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No Fear Translations of Shakespeare’s plays (along with audio!) and other classic works
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My days were spent in close attention, that I might more speedily master the language; and I may boast that I improved more rapidly than the Arabian, who understood very little.
In this Chapter 13 quote, the monster explains that he learned to speak by watching the De Lacey family teach Safie, Felix's fiancée. He paid close attention to the lessons they gave her and learned more quickly than she did, a point of pride for him. He felt it was crucial that he learned to communicate in their language before introducing himself to the De Laceys, hoping to avoid the painful rejection he experienced from the people he encountered earlier.
Read more about how the monster learns to speak.
Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?
As the monster listens to the De Laceys teach Safie to speak French, he not only learns language but also gains insight about human society. He realizes that he has none of the qualities that seem to give a person value (such as wealth, friends, social status, and property), and on top of that, he is also cursed "with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; [he] was not even of the same nature as man." He understands for the first time that he is completely different than everyone else, an outcast who is utterly alone. This realization reflects his painful awareness of his isolation; he longs to be accepted, but is agonized to realize that he will likely never know friendship or love.
Read more about the Harmful Effects of Isolation as a theme.
The father of Safie had been the cause of their ruin.
In Chapter 14, the monster explains how the De Lacey family came to be living in poverty in a small cottage. Only a few months before he first saw them, they were living in France, where they were wealthy, respected, and surrounded by friends. One day, Felix happened to be in court to witness the trial of Safie’s father, a wealthy Turkish merchant who had been unjustly sentenced to death. Horrified by this injustice, Felix helped him escape, and during this time, he and Safie fell deeply in love. However, Safie’s father betrayed Felix’s trust—after his escape, he broke his promise to allow Felix to marry Safie and fled with her to another country. When Felix's plot was discovered, the De Lacey family was arrested, stripped of their property, and exiled from France.
