Chapter I
Having promised to deliver his Creature a companion, Victor battles with his conscience, which is urging him not to follow through with the promise. Shelley demonstrates, despite it being too late, that Victor has discovered the value in considering the consequences of one’s actions. Once again, Victor’s father misinterprets Victor’s anguish. Since they were children, Victor and Elizabeth have been expected to wed, and it is this expectation that Alphonse believes plagues Victor. He broaches the subject with Victor, who then quickly reassures his father that he fully intends to marry Elizabeth. To the audience, it becomes clear that Victor’s fear is not in marrying Elizabeth, but in realising that he cannot perform the atrocity of the creation of another monstrous being whilst ensconced in the presence of his closest family. As such, he manages to convince Alphonse to allow him to travel on his own to England for a length of time, granting the solitude and lack of human connection Victor requires to commit another immoral act of creation. On his journey, Victor meets up with Henry Clerval. Shelley uses their interactions to once again explore the relationship between Enlightened and Romantic ideals. Victor, when on his own, becomes so absorbed in his pursuit of knowledge that he loses his sense of moral compass, which strengthens Shelley’s contention that Enlightened values in isolation are dangerous. But, when in the company of Clerval, a man “formed in the very poetry of nature,” who embodies Romantic tendencies, Victor’s morality is always restored. There is a clear transformation in Victor’s behaviour and attitude as he becomes more appreciative of his surroundings and more empathetic in his thinking. This allows Shelley to endorse a homogeneity between Enlightened and Romantic perspectives, indicating that when the two value systems cooperate, they moderate the extremist views of each ideal to produce a balanced and successfully society. Notably, this chapter is laced with foreshadowing, as Victor speaks of the “anguish which [Clerval’s] remembrance creates.” This intimates that Henry’s death is soon coming and leads audiences to infer his death will be another wrongdoing that the Creature will be responsible for.
Chapter II
In this chapter, Victor grapples with the realisation that there is an “insurmountable barrier placed between [himself] and fellow men” which is “sealed with the blood of William and Justine.” What this indicates is that Victor believes that he may never successfully exist within human society again due to his wrongdoings (which is a very important parallel with the Creature’s isolation). Victor also begins to consider that in delaying his creation of the Creature’s companion, he is placing his family at risk of yet another death. In his travels Victor cannot bring himself to allow Clerval out of sight for fear that the Creature will “expedite [Victor’s] remissness by murdering [his] companion.”
This motivates Victor to accelerate the beginning of his new creation and so Victor asks Clerval to leave him in “peace and solitude” for a time. Thus, Victor is finally able to begin the creation of another monster. Shelley draws attention to the dangerous nature of unbridled ambition as Victor acknowledges that during his first creation he was filled with an “enthusiastic frenzy” that had “blinded [him] to the horror of [his] employment.” In contrast, he commences this second endeavour “in cold blood,” and with his heart “often sickened at the work of [his] hands.” The incredible contrast between these two attitudes toward the same task underline just how myopic the initial pursuits of nature can be and how different our attitudes may be once we understand the consequences of our actions. It further demonstrates that, according to Shelley, we must be considerate and future-orientated when committing to pursuits beyond our personal limitations.
Chapter III
Throughout this chapter, Victor questions the morality and rationality of the Creature’s request. Confirming that he has learned from his previous mistakes, he begins to consider the consequences of creating another Creature, acknowledging that “future ages might curse [him] as their pest.” Indeed, his fears still point to narcissistic tendencies, as he ultimately fears how he will be perceived in generations to come, but at least he is able to recognise the issues surrounding his creation. One night, as Victor was reflecting on the consequences of his creation again, the Creature turned up at Victor’s window. In a bold act, Victor destroyed the companion on whose future existence the Creature had “depended on for happiness.” The Creature, furious, declares that he is “fearless and therefore powerful” and in his departure warns Victor that he “will be with [Victor] on his wedding night.” This scene creates an undoubted sense of foreboding, and Victor, filled with dread, surmises that he has just been handed the date of his own death. Whilst at first horrified by this, Victor experiences a clarity soon after that helps him to accept and almost look forward to the death that will free him from all the burdens that have weighed him down since the creation of his first Creature. Deciding to get rid of the apparatus he had to create the companion, Victor sets sail into the sea, only to fall asleep on the boat. After a long period of travel, he came upon a “neighbourhood of civilised man” and in mooring his boat he was confronted by a crowd of people who huddled about him. Confused, Victor attempted to have a conversation with some of them, only to be met with a reply that it is “custom of the Irish to hate villains.” It is then that Victor learns he has been ordered by the magistrate to go to court and give an account of himself, following the apparent “death of a gentlemen who was found murdered here last night.” Immediately, we are inclined to suspect the Creature as having been involved in somehow framing Victor for this murder. In addition, Victor is prompted to question his initial feelings of acceptance about his own death, perhaps realising that the safety of the rest of society was still under threat because of the Creature’s power and fearlessness.
Chapter IV
The reason for the town’s suspecting Victor of the murder become clear in the opening of this chapter. A man explains that he went fishing with his son and brother-in-law late the night before. Bad weather forced them to moor their boat and as they were walking along the sand, he tripped over an object that he soon realised was a dead body. The brother-in-law whom he had been fishing with mentioned that, at the same time, he had noticed a boat with a single man in it sailing away from the shore. They suspected Victor because it appeared to be the very same boat that Victor had just arrived at their shores in. In their examination of Victor, the judge decided that he would like to show Victor the dead body, to observe what effects the sight of the victim would have on Victor. It is to Victor’s horror that he is brought into a room containing the lifeless body of his best friend, Henry Clerval and is forced to consider if his “murderous machinations have deprived [Henry] also... of life.” The shock of this sighting causes Victor to convulse and faint, descending into a feverish and comatose state that lasted two months. During this time, in fits of madness, he would call himself the murderer of William, Justine, and Clerval, once again stressing that the external acts of monstrosity committed by the Creature are in many respects the result of Victor’s internal lack of morality. He begins to yearn for death because the cup of life had “been poisoned forever.” Upon hearing of Victor’s illness and insanity, his father Alphonse arrives. Victor claims that the appearance of his father was like that of his “good angel,” and Alphonse seems to be able to reassure and support his son in a time of great turmoil. However, to readers, this only magnifies Victor’s own paternalistic failures. He fails to align the important role that his father plays in his own life with the important role that he was expected to play in his Creature’s upbringing. The rest of the chapter passes with Victor unsettled and anxious, and Alphonse sitting by him ready to calm and care for his son.
Chapter V
Unlike Victor’s treatment of his creation, Alphonse’s “care and attentions were indefatigable.” Interestingly, Alphonse entreats Victor to “seek amusement in society,” allowing Shelley to intimate that, like any reasonable thinker, Alphonse considers human companionship valuable in combating Victor’s madness. However, Victor refuses because he “abhorred the face of man,” which is symbolic of the fact that he had given up any hope of once again being a part of human society. It is in receiving a letter from his beloved Elizabeth that Victor is finally motivated to return to Geneva with his father. It is not so much his desire to marry Elizabeth that drives him home, but rather his recognition that the Creature had declared he “would be with [Victor] on his wedding night.” Therefore, Victor looks to the wedding as the time when he will finally again confront the Creature and either defeat him, or die, being relieved of the grief and guilt he feels. The planning and execution of the ceremony then occurs, marking Victor’s “last moments of life during which [he] enjoyed the feelings of happiness.”
Chapter VI
It is the night of their wedding, and Elizabeth can sense Victor’s apprehension and fear. Realising what a fright the confrontation between himself and his Creature may be for Elizabeth, Victor tells her to go inside and get ready for bed. It is then that he hears a “shrill and dreadful scream.” The Creature had murdered Elizabeth and fled. Overcome by loss and heartbreak, Victor’s father, Alphonse, died a few days later. Victor had not expected the Creature to murder Elizabeth because his self-centred and egotistical character had been unable to apply the Creature’s threats toward anyone but himself. In murdering Elizabeth, the Creature is merely replicating Victor’s act of destroying the Creature’s female companion and in this way, it is seen that the Creature does not want Victor to die. Instead, the Creature intends for Victor to experience the same loss and isolation from society that he has experienced throughout his entire life. This action demonstrates to Victor the true madness and fury of the Creature. In an effort to prevent more innocent deaths that could be attributed to Victor’s name, he devotes himself “either in life... or death, to [the Creature’s] destruction.” This begins with him deciding to alert authorities the Creature’s dangerous existence. As is to be expected, the Genevan magistrate dismiss Victor’s warnings as the “effects of delirium,” meaning that Victor must take the destruction of the Creature entirely into his own hands.
Chapter VII
The beginning of this chapter is dedicated to Victor recounting his unsuccessful pursuit of the Creature following Elizabeth’s death. He was still chasing the Creature through the Arctic regions when Walton sailed through, and his crew members spotted Victor. In his weakening state, Victor pleads with Walton to follow through with his intention to kill the Creature if ever they encounter each other. Following this, Walton again takes over the narration of the story as Shelley transitions back into the epistolary format.
Speaking again to Margaret, Walton firstly stresses that the story he has just recounted is true, citing the letters of Felix and Safie, as well as his own apparition of the Creature mentioned in the opening letters, as testament to this fact. We as readers are forced to question the validity of the narrative that we receive, because Walton notes that Victor had “corrected and augmented” his notes in many places. Does this mean that Victor is keeping something from Walton? Does the text perhaps portray Victor in a more desirable fashion compared to reality? Regardless, the didactic nature of Victor’s tale is clear as he urges Walton to “learn from [his] miseries and do not seek to increase your own.”
In another letter, dated about a week later, Walton tells Margaret that they have found themselves “surrounded by mountains of ice” that every moment “threaten to crush their vessel.” He confesses to her that if they are lost, his “mad schemes” are the cause. It is blatantly clear to the audience that this event is used by Shelley as a means of demonstrating Walton’s ability to learn from and act on Victor’s cautionary tale. Battling with the desire for glory that would come if he successfully reached the North Pole, and the logic that tells him such a pursuit is not worth the deaths of so many innocent crew members, Walton resolves to turn the ship around.
This is where the paths of Victor and Walton diverge, and Shelley celebrates Walton’s decision because in turning the ship around his life – and his sense of morality and human spirit – is maintained. In contrast, at the very time that the lives of Walton and his crew are saved, Victor dies. Shelley purposefully situated this death at this point in the novel to emphasise the potential outcomes that are associated with ambition and the pursuit for glory. She exalts the ability to control our pursuits to within human capabilities and through Victor’s death reflects her disapproval of ambition that exceeds these natural limitations. Ultimately, these events allow Shelley to advocate for the preservation and prioritisation of human life over greater knowledge and personal glory.
On his way back to England, Walton is disturbed by sounds coming from the room where Victor’s dead body lay. Entering, Walton encounters a being “gigantic in structure, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions”; the Creature. The Creature explains the suffering and betrayal that led to his monstrous behaviour, having once “falsely hoped to meet beings who... would love [him] for the excellent qualities” that he displayed. In this manner, the Creature credits much of his malevolence to the cruel and discriminatory nature of society, asking Walton “am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me?” This is a powerful question that is intended to linger in the reader’s minds far beyond the conclusion of the book. Shelley intends for her audience to recognise and appreciate the power that they have as a collective in shaping the value systems and attitudes of those around us. Through the Creature’s monologue, Shelley warns against mistreating those who fail to conform to societal norms and instead endorses an acceptance and understanding of those different from ourselves. In Victor’s death, the Creature believes his “crimes are consummated” and is thus given the closure to go off and collect his own “funeral pile.” As he prepares to depart the ship, the Creature reflects on his and his creator’s deaths, telling Walton that the “very remembrance of [them] both will speedily vanish.” This is another overarching idea that Shelley challenges readers to consider. In an ode to the sublime, Mary Shelley emphasises the inevitability of man’s death against the powerful immutability of nature.
