F #1

“On the birth of their second son, my junior by seven years…” (p.18) Victor Frankenstein refers to Ernest as his parents “second son.” When talking about Elizabeth and his friend Henry Clerval he uses their actual names. Shelley may be hiding a conflict between Ernest and Victor that we never really discover, or this could just be a coincidence. The second half of this quote, “my junior by seven years”, is an example of a phrase that is not as common in our era as it used to be. It expresses that he is younger than Victor by seven years. Someone may also say “my senior by seven years,” which means that he is older than this person by seven years.