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Chapter 18
I feared the vengeance of the disappointed fiend, yet I was unable to overcome my repugnance to the task which was enjoined me.
In this Chapter 18 quote, Victor expresses conflicting emotions related to the task set for him by the monster: terror at the thought of what the monster might do should Victor refuse to comply, coupled with disgust. He is repulsed to think of the monster having a companion, but he knows he won’t be free from his creation until the deed is done, which will likely take lots of time and research.
Alas! To me the idea of an immediate union with my Elizabeth was one of horror and dismay.
As much as Victor loves and adores Elizabeth, when his father mentions their impending marriage in Chapter 18, Victor’s primary emotion isn’t joy, but dread. He’s plagued by the knowledge that the monster desires a companion, and until he provides him with one, Victor will never know peace. He considers the monster’s demand a “deadly weight” hanging around his neck, and wishes to complete the work before he and Elizabeth can be wed.
Read an in-depth analysis of Elizabeth Lavenza.
Chapter 20
I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats; but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race.
In Chapter 20, Victor realizes what he promised the monster was foolish, and even downright dangerous. He may have agreed in the heat of the moment, but now that he’s able to think clearly, he believes that providing the monster with a companion could mean the destruction of all humankind. If the two of them were to mate and create a “race of devils,” it would be all Victor’s fault.
You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains—revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food! I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery. Beware, for I am fearless and therefore powerful.
In Chapter 20, the monster’s response to Victor’s refusal to make him a companion showcases his new motivation: revenge. He once regarded Victor as his creator and father, but now feels nothing for contempt for the man who abandoned him and subjected him to a life of pain and loneliness. With nothing left to lose, the monster tells Victor he is “fearless and therefore powerful,” and swears to force Victor into the same life of pain to which Victor has consigned him.
Read an in-depth analysis of the monster.
I shuddered to think who might be the next victim sacrificed to his insatiate revenge. And then I thought again of his words—“I will be with you on your wedding-night.” That, then, was the period fixed for the fulfilment of my destiny. In that hour I should die and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice.
Just after the monster’s departure in Chapter 20, Victor reflects on his threats and comes to the conclusion that the monster means to murder him on this wedding night. The same arrogance that led Victor to attempt to play god is what now causes him to misunderstand the monster’s true intentions. Unable to put himself in his creation’s shoes, and certain as he is that he must be the target, Victor fails to realize what the monster sees as the ultimate punishment: not death, but loneliness. The monster intends to murder the woman Victor loves, forcing Victor to live a life as isolated as his own.
