Arif Rahim
12/1/18
Period 7 AP Literature
Ms. Pollicino
Quote
Explanation
Chapter 13
“Spring advanced rapidly;
the weather became fine
and the skies cloudless. It
surprised me what before
was desert and
gloomy should now bloom
with the most beautiful
flowers and verdure” pg
112
The creature is able to adapt to new
situations quickly, just as humans are able
to. So, the motif of spring here shows how
humanlike the creature truly is, something
that has been built upon throughout the
entire book.
Chapter 14
“Felix was warmed by
several letters that he
received from this lovely
girl, who found means to
express her thoughts in the
language of her lover by
the aid of an old man, a
servant of her father who
understood French.” pg 119
Love can be expressed between everyone,
regardless of the differences that are present
in their culture, way of life, or even
language.
Chapter 15
“I sickened as I read.
‘Hateful day when I
received life!’ I exclaimed
in agony.’Accursed creator!
Why did you form a
monster so hideous that
even you turned me in
disgust?” pg 126
This shows that Victor resents God for
giving him the power to create life, and he
blames God, rather than blaming himself
for the actions that he has taken.
Chapter 16
“I could with pleasure have
destroyed the cottage and
its inhabitants and have
glutted myself with their
shrieks and misery.” pg 131
The creature does not try to conceal who he
is, but at times it seems that he is
temporarily withdrawing from the idea of
being evil.
Chapter 17
This interaction shows the creature’s desire
to be loved. It’s almost scary to see that the
“My companion will be of creature develops more human-like
the same nature as myself
tendencies than he had at the beginning of
and will be content with the the book.
same fare. We shall make
our bed of dried leaves; the
sun will shine on us as on
man and will ripen our
food.” pg 140
Chapter 18
Victor cannot bring himself to continue his
“Day after day, week after
work, for fear of knowing what will happen
week, passed away on my
if he does.
return to Geneva; and I
could not collect the
courage to recommence my
work.” pg 146
Chapter 19
”With this resolution, I
traversed the northern
highlands and fixed on one
of the remotest of the
orkneys as the scene of my
labors” pg159
Victor feels that if he can keep himself
isolated from the rest of society, then maybe
his work will not seem so anguishing.
Chapter 20
“...and a race of devils
would be propagated upon
the earth who might make
the very existence of the
species of man a condition
precarious and full of
terror.” pg 161
Shelley shows that Victor is aware of what
is going on, and feels that indeed the best
course of action for Victor to take is to stop
the creation of the second creature.
Chapter 21
The imagery described here shows how
guilty Victor feels regarding the death of
Clerval, and it can be inferred that he
blames himself, in part due to not giving the
creature what it wanted.
”... I saw around me
nothing but a sense and
frightful darkness,
penetrated by no light but
the glimmer of two eyes
threat glared upon me”
pg177
Chapter 22
It seems that Elizabeth’s tone represents
“Answer me, I conjure you, concern, rather than actually searching for
by our mutual happiness,
an answer.
with simple truth-Do you
not love another?” pg 184
Chapter 24
“Yet, when I am dead, if he
should appear, if the
ministries of vengeance
should conduct him to you,
swear that he shall not live” pg204-205
Victor acknowledges the mistakes that he
has made, and it is his dying wish that the
creature be destroyed. Ironically, his
mother’s dying wish was the union of him
and Elizabeth, the creation of life, while
Victor’s is the destruction of life.