Topoi

In the case of Frankenstein the 'topoi' map is the most illuminating in relation to spatial meaning and interpretation of the text.  Three distinct spatial forms interconnect on the map, relating to the three narrators.  What it makes absolutely explicit is the way in which Frankenstein’s movements occur as a series of interlinked “tours”.  Of course the novel was written whilst Mary and Percy Shelley were themselves on tour – visiting the Swiss Alps and staying in Geneva –and this forms the backdrop to the novel. However, what is often half-hidden by the focus on other elements of the narrative is just how “touristic” the spatial structure is in relation to Frankenstein himself. In the Topoi map this shows up most clearly for the Journey to England which generates as a large loop or wheel consisting of a straightforward series of stopping points along the touristic route as Frankenstein and Clerval travel down the Rhine, to London, Windsor, Oxford, Edinburgh and finally to the remote Orkneys just below the top of the wheel.  This dominant shape contrasts with two other spatial forms.  The centrality of Geneva (bottom right) shows up in the form of a spider as a place repeatedly returned to by Frankenstein and the Creature. Counter to this – top left –  is the spiky stalagmitic form of Walton’s (and the others’) end-journey into the most remote of places: the Mountains of Ice in the frozen North. [The Syuzhet map for Frankenstein looks very similar to the Topoi map so is not given here].