‘Have I not suffered enough misery that you seek to increase the misery in my life?’ that question from the creature to Frankenstein shows of his misery and anguish. It brings into context how the creature is feeling; you can imagine it was said calmly as if he were still upset, I feel sympathy toward the creature
Victor has gone deep into the mountains to reconcile what he has done. Victor was in a state of adversity to an extent where he has shut himself away from the world for two long years. The creature is also a key character in this part, obviously because this is the scene of the confrontation. The creature, deserted, confused and angry was left to fend for itself by Victor after its creation. Was Victor a monster? Theoretically speaking no, the dictionary gives these definitions of the word Monster.
1 a: an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure b: one who deviates from normal or acceptable behaviour or character
2: a threatening force
3 a: an animal of strange or terrifying shape b: one unusually large for its kind
4: something ; especially: a person of unnatural or extreme ugliness, deformity, wickedness, or cruelty
Now unless I’ve missed something Victor is none of these, but what you must realise is that what he’s done is monstrous. Creating life that he wanted so much when he said ‘A new species will bless me as its creator and source,’ but, to then say after the deed is done ‘How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form?’ It shows how he was so driven by the experiment that he strived to animate life that he stopped at nothing even if it meant totally neglecting family and friends. It then comes to light after the creation that he indeed is regretting what he has done but it is too late. There are a number of themes taking place in this section. Revenge, tragedy and death. They’re more an overall themes but here we discover loneliness a side to the creature you wouldn’t expect having murdered William, fixed up Justine, then later killing Elizabeth and Henry Clerval of whom he attended medical school with. All this has a mirrored image of the Authors life. Mary Shelley had a troubled life, when she was born her mother Mary Wollstonecraft a great believer in women’s rights was seriously very weak after birth and the eleven days passed when clerical fever claimed her life. One death. She was then ready to give birth at seventeen and she did so to a baby girl who died a while after, partly because she was two months premature but then her son William was born a year later, which she named a character after. Her father had refused to see her after she went off with Percy, and to top it all off her half sister Fanny committed suicide so there’s been a lot of death. She had driven Fanny to top herself, she was the dominant of the two, she got the attention so then that was it. This made her lonely, so she replicated her feelings into the power of the book, on the creature. When she was younger she had heard about these experiments, experiments that attempted the re-animation of life using electricity and magnetism. Also the name Frankenstein and more inspiration derived from a German scientist, Conrad Divel, he was said to inject blood and bone marrow into a dead lifeless corpse to create life. These were just rumours but the castle in which the Conrad lived was translated into English the name ‘Borg Frankenstein.’ That is where the name originated. Loneliness is referring to the actual creation of the creature how he was abandoned and not treated correctly I think this symbolises parents treating their children with care and not neglecting them. The language used in the whole story is typical of that of the 1700s complicated but understandable, the language used in chapter 10 shows a whole new side of the creature, the intellect which he generates from following the footsteps of a peasant family in the woods. He watched them and studied them. Felix had bee reading with the family and Safie was working on the ‘Ruins of Empires’ and they’ve been reading is ‘Paradise Lost’ It shows how his mind has drafted in a new found intelligence that I don’t think Victor appreciates. Victor is angry and wants blood, he comes into it with a burning desire to hurt the creature but the creature can’t harm his creator, like we wouldn’t harm our parents. He wants company, he shares his ordeal but Victor is possessed like the Devil but the creature just eludes him each attempt. The creature is headstrong because he’s learnt to take a lot of ridiculing and hatred towards him. He knows what he wants, and is determined to get it. He does anger in the situation, he uses long elegant words whereas Victor uses harsh punching words to get across that he’s angry.
Frankenstein himself is no monster, he has let down a lot of people but from being so enthusiastic to just letting his work go and not attempting any kind of communication with him. Victor’s acts were indeed very selfish, but yes, he would have been scared and distraught about creating it, but there is no excuse. You do kind of feel for the creature but again some of the things he has done are unforgivable, but he knows different. This is where our parents guide us and teach us right from wrong but he never had any of that and this was the creator’s responsibility. Victor has made no gains in abandoning his work, he’s driven the creature far enough so that eventually the loneliness will turn to fury, which will bring out devastating consequences.
