clasp: umfassen, ergreifen.to pledge one’s vows: seinTreueversprechen abgeben.to desert s.o.: jdn. verlassen.miserable: armselig, elend.doom: Schicksal.to bestow s.th. on s.o.: jdm. etwas geben, schenken, verleihen.kiss of death: Kuss des Todes (zurückgehend auf den Kuss, den Judas Jesus im Garten von Getsemani gegegen haben soll, um ihn gegenüber dessen Feinden zu identifizieren).fated: verflucht, dem Untergang geweiht.Hamlet: Tragödie von William Shakespeare (1600–1601?), in der der Geist des verstorbenen Vaters von Hamlet, dem Protagonisten des Stückes, eine wichtige strukturelle Rolle spielt.armour: Rüstung.beaver: Kinnschutz, Visier.fitful: unruhig, unbeständig.gloomy: düster, trostlos; bedrückt (gloom: Hoffnungslosigkeit, Niedergeschlagenheit; Düsterkeit).avenue: Weg, Zuweg, Straße; Prachtstraße.chamber: Kammer.blooming: (fig.) blühend.cradled: gebettet.eternal: ewig, ewiglich.sorrow: Kummer, Leid.forehead: Stirn.to wither: verwelken, dahinschwinden, vergehen.snapt:snapped: gebrochen.stalk: Stengel, Halm.proposition: Vorschlag.to accede to: einwilligen.noble: nobel, edel, großmütig.fragment: Fragment, Teilstück.“Mazeppa”: narratives Gedicht von Byron (1819) über das Leben eines ukrainischen Edelmannes.apt: geeignet, passend.to embody: verkörpern.sentiment: Gefühl, Empfindung.radiance: Glanz.verse: Vers, Lyrik, Strophe.to adorn: schmücken, verzieren.machinery: (fig.) Einrichtung, Anlage.to commence: beginnen, anfangen.founded on: basierend auf.John William Polidori: Mediziner und Literat (1795–1821), begleitete Byron auf seiner Reise nach Genf; nahm sich 25-jährig aufgrund von angehäuften Spielschulden das Leben.skull-headed: totenköpfig.to peep through: einen verstohlenen Blick durch etwas werfen.renowned: berühmt, bekannt.Tom of Coventry: auch Peeping Tom. Der Legende nach soll Tom heimlich die nackte Lady Godiva (1040–1070) beobachtet haben, wie sie durch die Straßen von Coventry ritt, um ihren Mann dazu zu bringen, die bedrückend hohen Steuern für die Einwohner von Coventry zu mäßigen. Tom soll der Legende nach für seinen Voyeurismus geblendet worden sein.to despatch s.o.: jdn. entsenden, verschicken; (fig.) jdn. erledigen, töten.tomb of the Capulets: tomb: Grab, Grabmal; Capulet: Name einer der beiden Adelsfamilien in Shakespeares Tragödie Romeo and Juliet (1597). Juliet nimmt aus Protest gegen die Heiratspolitik ihrer Familie ein Schlafmittel, das sie vorübergehend in einen Tiefschlaf versetzt. Sie wird in der Familiengruft bestattet. Romeo wähnt sie tot und nimmt sich das Leben. Als Juliet aus ihrem Schlaf erwacht, sieht sie ihren toten Geliebten und erdolcht sich daraufhin.illustrious: erlaucht, erhaben, berühmt.platitude: Platitüde, sprachlicher Gemeinplatz.to relinquish: aufgeben, preisgeben.uncongenial: unangenehm, nicht zusagend, nicht geistesverwandt.to thrill: erschauern lassen, zittern.to dread: fürchten.to curdle: zum Gerinnen bringen.to accomplish: vollbringen, schaffen (accomplishment: Vollendung; Leistung).to ponder: grübeln, nachsinnen.vainly: vergebens.incapability: Unfähigkeit.misery: Jammer, Elend.dull: dunkel, grau, matt.invocation: Beschwörung, Anrufung.mortifying: beschämend, peinlich.Sanchean phrase: Verweis auf einen Ausspruch Sancho Panzas im Zweiten Buch (Kap. 33) des pikaresken Romans Don Quijote (1605, 1615) von Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616).tortoise: Schildkröte.humbly: demütig, bescheiden.void: Leere.to afford: bieten, bereithalten.to appertain to s.th.: zu etwas gehören.Columbus and his egg: anekdotische Begebenheit, nach der Christoph Columbus ein scheinbar unlösbares Problem (ein gekochtes Ei so auf seine Spitze zu stellen, dass es stehenbleibt) mit einer einfachen Idee gelöst haben soll (er soll die Schale des Eis eingedellt haben und so einen stabilen Stand ermöglicht haben).capacity: Fähigkeit.to seize (on): ergreifen, erfassen.capabilities (pl.): Möglichkeiten.devout: andächtig, ehrfürchtig.doctrine: Doktrin, wissenschaftliche Lehre, System von Ansichten.Dr. Darwin: Gemeint ist der Mediziner Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), Großvater von Charles Darwin (1809–1882).to my purpose: für meine Zwecke.vermicelli: Fadennudeln.glass case: Glaskasten.voluntary motion:voluntary: freiwillig, absichtlich, spontan. Der Verweis auf Darwins Experimente ist entweder ungenau, falsch oder ironisierend. Darwin hatte sich zwar mit dem Prinzip des Lebens bei mikroskopisch kleinen Würmern auseinandergesetzt (s. den erläuternden Anhang »Spontaneous Vitality of Microscopic Animals« zu seiner Dichtung The Temple of Nature (von 1803), Nudeln hatte er allerdings nicht zum Leben erwecken können.to re-animate:reanimate: wiederbeleben.galvanism: Galvanismus. Nach dem italienischen Mediziner Luigi Galvani (1737–1798) benannte Forschungsrichtung der Medizin, die sich mit den Auswirkungen von Elektrizität auf belebte und unbelebte Materie beschäftigte. Neben Tierversuchen wurden auch Versuche an menschlichen Leichen durchgeführt. Körper von Hingerichteten etwa ‚belebte‘ man wieder, indem man elektrische Ladungen durch sie fließen ließ, wodurch sich die Muskeln kontrahierten.to give token of: von etwas zeugen, über etwas Auskunft geben.component parts: Bestandteile.to endue with: ausstatten, begaben mit.to wane: schwinden, abnehmen.witching hour: Geisterstunde.unbidden: ungebeten.to possess s.o.: von jdm. Besitz ergreifen, jdn. überkommen.to gift: beschenken, geben.to arise: entstehen, auftauchen (to arise – arose – arisen).vividness: Lebendigkeit, Lebensechtheit.bounds (pl.): (fig.) Grenzen.reverie: Träumerei.acute: (Sinneswahrnehmung) fein, intensiv.unhallowed arts: unheilige Künste.hideous: hässlich, widerlich, scheußlich.phantasm: Phantom, Geistererscheinung.on the working of: mithilfe von, mittels.engine: Instrument, Maschine.uneasy: besorgt, beunruhigt.frightful: fürchterlich, schrecklich.supremely: überaus, im höchsten Maße.endeavour: Anstrengung, Bemühung, Bestreben (to endeavour: sich bemühen, versuchen).to mock s.th.: etwas verhöhnen, verspotten.stupendous: gewaltig, überwältigend.to terrify: in Angst und Schrecken versetzen.odious: verhasst.handy-work: Handwerksarbeit.horror-stricken: entsetzt.spark: Funke.to communicate: hier: übertragen, übermitteln.to fade: nachlassen, schwinden.animation: Belebung, Leben.to subside: (fig.) nachlassen, abgleiten, zusammenfallen.to quench: (fig.) löschen, tilgen.transient: vorübergehend, kurzlebig.cradle of life: Wiege des Lebens.behold: siehe! (to behold s.th. [obsol.]: etwas erblicken [to behold – beheld – beheld]).horrid: schrecklich.speculative: grüblerisch, nachdenklich.ghastly: grässlich, gespenstisch, entsetzlich.the very room: genau dieser Raum.parquet: Parkett.shutter: Fensterladen.to haunt s.o.: (fig.) jdn. verfolgen, heimsuchen.to recur to: zurückkehren zu.tiresome: ermüdend.to contrive: ausklügeln, ersinnen.swift: rasch, schnell.to cheer: aufmuntern.spectre: Geist.on the morrow: am folgenden Tag.transcript: Niederschrift, Notizen.grim: grauenvoll, düster.but: hier: nur.to develope: obsol. fürto develop.train of feeling: etwa: Entwicklung, Ausarbeitung von Gefühlen.incitement: Anregung, Anstiftung.preface: Vorwort.to recollect: sich erinnern.to bid: (fig.) einladen, auffordern (to bid – bid/bade – bid/bidden).progeny: (fig.) Abkömmling, Frucht, Produkt.offspring: Nachwuchs, Abkömmling.companion: Gefährte/Gefährtin, Begleiter(in), Freund(in).alteration: Veränderung, Wandel.portion: hier: Teil.bald: armselig, dürftig.to interfere with: hier: behindern, beeinträchtigen.exclusively: ausschließlich.adjunct: Beigabe, Zusatz.core: (fig.) Herz, Kern, Seele.

[21] Preface

[1818]

The event on which this fiction is founded, has been supposed, by Dr. Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not of impossible occurrence. I shall not be supposed as according the remotest degree of serious faith to such an imagination; yet, in assuming it as the basis of a work of fancy. I have not considered myself as merelyweaving a series of supernatural terrors. The event on which the interest of the story depends is exempt from the disadvantages of a mere tale of spectres or enchantment. It was recommended by the novelty of the situations which it developes; and, however impossible as a physical fact, affords a point of view to the imagination for the delineating of human passions more comprehensive and commanding than any which the ordinary relations of existing events can yield.

I have thus endeavoured to preserve the truth of the [22] elementary principles of human nature, while I have not scrupled to innovate upon their combinations. The Iliad, the tragic poetry of Greece, – Shakespeare, in the Tempest and Midsummer Night’s Dream, – and most especially Milton, in Paradise Lost, conform to this rule; and the most humble novelist, who seeks to confer or receive amusement from his labours, may, without presumption, apply to prose fiction a licence, or rather a rule, from the adoption of which so many exquisite combinations of human feeling have resulted in the highest specimens of poetry.

The circumstance on which my story rests was suggested in casual conversation. It was commenced partly as a source of amusement, and partly as an expedient for exercising any untried resources of mind. Other motives were mingled with these, as the work proceeded. I am by no means indifferent to the manner in which whatever moral tendencies exist in the sentiments or characters it contains [23] shall affect the reader; yet my chief concern in this respect has been limited to the avoiding the enervating effects of the novels of the present day, and to the exhibition of the amiableness of domestic affection, and the excellence of universal virtue. The opinions which naturally spring from the character and situation of the hero are by no means to be conceived as existing always in my own conviction; nor is any inferencejustly to be drawn from the following pages as prejudicing any philosophical doctrine of whatever kind.

It is a subject also of additional interest to the author, that this story was begun in the majestic region where the scene is principally laid, and in society which cannot cease to be regretted. I passed the summer of 1816 in the environs of Geneva. The season was cold and rainy, and in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts, which happened to fall into our hands. These tales excited in us a playful desire of imitation. Two other friends (a tale from the pen of one of whom would be far more [24] acceptable to the public than any thing I can ever hope to produce) and myself agreed to write each a story, founded on some supernatural occurrence.

The weather, however, suddenly became serene; and my two friends left me on a journey among the Alps, and lost, in the magnificent scenes which they present, all memory of their ghostly visions. The following tale is the only one which has been completed.

Marlow, September, 1817.

physiological writers of Germany: Hier dürfte beispielsweiseJohann Wilhelm Ritter (1776–1810) gemeint sein, der ausgedehnte galvanische Experimente vornahm. Auch Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752–1840) und Friedrich Tiedemann (1781–1861) werden von Biographen der Shelleys immer wieder angeführt.to accord faith to s.th.: einer Sache Glauben schenken.to weave: (fig.) weben; ersinnen.supernatural: übernatürlich.exempt from: ausgenommen, befreit von.mere: bloß, schier.enchantment: Verzauberung, Verzückung.novelty: Neuheit, Neues.delineating: Schildern, Beschreiben.comprehensive: umfassend, inhaltsreich.commanding: eindrucksvoll, imponierend.relation: Erzählung, Bericht.to yield: abgeben, ergeben, erbringen.to scruple: Bedenken haben.Iliad:Ilias; Versepos von Homer (vermutlich 8. Jh. v. Chr.).Shakespeare: William Shakespeare (1564–1616); englischer Dramatiker und Dichter.“Tempest”:The Tempest (1611); Theaterstück von William Shakespeare, in dem übernatürliche Ereignisse eine wichtige Rolle spielen.“Midsummer Night’s Dream”: (1595) Theaterstück von Shakespeare, in dem eine ganze Reihe übernatürlicher Charaktere auftreten.to conform to s.th.: einer Sache entsprechen.to confer s.th.: etwas übergeben, (fig.) verleihen.labours (pl.): Mühen.presumption: Überheblichkeit, Vermessenheit.licence: hier: Freiheit (Anspielung auf die »poetic licence«, die dichterische Freiheit).adoption: Annahme, Befolgen.specimen: Exemplar, Muster.casual: locker, informell.expedient: Behelf, Hilfsmittel.untried: unversucht, unerprobt.to mingle with: hier: vermischen mit, vermengen.to proceed: fortschreiten, (fig.) vorangehen.chief: hauptsächliche(r, s), oberste(r, s).enervating: entnervend.exhibition: Zurschaustellung.amiableness: Liebenswürdigkeit.domestic: häuslich.virtue: Tugend.to spring from: (fig.) entspringen, stammen von.to conceive: erdenken, ersinnen.conviction: Überzeugung; Überzeugungskraft, Glaubwürdigkeit.to draw inference from: Rückschlüsse ziehen aus.justly: gerechterweise.to prejudice: mit einem Vorurteil erfüllen, (in die eine oder andere Richtung) beeinflussen.to lay the scene: die Handlung stattfinden lassen.to cease: aufhören.to pass: verbringen.environs (pl.): Umgebung.to blaze: brennen, lodern.to happen: hier: zufällig geschehen, sich zufällig ergeben.playful: spielerisch.serene: heiter, ruhig.magnificent: prächtig, großartig.

[25] Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

Letter I

To Mrs. Saville, England

St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17–.

You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived here yesterday; and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare, and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking.

I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves, and fills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which has travelled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes. Inspirited by this wind of promise, my day dreams become more fervent and vivid. I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible; its broad disk just [26] skirting the horizon, and diffusing a perpetualsplendour. There – for with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust in precedingnavigators – there snow and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable globe. Its productions and features may be without example, as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes. What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle; and may regulate a thousand celestial observations, that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever. I shall satiate my ardentcuriosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man. These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death, [27] and to induce me to commence this laborious voyage with the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat, with his holiday mates, on an expedition of discovery up his native river. But, supposing all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine.

These reflections have dispelled the agitation with which I began my letter, and I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven; for nothing contributes so much to tranquillise the mind as a steady purpose, – a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years. I have read with ardour the accounts of the various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at the North Pacific Ocean through the seas which surround the pole. You may remember, that a history of all the voyages made for purposes of discovery composed the whole of our good uncle Thomas’s library. My education was neglected, yet I was passionately fond of reading. These volumes were [28] my study day and night, and my familiarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as a child, on learning that my father’s dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark in a seafaring life.

These visions faded when I perused, for the first time, those poets whose effusionsentranced my soul, and lifted it to heaven. I also became a poet, and for one year lived in a Paradise of my own creation; I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated. You are well acquainted with my failure, and how heavily I bore the disappointment. But just at that time I inherited the fortune of my cousin, and my thoughts were turned into the channel of their earlier bent.

Six years have passed since I resolved on my present undertaking. I can, even now, remember the hour from which I dedicated myself to this great enterprise. I commenced by inuring my body to hardship. I accompanied the whalefishers on several expeditions to the North Sea; I voluntarily endured cold, famine, thirst, and want of sleep; I often worked harder than the common sailors during the day, and devoted my nights to the study of mathematics, the [29] theory of medicine, and those branches of physical science from which a naval adventurer might derive the greatest practical advantage. Twice I actually hired myself as an under-mate in a Greenland whaler, and acquitted myself to admiration. I must own I felt a little proud, when my captain offered me the second dignity in the vessel, and entreated me to remain with the greatest earnestness; so valuable did he consider my services.

And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great purpose? My life might have been passed in ease and luxury; but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path. Oh, that some encouraging voice would answer in the affirmative! My courage and my resolution is firm; but my hopes fluctuate, and my spirits are often depressed. I am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage, the emergencies of which will demand all my fortitude: I am required not only to raise the spirits of others, but sometimes to sustain my own, when theirs are failing.

This is the most favourable period for travelling in Russia. They fly quickly over the snow in their sledges; the motion is pleasant, and, in my opinion, far more agreeable [30] than that of an English stage-coach. The cold is not excessive, if you are wrapped in furs, – a dress which I have already adopted; for there is a great difference between walking the deck and remaining seated motionless for hours, when no exercise prevents the blood from actually freezing in your veins. I have no ambition to lose my life on the post-road between St. Petersburgh and Archangel.

I shall depart for the latter town in a fortnight or three weeks; and my intention is to hire a ship there, which can easily be done by paying the insurance for the owner, and to engage as many sailors as I think necessary among those who are accustomed to the whale-fishing. I do not intend to sail until the month of June; and when shall I return? Ah, dear sister, how can I answer this question? If I succeed, many, many months, perhaps years, will pass before you and I may meet. If I fail, you will see me again soon, or never.

Farewell, my dear, excellent Margaret. Heaven shower down blessings on you, and save me, that I may again and again testify my gratitude for all your love and kindness.

Your affectionate brother,

R. WALTON.

to rejoice: sich erfreuen, glücklich sein.foreboding: Vorahnung.welfare: Wohlergehen.undertaking: Unternehmen, Vorhaben.to brace: stärken, stählen.clime: Klimazone, Gegend.inspirited: angeregt, beflügelt.fervent: eifrig, inbrünstig.in vain: vergeblich.desolation: Trostlosigkeit; Elend, Traurigkeit.to skirt: streifen, knapp berühren.to diffuse: verbreiten, ausstrahlen.perpetual: immerwährend, andauernd.splendour: Glanz, Pracht, Prunk.with your leave: mit Deiner Erlaubnis.preceding: früher, vorig.navigator: Seefahrer.banished: verbannt.to waft: wehen, treiben, ziehen.to surpass: übertreffen, hinausreichen.hitherto: bisher.habitable: bewohnbar.heavenly bodies (pl.): Himmelskörper.solitude: Einsamkeit.wondrous: wundersam, erstaunlich.needle: Nadel (eines Kompasses).celestial: himmlisch, den Himmel betreffend.to render s.th. consistent: etwa: einen Widerspruch auflösen, etwas übereinstimmend machen.eccentricity: Exzentrizität (in der Astronomie eine Bahneigenschaft eines Himmelskörpers).to satiate: befriedigen, (fig.) sättigen.ardent (fig.): glühend, brennend.curiosity: Neugierde.to tread: betreten.to imprint: eindrücken, einprägen.enticement: Verlockung.to induce: veranlassen.laborious: anstrengend, mühselig.to embark: aufbrechen.native: heimatlich.conjecture: Mutmaßung.to contest: bestreiten, abstreiten.inestimable: unschätzbar.requisite: erforderlich, notwendig.to ascertain: ermitteln, herausfinden.to dispel: vertreiben.agitation: Erregung, Aufregung.to elevate: emporheben.to tranquillise: Variante von to tranquilise: beruhigen.steady purpose: festes Vorhaben.ardour: Eifer, Begeisterung.dying injunction: Verfügung am Sterbebett.to embark in s.th.: mit etwas beginnen.seafaring life: Leben als Seefahrer.to peruse: studieren, durchlesen.effusions: (fig.) Ergüsse.to entrance: verzaubern.to consecrate: weihen, widmen.to be acquainted with s.th.: mit etwas vertraut sein.bent: Neigung, Richtung.to resolve on s.th.: sich für etwas entscheiden, mit etwas beginnen.enterprise: Unternehmung.to inure o.s. to s.th.: sich gegen etwas abhärten.hardship: Beschwernis, Mühsal.to endure: ertragen.famine: Hunger.want: Mangel, Knappheit, Not.to derive advantage from s.th.: einen Nutzen aus etwas ziehen.under-mate: Bootsmann, Unteroffizier.to acquit o.s.: sich beweisen, eine Aufgabe zur Zufriedenheit erledigen.to own to s.th.: etwas zugeben.dignity: Würde, Rang.vessel: Schiff.to entreat s.o.: jdn. inständig bitten, anflehen.earnestness: Ernst, Ernsthaftigkeit.ease: Bequemlichkeit, Leichtigkeit.in the affirmative: zustimmend, bejahend.resolution: Entschlossenheit.to fluctuate: fluktuieren, schwanken.fortitude: Kraft, Stärke.to sustain: aufrechterhalten, stützen.stage-coach: Kutsche.Archangel: Archangelsk (Stadt im nördlichen Russland).fortnight: Zeitraum von zwei Wochen.to be accustomed to s.th.: an etwas gewöhnt sein.affectionate: herzlich, zärtlich.

[31] Letter II

To Mrs. Saville, England

Archangel, 28th March, 17–.

How slowly the time passes here, encompassed as I am by frost and snow! yet a second step is taken towards my enterprise. I have hired a vessel, and am occupied in collecting my sailors; those whom I have already engaged appear to be men on whom I can depend, and are certainly possessed of dauntless courage.

But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication of feeling. I desire the company of a man who could sympathise with me; whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend. I have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to approve or amend my plans. How would such a [32] friend repair the faults of your poor brother! I am too ardent in execution, and too impatient of difficulties. But it is a still greater evil to me that I am self-educated: for the first fourteen years of my life I ran wild on a common, and read nothing but our uncle Thomas’s books of voyages. At that age I became acquainted with the celebrated poets of our own country; but it was only when it had ceased to be in my power to derive its most important benefits from such a conviction, that I perceived the necessity of becoming acquainted with more languages than that of my native country. Now I am twenty-eight, and am in reality more illiterate than many schoolboys of fifteen. It is true that I have thought more, and that my day dreams are more extended and magnificent; but they want (as the painters call it) keeping; and I greatly need a friend who would have sense enough not to despise me as romantic, and affection enough for me to endeavour to regulate my mind.

Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, among merchants and seamen. Yet some feelings, unallied to the dross of human nature, beat even in these ruggedbosoms. My lieutenant, for instance, is a man of wonderful courage and enterprise; he is madly desirous of glory: or [33] rather, to word my phrase more characteristically, of advancement in his profession. He is an Englishman, and in the midst of national and professional prejudices, unsoftened by cultivation, retains some of the noblest endowments of humanity. I first became acquainted with him on board a whale vessel: finding that he was unemployed in this city, I easily engaged him to assist in my enterprise.

The master is a person of an excellent disposition, and is remarkable in the ship for his gentleness and the mildness of his discipline. This circumstance, added to his well-known integrity and dauntless courage, made me very desirous to engage him. A youth passed in solitude, my best years spent under your gentle and feminine fosterage, has so refined the groundwork of my character, that I cannot overcome an intense distaste to the usual brutality exercised on board ship: I have never believed it to be necessary; and when I heard of a mariner equally noted for his kindliness of heart, and the respect and obedience paid to him by his crew, I felt myself peculiarly fortunate in being able to secure his services. I heard of him first in rather a romantic manner, from a lady who owes to him the happiness of her life. This, briefly, is his story. Some years ago, he loved a young Russian lady, of moderate fortune; and having amassed a considerable sum in prize-money, the father [34] of the girl consented to the match. He saw his mistress once before the destined ceremony; but she was bathed in tears, and, throwing herself at his feet, entreated him to spare her, confessing at the same time that she loved another, but that he was poor, and that her father would never consent to the union. My generous friend reassured the suppliant, and on being informed of the name of her lover, instantly abandoned his pursuit. He had already bought a farm with his money, on which he had designed to pass the remainder of his life; but he bestowed the whole on his rival, together with the remains of his prize-money to purchase stock, and then himself solicited the young woman’s father to consent to her marriage with her lover. But the old man decidedly refused, thinking himself bound in honour to my friend; who, when he found the father inexorable, quitted his country, nor returned until he heard that his former mistress was married according to her inclinations. “What a noble fellow!” you will exclaim. He is so; but then he is wholly uneducated: he is as silent as a Turk, and a kind of ignorant carelessness attends him, which, while it renders his conduct the more astonishing, detracts from the interest and sympathy which otherwise he would command.

[35] Yet do not suppose, because I complain a little, or because I can conceive a consolation for my toils which I may never know, that I am wavering in my resolutions. Those are as fixed as fate; and my voyage is only now delayed until the weather shall permit my embarkation. The winter has been dreadfully severe; but the spring promises well, and it is considered as a remarkably early season; so that perhaps I may sail sooner than I expected. I shall do nothing rashly: you know me sufficiently to confide in my prudence and considerateness, whenever the safety of others is committed to my care.

I cannot describe to you my sensations on the near prospect of my undertaking. It is impossible to communicate to you a conception of the trembling sensation, half pleasurable and half fearful, with which I am preparing to depart. I am going to unexplored regions, to “the land of mist and snow;” but I shall kill no albatross, therefore do not be alarmed for my safety, or if I should come back to you as worn and woful as the “Ancient Mariner?” You will smile at my allusion; but I will disclose a secret. I have often attributed my attachment to, my passionate enthusiasm for, the dangerous mysteries of ocean, to that production of the [36] most imaginative of modern poets. There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand. I am practically industrious – pains-taking; – a workman to execute with perseverance and labour: – but besides this, there is a love for the marvellous, a belief in the marvellous, intertwined in all my projects, which hurries me out of the common pathways of men, even to the wild sea and unvisited regions I am about to explore.

But to return to dearer considerations. Shall I meet you again, after having traversed immense seas, and returned by the most southern cape of Africa or America? I dare not expect such success, yet I cannot bear to look on the reverse of the picture. Continue for the present to write to me by every opportunity: I may receive your letters on some occasions when I need them most to support my spirits. I love you very tenderly. Remember me with affection, should you never hear from me again.

Your affectionate brother,

ROBERT WALTON.

to be encompassed: umgeben sein.to be possessed of s.th.: über etwas verfügen, eine bestimmte Eigenschaft haben.dauntless: furchtlos.to be assailed by s.th.: von etwas überkommen werden.dejection: Melancholie, Depression (dejected: niedergeschlagen).to commit one’s thoughts to paper: seine Gedanken zu Papier bringen.to deem s.th.: etwas befinden, halten für.capacious mind: etwa: umfassend gebildet.to amend: berichtigen, verbessern.execution: hier: Ausführung.to run wild: umhertollen, herumrennen.common: in England das Gemeindeland (häufig parkähnlich und in der Stadtmitte gelegen).to derive: ableiten.to perceive: erkennen, bemerken.illiterate: des Lesens und Schreibens nicht mächtig.extended: ausgedehnt, weitläufig.to despise: verabscheuen, verachten.dross: Schlacke, Abschaum.rugged: rauh, grob (ruggedness: Rauheit; Robustheit).bosom: Brust, Busen.endowments (pl.): Veranlagung.disposition: Charakter, (charakterliche) Anlagen.integrity: Integrität, Rechtschaffenheit.fosterage: Pflegschaft.to refine: verfeinern.groundwork: Grundlage, Fundament.mariner: Seefahrer.obedience: Gehorsam.to amass: anhäufen, ansammeln.prize-money: Prise (nach dem Seekriegsrecht aufgebrachte Beute in Form feindlicher Schiffe und deren Ladung).to consent to: zustimmen.match: (eheliche) Verbindung, Heirat.destined: (vom Schicksal) vorgesehen, bestimmt.to spare s.o.: jdn. verschonen.to reassure: hier: beruhigen.suppliant: Bittsteller(in).pursuit: Streben.remainder: Rest, Überbleibsel.stock: Vieh.decidedly: dezidiert, entschieden.inexorable: unerbittlich, unnachgiebig.inclination: Neigung.to exclaim: ausrufen.ignorant: ignorant, ahnungslos.to attend: etwa: umgeben, begleiten.to detract: ablenken.to command s.th.: über etwas verfügen.consolation: Trost.toils (pl.): Mühen, Anstrengungen.to waver: unschlüssig sein.embarkation: Einschiffung.rashly: vorschnell, übereilt.to confide in s.th.: einer Sache vertrauen.prudence: Umsicht, Besonnenheit.considerateness: Besonnenheit, Bedächtigkeit.prospect: Aussicht, Erwartung.conception: Vorstellung.trembling: zitternd, bebend.“the land of mist and snow”: Zitat aus der berühmten Ballade »The Rime of the Ancient Mariner« (1798) von S. T. Coleridge (1772–1834).worn: erschöpft, ausgebrannt.woful: elend, traurig.to disclose: offenbaren, preisgeben, aufdecken.to attribute to: zurückführen auf.industrious: fleißig, arbeitsam.pains-taking: akribisch, sehr sorgfältig.perseverance: Durchhaltewillen, Beharrlichkeit.intertwined: verflochten, verwoben.pathway: Weg, Pfad.dear: hier: angenehm.to traverse: durchqueren, durchlaufen.to bear: ertragen; tragen.reverse: Kehrseite.

[37] Letter III

To Mrs. Saville, England

July 7th, 17–.

My dear Sister,

I write a few lines in haste, to say that I am safe, and well advanced on my voyage. This letter will reach England by a merchantman now on its homeward voyage from Archangel; more fortunate than I, who may not see my native land, perhaps, for many years. I am, however, in good spirits: my men are bold, and apparently firm of purpose; nor do the floating sheets of ice that continually pass us, indicating the dangers of the region towards which we are advancing, appear to dismay them. We have already reached a very high latitude; but it is the height of summer, and although not so warm as in England, the southern gales, which blow us speedily towards those shores which I so ardently desire to attain, breathe a degree of renovating warmth which I had not expected.

No incidents have hitherto befallen us that would make a figure in a letter. One or two stiff gales, and the springing of a leak, are accidents which experienced navigators scarcely remember to record; and I shall be well content if nothing worse happen to us during our voyage.

[38] Adieu, my dear Margaret. Be assured, that for my own sake, as well as yours, I will not rashly encounter danger. I will be cool, persevering, and prudent.

But success shall crown my endeavours. Wherefore not? Thus far I have gone, tracing a secure way over the pathless seas: the very stars themselves being witnesses and testimonies of my triumph. Why not still proceed over the untamed yet obedient element? What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?

My swelling heartinvoluntarily pours itself out thus. But I must finish. Heaven bless my beloved sister!

R. W.

in haste: in Eile, hastig.merchantman: Handelsschiff.to be in good spirits: guten Mutes sein.to be firm of purpose: entschlossen sein.sheet of ice: Eisscholle.to dismay: erschrecken, bestürzen.latitude: geographische Breite.gale: starker Wind, Sturm.to attain: erreichen.renovating: mit neuem Leben, neuer Kraft erfüllend.to befall s.o.: jdn. befallen, jdm. widerfahren.springing of a leak: plötzliches Entstehen eines Lecks.to be assured: versichert sein.for my own sake: um meinetwillen.to encounter danger: in Gefahr geraten (to encounter s.o./s.th.: auf jdn./etwas treffen).to trace: hier: einen Weg verfolgen.pathless: unwegsam.testimony: Beweis, (fig.) Zeugnis.untamed: ungezähmt.resolved will: entschlossener Wille.swelling heart: (vor Freude) übersprudelndes Herz.involuntarily: unfreiwillig.

[39] Letter IV

To Mrs. Saville, England

August 5th, 17–.

So strange an accident has happened to us, that I cannot forbear recording it, although it is very probable that you will see me before these papers can come into your possession.

Last Monday (July 31st), we were nearly surrounded by ice, which closed in the ship on all sides, scarcely leaving her the sea-room in which she floated. Our situation was somewhat dangerous, especially as we were compassed round by a very thick fog. We accordingly lay to, hoping that some change would take place in the atmosphere and weather.

About two o’clock the mist cleared away, and we beheld, stretched out in every direction, vast and irregular plains of ice, which seemed to have no end. Some of my comrades groaned, and my own mind began to grow watchful with anxious thoughts, when a strange sight suddenly attracted our attention, and diverted our solicitude from our own situation. We perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on towards the north, at the distance of half a mile: a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge, and guided the dogs. We watched the rapid progress of the [40] traveller with our telescopes, until he was lost among the distant inequalities of the ice.

This appearance excited our unqualified wonder. We were, as we believed, many hundred miles from any land; but this apparition seemed to denote that it was not, in reality, so distant as we had supposed. Shut in, however, by ice, it was impossible to follow his track, which we had observed with the greatest attention.

About two hours after this occurrence, we heard the ground sea; and before night the ice broke, and freed our ship. We, however, lay to until the morning, fearing to encounter in the dark those large loose masses which float about after the breaking up of the ice. I profited of this time to rest for a few hours.

In the morning, however, as soon as it was light, I went upon deck, and found all the sailors busy on one side of the vessel, apparently talking to some one in the sea. It was, in fact, a sledge, like that we had seen before, which had drifted towards us in the night, on a large fragment of ice. Only one dog remained alive; but there was a human being within it, whom the sailors were persuading to enter the vessel. He was not, as the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but an European. When I appeared on deck, the master said, “Here is our captain, and he will not allow you to perish on the open sea.”

On perceiving me, the stranger addressed me in English, although with a foreign accent. “Before I come on board [41] your vessel,” said he, “will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?”

You may conceive my astonishment on hearing such a question addressed to me from a man on the brink of destruction, and to whom I should have supposed that my vessel would have been a resource which he would not have exchanged for the most precious wealth the earth can afford. I replied, however, that we were on a voyage of discovery towards the northern pole.

Upon hearing this he appeared satisfied, and consented to come on board. Good God! Margaret, if you had seen the man who thus capitulated for his safety, your surprise would have been boundless. His limbs were nearly frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering. I never saw a man in so wretched a condition. We attempted to carry him into the cabin; but as soon as he had quitted the fresh air, he fainted. We accordingly brought him back to the deck, and restored him to animation by rubbing him with brandy, and forcing him to swallow a small quantity. As soon as he showed signs of life we wrapped him up in blankets, and placed him near the chimney of the kitchen stove. By slow degrees he recovered, and ate a little soup, which restored him wonderfully.

Two days passed in this manner before he was able to [42] speak; and I often feared that his suffering had deprived him of understanding. When he had in some measure recovered, I removed him to my own cabin, and attended on him as much as my duty would permit. I never saw a more interesting creature: his eyes have generally an expression of wildness, and even madness; but there are moments when, if any one performs an act of kindness towards him, or does him any the most trifling service, his whole countenance is lighted up, as it were, with a beam of benevolence and sweetness that I never saw equalled. But he is generally melancholy and despairing; and sometimes he gnashes his teeth, as if impatient of the weight of woes that oppresses him.

When my guest was a little recovered, I had great trouble to keep off the men, who wished to ask him a thousand questions; but I would not allow him to be tormented by their idle curiosity, in a state of body and mind whose restoration evidently depended upon entire repose. Once, however, the lieutenant asked, Why he had come so far upon the ice in so strange a vehicle?

His countenance instantly assumed an aspect of the deepest gloom; and he replied, “To seek one who fled from me.”

“And did the man whom you pursued travel in the same fashion?”

[43] “Yes.”

“Then I fancy we have seen him; for the day before we picked you up, we saw some dogs drawing a sledge, with a man in it, across the ice.”

This aroused the stranger’s attention; and he asked a multitude of questions concerning the route which the daemon, as he called him, had pursued. Soon after, when he was alone with me, he said, – “I have, doubtless, excited your curiosity, as well as that of these good people; but you are too considerate to make enquiries.”

“Certainly; it would indeed be very impertinent and inhuman in me to trouble you with any inquisitiveness of mine.”

“And yet you rescued me from a strange and perilous