Elizabeth Lavenza and I grew up together. There was only one year between our ages. We never had an argument. We were very different, but we were the best of friends. Elizabeth Lavenza was a calm person. She loved poets (people who write beautiful stories and poems). She loved the mountains and the silence of winter.
I was different from Elizabeth Lavenza. I wanted to learn everything. I was very interested in the secrets of the world. I wanted to know why things happen in nature. I was very curious, and I studied hard.
My parents had another son seven years after me. Then, my family stopped traveling. we lived in a house in Geneva. We also had a house near the lake. We lived a very quiet life. I did not like big groups of people. I only had a few close friends.
My best friend was Henry Clerval. Henry Clerval was the son of a merchant (a person who buys and sells things). He was very talented. He loved danger and difficult adventures. He read many books about chivalry (stories about brave knights and their adventures).
Henry Clerval wrote his own stories about knights. He made us act in plays about famous heroes. I had a very happy childhood. My parents were very kind and gave us everything we needed. I felt very lucky when I saw other families.
Sometimes I had a strong temper. I was a very serious boy. I did not want to learn about languages or government. I only wanted to learn the secrets of heaven and earth. I wanted to know how the world worked.
While I studied nature, Henry Clerval studied people. Henry Clerval wanted to be a hero. He wanted to do great things for the world. Elizabeth Lavenza was the heart of our home. She was always kind and happy. She helped me be a more gentle person.
I like to remember my childhood. Those were happy days before my life became sad. Now, I will tell you about the things that led to my misery. Natural philosophy (an old name for the study of nature and science) changed my life.
When I was thirteen years old, we went on a trip. The weather was very bad, so we stayed inside a house. I found an old book by a man named Cornelius Agrippa. I began to read it. I became very excited about the things in the book.
I showed the book to my father. My father looked at the title. He said, "Victor Frankenstein, do not waste your time. This book is trash." My father did not explain why the book was bad. He did not tell me that the science in the book was very old and wrong.
Because my father did not explain this, I continued to read. I bought more books by other old writers. I studied their strange ideas with joy. I felt that I knew secrets that other people did not know.
I wanted to find the philosopher’s stone (a magic stone that people thought could change lead into gold). I also wanted to find the elixir of life (a magic liquid that people thought could make a person live forever). I did not care about money. I wanted to stop people from dying.
I also tried to talk to ghosts and devils. I followed the rules in my books, but it never worked. I thought I was making mistakes because I was young. I did not know that the books were wrong. Then, an accident changed my mind.
When I was fifteen years old, we were at our house near the lake. A terrible storm began. The thunder was very loud. I stood at the door and watched the storm. Suddenly, I saw a flash of fire hit an old oak tree.
The light was very bright. When the light was gone, the tree was gone too. Only a small part of the tree was left. The tree was not just broken. It was destroyed into many thin pieces of wood. I never saw anything like it before.
A man was staying with us who studied science. He began to explain electricity (a type of energy that can make light and heat). He also talked about galvanism (the study of using electricity to make muscles move). This was new and amazing to me.
Suddenly, I felt that my old books were useless. I stopped studying the old writers. I thought that no one could ever really know the truth about nature. I was sad and disappointed. I decided to study mathematics instead.
I felt happy when I stopped my old studies. I thought I was safe from my old ideas. It was like a kind spirit was trying to save me from a storm. But my destiny was too strong. My future was already decided. My life was going to be destroyed.