Elizabeth and I grew up together, and there was only a year between us in age. We never had any arguments or disagreements. Our friendship was full of harmony, and the differences in our personalities brought us closer. Elizabeth was calm and focused, while I had a strong desire to learn and was very passionate about gaining knowledge. She enjoyed poetry and loved the beauty of nature around us, especially the mountains and the changing seasons. But I was more interested in understanding how things worked and uncovering the secrets of the world. I’ve always been curious about nature’s hidden rules, and I loved the thrill of discovering them.
When my younger brother was born, my parents decided to stop travelling and settle down in Geneva. We had a house in the city and another in the countryside by the lake, where we spent most of our time. I wasn’t very interested in making friends at school, except for one person, Henry Clerval. Henry was creative and loved adventure. He read books about knights and heroes and even wrote his own stories. He would organise plays where we acted out tales from King Arthur and other legends.
Looking back, I had the happiest childhood anyone could imagine. My parents were incredibly kind and loving, and they didn’t control our lives like tyrants. Instead, they made sure we had everything we needed to be happy. I was so grateful for their care, and that made me love them even more.
Though I could be hot-headed and emotional at times, my passion was directed towards learning. But I didn’t care about subjects like languages, politics, or how governments worked. What fascinated me were the secrets of the universe and the mysteries of nature and the human soul. I wanted to understand the big questions about life.
While I focused on these deep topics, Henry was more interested in human behaviour and how people interacted. He admired heroes and dreamed of becoming someone who would be remembered for doing great things for humanity. Elizabeth, with her kind and gentle nature, kept both of us grounded. Her love and warmth softened my intense focus on learning and helped Henry see the value of doing good for others. She was like the heart of our home.
I loved thinking about my childhood, before everything in my life changed for the worse. It was during those early years that my passion for natural philosophy (the study of nature) began. When I was thirteen, we went on a trip to the baths near Thonon. We had to stay indoors because of bad weather, and that’s when I found a book by Cornelius Agrippa, an ancient scientist. At first, I wasn’t interested, but the more I read, the more excited I became. I showed the book to my father, but he dismissed it, saying it was nonsense. If my father had explained why these old ideas were outdated and told me about modern science, I might have stopped reading Agrippa. But since he didn’t, I continued to study his work with great enthusiasm.
When we returned home, I read more books by Agrippa and other ancient scientists like Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. Their ideas fascinated me, even though modern science had already proven many of them wrong. I wanted to discover the secrets of nature, especially how to cure diseases and make humans live longer. I even hoped to find a way to raise ghosts and spirits, but I wasn’t very successful in those attempts. Despite my failures, I thought the problem was with me, not with the science I was studying.
When I was fifteen, we witnessed a massive thunderstorm at our house near Belrive. During the storm, lightning struck a beautiful oak tree near our home, and in an instant, the tree was completely destroyed. The next day, all that was left of the tree were thin strips of wood. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. A man who was knowledgeable in natural philosophy was with us at the time, and he explained a theory about electricity and galvanism (a type of electricity related to muscle movement). His explanation amazed me and made the old books by Agrippa and the others seem insignificant. I realised they didn’t know as much as I had thought.
After this, I lost interest in the old sciences and began focusing on subjects like mathematics, which seemed more solid and reliable. I felt peaceful and happy after giving up my previous studies, but it didn’t last. Even though I’d moved on to something new, my destiny had already been set in motion, and nothing could stop the tragic events that were to come.
Summary:
In this chapter, the narrator recalls his happy childhood, growing up alongside his friend Elizabeth and Henry Clerval. He had a deep passion for learning about the mysteries of the world, while Elizabeth was calm and loved nature, and Henry dreamed of becoming a hero. The narrator became fascinated with the works of ancient scientists, which led him down a dangerous path. However, after witnessing a lightning strike that destroyed a tree, he began to doubt his old studies and turned to more reliable subjects like mathematics. Despite this shift, the narrator reflects that his fate was already sealed, and he couldn’t escape the tragedy that awaited him.
Glossary:
When my younger brother was born, my parents decided to stop travelling and settle down in Geneva. We had a house in the city and another in the countryside by the lake, where we spent most of our time. I wasn’t very interested in making friends at school, except for one person, Henry Clerval. Henry was creative and loved adventure. He read books about knights and heroes and even wrote his own stories. He would organise plays where we acted out tales from King Arthur and other legends.
Looking back, I had the happiest childhood anyone could imagine. My parents were incredibly kind and loving, and they didn’t control our lives like tyrants. Instead, they made sure we had everything we needed to be happy. I was so grateful for their care, and that made me love them even more.
Though I could be hot-headed and emotional at times, my passion was directed towards learning. But I didn’t care about subjects like languages, politics, or how governments worked. What fascinated me were the secrets of the universe and the mysteries of nature and the human soul. I wanted to understand the big questions about life.
While I focused on these deep topics, Henry was more interested in human behaviour and how people interacted. He admired heroes and dreamed of becoming someone who would be remembered for doing great things for humanity. Elizabeth, with her kind and gentle nature, kept both of us grounded. Her love and warmth softened my intense focus on learning and helped Henry see the value of doing good for others. She was like the heart of our home.
I loved thinking about my childhood, before everything in my life changed for the worse. It was during those early years that my passion for natural philosophy (the study of nature) began. When I was thirteen, we went on a trip to the baths near Thonon. We had to stay indoors because of bad weather, and that’s when I found a book by Cornelius Agrippa, an ancient scientist. At first, I wasn’t interested, but the more I read, the more excited I became. I showed the book to my father, but he dismissed it, saying it was nonsense. If my father had explained why these old ideas were outdated and told me about modern science, I might have stopped reading Agrippa. But since he didn’t, I continued to study his work with great enthusiasm.
When we returned home, I read more books by Agrippa and other ancient scientists like Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. Their ideas fascinated me, even though modern science had already proven many of them wrong. I wanted to discover the secrets of nature, especially how to cure diseases and make humans live longer. I even hoped to find a way to raise ghosts and spirits, but I wasn’t very successful in those attempts. Despite my failures, I thought the problem was with me, not with the science I was studying.
When I was fifteen, we witnessed a massive thunderstorm at our house near Belrive. During the storm, lightning struck a beautiful oak tree near our home, and in an instant, the tree was completely destroyed. The next day, all that was left of the tree were thin strips of wood. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. A man who was knowledgeable in natural philosophy was with us at the time, and he explained a theory about electricity and galvanism (a type of electricity related to muscle movement). His explanation amazed me and made the old books by Agrippa and the others seem insignificant. I realised they didn’t know as much as I had thought.
After this, I lost interest in the old sciences and began focusing on subjects like mathematics, which seemed more solid and reliable. I felt peaceful and happy after giving up my previous studies, but it didn’t last. Even though I’d moved on to something new, my destiny had already been set in motion, and nothing could stop the tragic events that were to come.
Summary:
In this chapter, the narrator recalls his happy childhood, growing up alongside his friend Elizabeth and Henry Clerval. He had a deep passion for learning about the mysteries of the world, while Elizabeth was calm and loved nature, and Henry dreamed of becoming a hero. The narrator became fascinated with the works of ancient scientists, which led him down a dangerous path. However, after witnessing a lightning strike that destroyed a tree, he began to doubt his old studies and turned to more reliable subjects like mathematics. Despite this shift, the narrator reflects that his fate was already sealed, and he couldn’t escape the tragedy that awaited him.
Glossary:
- Geneva – A city in Switzerland where the narrator’s family lived.
- Cornelius Agrippa – An ancient scientist whose works fascinated the narrator.
- Paracelsus – Another ancient scientist the narrator studied.
- Natural philosophy – The study of nature and the physical world, similar to what we call science today.
- Elixir of life – A mythical substance believed to grant eternal life or cure diseases.
- Galvanism – A scientific term referring to electricity’s effect on muscles, especially related to movement.
- Thunderstorm – A storm with thunder, lightning, and heavy rain.
- Philosopher's stone – A legendary substance in alchemy said to turn metals into gold.