Published: 24 September 2024
Penned by English novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, “Frankenstein or, the Modern Prometheus” was first published in 1818.
This gothic tale chronicles the journey of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant yet obsessive scientist, who brings a monstrous being to life, ultimately leading to his own torment.
Since its release, this classic work of literature has inspired numerous film adaptations, including both silent films and more modern interpretations.
The novel explores dark themes like isolation, prejudice, rejection and revenge, juxtaposed with other themes such as family, ambition, emotions and identity. The story also highlights the debate of nature versus nurture, questioning whether the creature’s actions stem from its inherent nature or from neglect and a lack of love.
As for food, many might wonder if Frankenstein includes any food references. Well, turns out it does! Though infrequent, food plays an important role in the immersive nature of the narrative. And despite the story’s grim themes, the food portrayed is simple and modest, emphasizing the ordinary amidst the horrific.
So what’s eating Frankenstein or rather what does Frankenstein eat?
Without further ado, let’s delve straight into the foods and drinks crafted in the spooky world of Frankenstein, as published by George Routledge and Sons in 1891.
Did you know? Frankenstein was originally published anonymously in a 500-copy edition. However, it quickly gained widespread popularity, and four years later, Mary Shelley publicly claimed authorship.
Brandy & Soup
In the fourth letter to his beloved sister, Captain Robert Walton recounts how he and his crew attempted to rescue a man drifting on a large fragment of ice. He mentions using brandy to revive the stranger during the rescue.
” 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.”– Letter IV.
After finally reanimating the man, soup is served to help revive his frigid body.
” By slow degrees he recovered, and ate a little soup, which restored him wonderfully.”– Letter IV.
Draught
In the UK, ‘draught’ typically refers to beer served from a tap in pubs, as opposed to being served from a bottle or can.
” ‘Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drank also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me, – let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!’ “– Letter IV.
Draught is also mentioned in Chapter 24, as Victor, gravely ill, attempts to fight off death in order to fulfill his oath of vengeance for his loved ones.
“The surgeon gave him a composing draught, and ordered us to leave him undisturbed. In the meantime, he told me, that my friend had certainly not many hours to live. “– Chapter XXIV.
Berries & Water
As the creature recounts its first moments of life, berries are mentioned as the primary source of sustenance in the forest.
” This was the forest near Ingolstadt; and here I lay by the side of a brook resting from my fatigue, until I felt tormented by hunger and thirst. This roused me from my nearly dormant state, and I ate some berries which I found hanging on the trees, or lying on the ground. I slaked my thirst at the brook; and then lying down, was overcome by sleep.”– Chapter XI.
” I gazed with a kind of wonder. It moved slowly, but it enlightened my path; and I again went out in search of berries. “– Chapter XI.
The creature also seeks out forest streams to quench its thirst.
” Several changes of day and night passed, and the orb of night had greatly lessened, when I began to distinguish my sensations from each other. I gradually saw plainly the clear stream that supplied me with drink, and the trees that shaded me with their foliage. “– Chapter XI.
Offals, Berries, Nuts & Roots
Also known as variety meats, offals refer to the internal organs of a butchered animal. In chapter 11, the creature discovers remnants left by travelers that serve as vital sustenance and offer insight into human life.
” When night came again, I found, with pleasure, that the fire gave light as well as heat; and that the discovery of this element was useful to me in my food; for I found some of the offals that the travellers had left had been roasted, and tasted much more savoury than the berries I gathered from the trees.“– Chapter XI.
The creature also experiments with heat, bringing him one step closer to deepening his understanding of the world around him.
” I tried, therefore, to dress my food in the same manner, placing it on the live embers. I found that the berries were spoiled by this operation, and the nuts and roots much improved.”– Chapter XI.
In Chapter 12, a moral dilemma arises, leading the creature to abstain from stealing food from the cottagers. Consequently, it returns to foraging for berries, roots and nuts instead.
” I had been accustomed, during the night, to steal a part of their store for my own consumption; but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained, and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots, which I gathered from a neighbouring wood.”– Chapter XII.
Acorns
In chapter 11, acorns end up being the last resort for the creature when hunger becomes too much to bear.
” ‘Food, however, became scarce; and I often spent the whole day searching in vain for a few acorns to assuage the pangs of hunger. “– Chapter XI.
Acorns, along with berries, are also mentioned in Chapter 17, when the creature attempts to persuade Victor to create a female companion to alleviate his loneliness.
“My food is not that of man: I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment. My companion will be of the same nature as myself, and will be content with the same fare.“– Chapter XVII.
Did you know? Raw acorns aren’t safe to eat because of their tannin content. But when cooked, they’re completely edible! Acorns are a vital food source for many Native American tribes and are also used in various cuisines, including Korean, where you can find them in dishes like Dotorimuk (acorn jelly).
Vegetables, Milk & Cheese
Milk, cheese and vegetables appear in chapter 11 when the creature discovers a village filled with huts, cottages and stately houses.
“How miraculous did this appear! the huts, the neater cottages, and stately houses, engaged my admiration by turns. The vegetables in the gardens, the milk and cheese that I saw placed at the windows of some of the cottages, allured my appetite.”– Chapter XI.
“I lost sight of her; and in about a quarter of an hour she returned, bearing the pail, which was now partly filled with milk. “– Chapter XI.
These food items are also mentioned in chapter 12, when the creature realizes the financial struggles of the cottagers he has been spying on.
“ Their nourishment consisted entirely of the vegetables of their garden, and the milk of one cow, which gave very little during the winter, when its masters could scarcely procure food to support it. They often, I believe, suffered the pangs of hunger very poignantly, especially the two younger cottagers; for several times they placed food before the old man, when they reserved none for themselves. “– Chapter XII.
Bread, Cheese, Milk, Wine, Roots & Plants
Shepherds’ breakfasts throughout history have typically been simple yet hearty meals, meant to provide sustenance during long hours of work outdoors.
In chapter 11, after discovering a small hut, the creature unintentionally frightens a shepherd and consumes the remnants of his breakfast, consisting of bread, cheese, milk, and wine.
“I greedily devoured the remnants of the shepherd’s breakfast, which consisted of bread, cheese, milk, and wine; the latter, however, I did not like. Then, overcome by fatigue, I lay down among some straw, and fell asleep. “– Chapter XI.
As the creature continues to spy on the family in the cottage in chapter 11, bread and cheese are mentioned as main sustenance alongside roots and plants from the garden.
” The girl met him at the door, helped to relieve him of his burden, and, taking some of the fuel into the cottage, placed it on the fire; then she and the youth went apart into a nook of the cottage, and he showed her a large loaf and piece of cheese. She seemed pleased, and went into the garden for some roots and plants, which she placed in water, and then upon the fire. “– Chapter XI.
” Their food, as I afterwards found, was coarse, but it was wholesome; and they procured a sufficiency of it. Several new kinds of plants sprung up in the garden, which they dressed; and these signs of comfort increased daily as the season advanced. “– Chapter XII.
Did you know? The first food-related words the creature in Frankenstein learned while observing the cottagers were actually ‘milk’ and ‘bread’.
“By great application, however, and after having remained during the space of several revolutions of the moon in my hovel, I discovered the names that were given to some of the most familiar objects of discourse; I learned and applied the words fire, milk, bread and wood.“– Chapter XII.
Coarse Bread & Pure Water
In chapter 11, after being chased by villagers the night before, the creature resorts to coarse bread and water to survive as he seeks refuge from the senseless violence that surrounds him.
“I had first, however, provided for my sustenance for that day, by a loaf of coarse bread, which I purloined, and a cup with which I could drink, more conveniently than from my hand, of the pure water which flowed by my retreat. “– Chapter XI.
Oatmeal, Vegetables, Bread & Fresh water
In chapter 19, Victor temporarily parts ways with his travel companion, Henry, to fulfill his dreadful promise of creating a companion for the creature. Isolated in the remote Scottish Highlands, he finds food scarce, with the land offering little more than oats.
” The soil was barren, scarcely affording pasture for a few miserable cows, and oatmeal for its inhabitants, which consisted of five persons, whose gaunt and scraggy limbs gave tokens of their miserable fare. Vegetables and bread, when they indulged in such luxuries, and even fresh water, was to be procured from the mainland, which was about five miles distant.”– Chapter XIX.
Did you know? During the Irish famine of 1740–1741, many people relied heavily on oats for survival. A series of weather-related disasters caused poor grain harvests, milk shortages, and severe frost damage to potatoes, leaving oats as one of the few available food sources.
Oaten Cake
Oats were a staple in Scotland long before wheat became common. Crisp in texture, oatcakes were usually cooked on a griddle above a fire.
In Chapter 20, Victor sits by the shore, eating oaten cake and worrying about the creature’s vengeful spirit.
“The sun had far descended, and I still sat on the shore, satisfying my appetite, which had become ravenous, with an oaten cake, when I saw a fishing-boat land close to me, and one of the men brought me a packet; it contained letters from Geneva, and one from Clerval, entreating me to join him. “– Chapter XX.
Apple
In chapter 22, Victor uses a fruit metaphor to convey his emotions of despair and impending doom.
” I read and reread her letter, and some softened feelings stole into my heart, and dared to whisper paradisiacal dreams of love and joy; but the apple was already eaten, and the angel’s arm bared to drive me from all hope.”– Chapter XXII.
Did you know? In various cultural and literary contexts, apples are associated with temptation, knowledge, and the loss of innocence.
Wild animals
In chapter 24, after a series of unspeakable events, a despairing Victor finds himself both pursuing the creature and searching for meat to survive.
“In other places human beings were seldom seen: and I generally subsisted on the wild animals that crossed my path. I had money with me, and gained the friendship of the villagers by distributing it; or I brought with me some food that I had killed, which, after taking a small part, I always presented to those who had provided me with fire and utensils for cooking. “– Chapter XXIV.
In fact, the creature goes as far as to hunt down hares to sustain Victor as he relentlessly pursues him, culminating in their ultimate showdown.
“‘You will find near this place, if you follow not too tardily, a dead hare; eat, and be refreshed. Come on, my enemy; we have yet to wrestle for our lives; but many hard and miserable hours must you endure until that period shall arrive.’ “– Chapter XXIV.
In chapter 24, wild game also provides food for the peasants living in hovels in the harsh climate.
” The peasants were shut up in their hovels, and only a few of the most hardy ventured forth to seize the animals whom starvation had forced from their hiding-places to seek for prey. “– Chapter XXIV.
Fish
Fish serves as an important source of nutrition for Victor as he journeys far and wide in search of his archnemesis. However, as temperatures drop, so does his access to his main source of sustenance…
” The rivers were covered with ice, and no fish could be procured; and thus I was cut off from my chief article of maintenance.”– Chapter XXIV.
