Toporefs and Chronotopic Archetypes

My personal favourite map for Frankenstein is this one, which I think of as the “jellyfish” map. In truth it is subject to the same problems of unreadability as the complete map but it is far more aesthetically pleasing. Also since this map connects the chronotopic type (e.g. 'road') to the toporefs which are generated within that particular chronotope it offers easier local analysis of a specific chronotope or of two different chronotopes within the same text. 

So, for example, we can compare the oppositional chronotopes of 'the road' and 'the castle' by focussing on these in detail.  'The castle' is often a rich chronotopic space because of its psychological dimension. So, it also is often a site of change (what was previously a pleasant space becomes a place of entrapment).  For Frankenstein we see that although many of the 'castle' spaces are interior this is also true of various external places that we might not normally think of in such terms – such as deserts, beaches and mountains.  Frankenstein’s sense of self-alienation extends from himself into the world around him. 

'The road' clearly emerges on this map as the dominant chronotope and makes clear again how much of the novel is concerned not only with movement but with the recording of details along the route that again feels strongly touristic but also makes that route eminently re-constructable. It partly works therefore to (falsely) ground the fantastic in the real – and as such is a crucial factor in the lasting power of this work.