"My departure was therefore fixed at an early date; but, before the day resolved upon could arrive, the first misfortune of my life occurred- an omen, as it were, of my future misery." (page 23)
The novel Frankenstein contains many elements of foreshadowing upcoming events. Part of this could be due to the fact that the story is told as a frame story. Victor is telling the story, so it is only logical that Victor would know what is coming next. He has lived through these events. All of the elements of foreshadowing in this story have to deal with a negative connotation. In the quote above, the words "misfortune" "omen" and "misery" are used to describe Frankenstein's future. As a reader, I am afraid as to what is coming. Victor often uses this vocabulary when describing his future. This is probably why he is in such a horrible state when Robert Walton meets him. Frankenstein has lived a hard life; I just don't know what the creature is going to do to him. Victor has lost so much already. He has lost his mother and his brother and his sanity. If he lost anything more, I am worried that he is going to go insane. Maybe it's not the creature that is going to make Frankenstein miserable. Maybe it is Frankenstein himself who will bring on his own misery... But isn't the creature Victor in another form? Aren't they parallels of each other? So if the creature is going to make Victor miserable, isn't this essentially Victor making himself miserable since they are similar beings? It's something I have been thinking about, and I guess that only time will tell.
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