Frankenstein
Henry Clerval
Victor's best friend
Victor's cheerful, poetic best friend, who nurses him back to health in Ingolstadt and travels with him toward England.
Henry Clerval is Victor's lifelong friend, a lively boy who dreams of knightly quests and loves literature and nature. When Victor sets off for the University of Ingolstadt, Henry tells him to unravel the mysteries of science and says that the university will soon know his genius. He is warm, loyal and always glad to see his friend.
Henry is the opposite of Victor in many ways. Where Victor isolates himself, Henry notices beauty in a river valley and in a country walk. He worries about Victor's pale, haunted look and asks directly what troubles him. He is the person who gently pulls Victor back to life. He wants nothing from Victor but his company and his health. That plain affection is rare in a story full of obsession, and it makes his fate hurt more.
“My dear Frankenstein, how glad I am to see you! How fortunate that you should be here at the very moment of my alighting!”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Henry arrives in Ingolstadt the morning after the Creature wakes, and finds Victor frantic. When Victor collapses with brain fever, Henry nurses him through the winter. In spring they take a walking tour through the countryside, and Victor feels the sky and green hills restore his soul.
Later Henry travels with Victor down the Rhine and into England, delighted by every sight, while Victor grows silent. They part in Edinburgh, and Henry makes Victor promise not to stay long in the north. The Creature kills him, and Victor is shown his strangled body on an Irish beach.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
