STUDY AIDS : CHARACTERS

M. Beaufort

"Intimate friend" of Alphonse Frankenstein (I:1:2); father of Caroline, who becomes his wife.

Victor Frankenstein relates that Beaufort,

from a flourishing state, fell, through numerous mischances, into poverty. This man, whose name was Beaufort, was of a proud and unbending disposition, and could not bear to live in poverty and oblivion in the same country where he had formerly been distinguished for his rank and magnificence. Having paid his debts, therefore, in the most honourable manner, he retreated with his daughter to the town of Lucerne, where he lived unknown and in wretchedness. (I:1:2)

His seclusion shelters him even from Alphonse Frankenstein, who finds him only with difficulty. The reunion is not a happy one; destroyed by grief, Beaufort is reduced to utter inaction and is confined to bed for ten months, at the end of which he dies. His daughter, Caroline, who had watched over him during his sickness, is devastated by his death. At this time, Alphonse "came like a protecting spirit to the poor girl, who committed herself to his care, and after the interment of his friend he conducted her to Geneva, and placed her under the protection of a relation. Two years after this event Caroline became his wife" (I:1:5).