The Last Man: Openings and endings
13 lenses on openings and endings for The Last Man by Mary Shelley. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 F13
F1. First line and first paragraph: what each does. Both
The first full paragraph runs to 203 words and 5 sentences.
I am the native of a sea-surrounded nook, a cloud-enshadowed land, which, when the surface of the globe, with its shoreless ocean and trackless continents, presents itself to my mind, appears only as an inconsiderable speck in the immense whole; and yet, when balanced in the scale of mental power, far outweighed countries of larger extent and more numerous population. (Ch 1, para 1)
The first paragraph establishes Lionel's voice and world. He describes England as a 'sea-surrounded nook' and asserts that 'man's mind alone was the creator of all that was good or great.' This sets up the novel's central tension: human ambition versus nature's indifference.
Chapters: Ch 1
England, seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams in the semblance of a vast and well-manned ship (Ch 1, para 1)
F2. What the first page sets up: voice, world, question. AI
The first page establishes a first-person retrospective narrator reflecting on his birthplace and family degradation. It poses the question of how a man born to ruin and poverty might find meaning and redemption. The tone is melancholic and philosophical.
Chapters: Ch 1
England, seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams in the semblance of a vast and well-manned ship (Ch 1, para 1)
I owned but one law, it was that of the strongest, and my greatest deed of virtue was never to submit (Ch 1, para 10)
F3. How many words before the lead appears? Count
First dialogue after 2,565 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F4. How many words before the first line of dialogue? Count
First dialogue after 2,565 words. See the full lens on the book page.
F5. The hook of chapter one. AI
Chapter 1's hook is Lionel's wild youth and his sister Perdita's gentle nature contrasted against their fallen status. The chapter ends with the question of how such a fierce, lawless boy might be redeemed, setting up Adrian's arrival as the inciting incident.
Chapters: Ch 1
I owned but one law, it was that of the strongest, and my greatest deed of virtue was never to submit (Ch 1, para 10)
She was like one of Guido’s saints, with heaven in her heart and in her look (Ch 1, para 12)
I stood upon a pinnacle, a sea of evil rolled at my feet; I was about to precipitate myself into it (Ch 1, para 19)
F6. Prologue: its job and its length. Both
No prologue: the book starts in its first chapter.
Not a feature of this book. The novel opens directly with chapter 1 and Lionel's narrative voice. No separate prologue precedes the main story.
F7. How fast is the main story question posed? AI
The main story question emerges slowly. Chapter 1 establishes Lionel's degradation. Chapter 2 introduces Adrian and the possibility of redemption through love and friendship. Chapter 4 poses the central romantic question when Lionel falls in love with Idris. The plague question emerges in chapter 14.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 4, Ch 14
He would come triumphantly to the district to which my parent had fled broken-hearted (Ch 2, para 4)
In the deepest fountain of my heart the pulses were stirred; around, above, beneath, the clinging Memory as a cloak enwrapt me. (Ch 4, para 1)
F8. Final chapter: which beats resolve what. AI
Chapter 29 resolves Lionel's isolation and his purpose. He accepts his role as the last man and writes humanity's history. He resolves to sail the world seeking another survivor. The chapter closes with his dedication to the dead and his commitment to bearing witness.
Chapters: Ch 29
Adrian and Clara are dead. I no longer shall be hailed by their good-morrow—or pass the long day in their society. (Ch 29, para 1)
DEDICATION TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD. SHADOWS, ARISE, AND READ YOUR FALL! BEHOLD THE HISTORY OF THE LAST MAN. (Ch 29, para 37)
F9. Last line: what it leaves in the mind. Both
The last full paragraph runs to 206 words.
Thus around the shores of deserted earth, while the sun is high, and the moon waxes or wanes, angels, the spirits of the dead, and the ever-open eye of the Supreme, will behold the tiny bark, freighted with Verney—the LAST MAN. (Ch 29, para 46)
The last line is 'A year has passed since I have been thus occupied. The seasons have made their wonted round, and decked this eternal city in a changeful robe of surpassing beauty.' It leaves Lionel alone in Rome, writing, with nature's beauty indifferent to his solitude.
Chapters: Ch 29
A year has passed since I have been thus occupied. The seasons have made their wonted round, and decked this eternal city in a changeful robe of surpassing beauty. (Ch 29, para 40)
F10. Loose ends tied and left open. AI
Most threads resolve: Lionel's love for Idris ends in her death; Raymond's ambition ends in his death; Adrian's leadership ends in the storm. The final loose end is whether Lionel will find another survivor. He departs to search but the outcome remains open.
Chapters: Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 28, Ch 29
I remained alone of my race,—that I was the LAST MAN (Ch 28, para 22)
Thus I passed the second night of my desolation (Ch 28, para 30)
F11. Epilogue: its job. Both
No chapter called an epilogue. The last chapter is 7,768 words.
Chapter 29 functions as epilogue, showing Lionel's life after the climactic storm. He wanders Italy, settles in Rome, writes the history of mankind's end, and resolves to sail the world. This resolution chapter completes his arc from seeking love to accepting solitude.
Chapters: Ch 29
Adrian and Clara are dead. I no longer shall be hailed by their good-morrow—or pass the long day in their society. (Ch 29, para 1)
DEDICATION TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD. SHADOWS, ARISE, AND READ YOUR FALL! BEHOLD THE HISTORY OF THE LAST MAN. (Ch 29, para 37)
A year has passed since I have been thus occupied. The seasons have made their wonted round, and decked this eternal city in a changeful robe of surpassing beauty. (Ch 29, para 40)
F12. Echoes between the opening and the ending. AI
The opening asserts that 'man's mind alone was the creator of all that was good or great.' The ending shows Lionel as the sole human mind left, writing to preserve that creation. Both frame human consciousness as the measure of meaning in an indifferent universe.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 29
England, seated far north in the turbid sea, now visits my dreams in the semblance of a vast and well-manned ship (Ch 1, para 1)
DEDICATION TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD. SHADOWS, ARISE, AND READ YOUR FALL! BEHOLD THE HISTORY OF THE LAST MAN. (Ch 29, para 37)
F13. Length of the wind down after the climax. Count
After the climax (chapter 28, our reading) the book runs 7,768 more words, 4.6% of the whole.
Ask The Last Man a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Weekly email: coming soon
One short email a week on new AI tools for authors. Sign up opens soon.