Dark Descent of Elizabeth Franklin by Kiersten White (October 2019)- part II

[Melanie, place holding for a future mod]

Discussion for part II/ chapters 12-16 only. Spoilers through chapter 16 allowed.

To discuss later chapters go here: PART III/ chapters 17-end

[Amy]

I'm listening to the audio and I'm up to chapter 14. So far I'm enjoying it, it's not my usual genre so I don't really know what's going on still. Elizabeth and Victor are both messed up and their relationship is too which you get from the beginning but I really have no idea where this book is going. actually I have some predictions but I feel like I might be way off base so I won't voice them yet.

[Angie]

Well, I was not expecting all that. I'm feeling like this may be a case of an unreliable narrator and that most of this is just in Elizabeth's head. Specifically, I think

(view spoiler)[She killed William and then framed Justine. She's also imagining the monster that Victor drew as some kind of obstacle that she must free him from. I also think she was probably the one that sliced Ernest's arm when he was younger, and that Victor is really protecting her and not the other way around as she's making it seem. (hide spoiler)]

I don't know. I'm probably way off and thinking about this too much.

[Amy]

Angie wrote: "Well, I was not expecting all that. I'm feeling like this may be a case of an unreliable narrator and that most of this is just in Elizabeth's head. Specifically, I think

[spoilers removed]

I don..."

I thought the same thing about Elizabeth in the first bit of the book but now I'm not so sure.

(view spoiler)[Since this book is meant to follow the original Frankenstein but from a different perspective and kind of fill in the gaps, I'm now thinking that Victor did create his monster and it is killing people to get revenge on him. I think Victor framed Justine to make sure he wasn't found out after the monster killed William. My other thoughts are Henry isn't in London and Victor killed him out of rage when he asked for permission to marry Elizabeth and then used some of him in the monster (not sure about this bit.) Also I still don't trust Elizabeth as she has such self-preservation and need for Victor that I really don't know what she will do next. (hide spoiler)]

[Angie]

Do you think maybe Henry

(view spoiler)[IS the monster. Victor killed him, and then brought him back using those other parts he was collecting? Victor is trying to find a way to cheat death since he keeps telling Elizabeth that death will never claim her. Perhaps Henry was his first success? (hide spoiler)]

[Amy]

Angie wrote: "Do you think maybe Henry

[spoilers removed]"

Yeah something like that.

[Melanie, place holding for a future mod]

Angie wrote: "Well, I was not expecting all that. I'm feeling like this may be a case of an unreliable narrator and that most of this is just in Elizabeth's head. Specifically, I think

[spoilers removed]

I don..."

I didn't make that prediction, but that is probably because I read the original Frankenstein. The story parallels it quite accurately and in the original (view spoiler)[The monster is a very real thing (hide spoiler)]. The book is definitely going out of its way to portray Victor as a psychopath, so I won't be that surprised if you are in fact correct.

[Diane]

Just finished this section- it was pretty short. I get the feeling that Victor killed Henry because of his professed feelings for Elizabeth. He probably used parts off Henry to make the monster. That is why the monster follows Elizabeth but does not hurt her. I would not be surprised if Victor also killed William. He could have been jealous because Elizabeth started liking William and William was wearing the necklace of his mother. He framed Justine because Elizabeth had affection for her. He probably killed the old governess years ago in order for Justine to enter the position.
I am definitely curious about what happens next.