After Victors family is mostly dead (William, Justine, the mother, Elizabeth, and then the father, Victor leaves Geneva to hunt down his creature. But he doesn't seem to be concerned or do anything about Ernest. Is Ernest alone - no one else alive? How old was he?
Ernest Frankenstein
Younger son of Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein, brother to Victor and William.
Victor Frankenstein describes his younger brother:
Ernest was six years younger than myself, and was my principal pupil. He had been afflicted with ill health from his infancy, through which Elizabeth and I had been his constant nurses: his disposition was gentle, but he was incapable of any severe application. (1.1.10).
His health improves, however, during Victor's long absence at Ingolstadt (1.5.1).
In the first edition Elizabeth and Alphonse propose that he should become a farmer -- "the least hurtful, or rather the most beneficial profession of any" (1.5.2). By the time of the third edition Ernest has become more extroverted. Elizabeth reports: "He is now sixteen, and full of activity and spirit. He is desirous to be a true Swiss, and to enter into foreign service" (1.5.1).
Ernest is the only Frankenstein to survive the novel (3.6.5).
Thank you. But what I meant was when Victor leaves Geneva to hunt down the "demon", nothing is said about Ernest. What happens to him all alone? I just thought it was odd that his fate was left not described or resolved.
That "knarf" web site is amazing, eh? Greatest Frankenstein web site I've ever seen. Hard to top. Too bad no one is administering it any more. I hope it survives.
Ernest is actually never mentioned again...... I guess that was a good thing for him. Yes, this University of Pennsylvania website is fantastic. The faculty responsible should be extremely proud of themselves. It's a wealth of information, and the articles it recommends are truly excellent. I've often used the site as a recommended resource for my own students.
