Frankenstein is from Geneva and his family “is one of the most distinguished of that republic” (17). His father married late in life; his mother, Caroline Beaufort, was the daughter of his father’s friend, who, after leaving town to escape the shame of falling into poverty, passed away depressed and penniless. Frankenstein’s father “came like a protecting spirit” and took Caroline to Geneva (18), where they married two years later. The difference in their ages “seemed to unite them only closer in bonds of devoted affection” (18). Frankenstein’s father “was inspired by reverence for [Caroline’s] virtues” and sought to alleviate her suffering (18). After they married, they visited Italy, Germany, and France.

Frankenstein is born in Naples. His parents have “inexhaustible stores of affection” for him (19). To his parents, he is an “innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven” (19). They treat him with “patience” and “charity,” and he grows up feeling as if he were “guided by a silken cord” that makes him feel as if all were “but one train of enjoyment” (19).

During a trip to Italy when Frankenstein is five years old, his mother, whose “benevolent disposition” inspires her to visit the poor, meets a family of five children.