In this novel, a murderer tells the title character a story that he in turn tells a ship captain in the Arctic
The Final Jeopardy clue for Friday, July 3, 2026, appeared in the category “19th-Century Literature” and read: “In this novel, a murderer tells the title character a story that he in turn tells a ship captain in the Arctic.” The clue points to Mary Shelley’s landmark Gothic novel, which uses a layered narrative structure to tell the story of Victor Frankenstein, the creature he creates, and the doomed pursuit that ends in the far north.
Contents
What Is Frankenstein?
The correct response is Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel formally titled Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The clue describes the book’s unusual storytelling structure, in which one account is nested inside another.
The “murderer” in the clue is Victor Frankenstein’s creature, who kills several people over the course of the novel. The “title character” is Victor Frankenstein, not the creature, and the ship captain is Robert Walton, an explorer whose letters frame the story from the Arctic.
The Novel’s Story Within a Story
Frankenstein is told through a frame narrative. The novel begins with Robert Walton writing letters to his sister while leading an expedition into the Arctic. There, he encounters Victor Frankenstein, exhausted and near death.
Victor then tells Walton the story of his life, including his scientific ambitions, his creation of the creature, and the chain of tragedy that follows. Within Victor’s account, the creature tells his own story to Victor, explaining his loneliness, rejection, and growing anger toward his creator.
The Murderer and the Title Character
The clue’s wording is precise because the creature is the one who tells Victor a story. After being abandoned, he learns language, observes human relationships, and tries to understand his place in the world. His account is one of the novel’s most important sections because it shows him as more than a monster.
At the same time, the creature becomes a murderer. His violence includes the deaths of people close to Victor, making his story both sympathetic and horrifying. That tension is central to the novel’s power.
The Arctic Setting and Robert Walton
The Arctic setting provides the outer frame of the novel. Walton is pursuing glory and discovery in the frozen north, much as Victor once pursued forbidden scientific knowledge. Their ambitions mirror one another, which is why Victor’s warning carries such weight.
By having Victor tell his story to Walton, Shelley turns the novel into a cautionary tale. Victor’s fate becomes a warning about ambition without responsibility, and Walton must decide whether to continue risking the lives of his crew or turn back.
Why This Final Jeopardy Clue Works
This clue works because it focuses less on the familiar image of Frankenstein’s monster and more on the novel’s structure. Contestants needed to recognize the chain of narration: the creature tells Victor, Victor tells Walton, and Walton records the story in his letters.
The correct response, Frankenstein, fits every part of the clue. It is a 19th-century novel, it features a murderer recounting his story to the title character, and that story is then passed on to a ship captain in the Arctic.
