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What happens in Chapter 18 of Frankenstein?
A troubled Victor contemplates the creation of a companion creature for the monster before deciding he will travel to Britain, accompanied by Henry, to do the work. He plans to marry Elizabeth after his return.
What happens in Chapter 19 of Frankenstein?
Victor decides that Henry should stay in a Scottish town while he goes to a shack in the remote Orkney Islands to undertake his project. There he begins the work but is plagued by thoughts of its potential consequences.
What happens in Chapter 20 of Frankenstein?
After seeing the monster grinning at him through the window, Victor decides to destroy his work, prompting the monster to vow to be with Victor on his wedding night. Upon returning to the shore after dumping the remains of the new creature into the sea, he is told that he is the suspect in a murder.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Chapters 18–20. (3-minute read)
Do any of the motifs of Frankenstein appear in Chapters 18–20?
In Chapter 20, Victor destroys the female companion he has been reluctantly building for the monster, aborting his act of creation and preventing the companion from coming to life. While this is the only literal instance of abortion in the novel, Victor and the monster make repeated figurative references to it throughout Frankenstein.
Read about abortion as a key Motif (#2) in Frankenstein. (1-minute read)
Does Frankenstein’s decision to stop building a companion monster make sense?
“I feared the vengeance of the disappointed fiend, yet I was unable to overcome my repugnance to the task which was enjoined me.”
This Chapter 18 quote captures Victor’s internal debate over whether he should fulfill his promise to build a companion for the monster. The quote suggests that no traces of the pity and guilt that the monster had stirred up in Victor to get him to agree to build the companion in Chapter 17 remain, and his chief motivation for continuing seems to be fear (entirely justified, as it turns out) of the retribution by the monster. Even while fear of the monster’s wrath remains in the forefront of his thinking throughout Chapters 18–20, Victor ponders and muses over his moral responsibility to stop building another monster, as creating a new race could wreak havoc on the earth as well as destroy his name and reputation. For once at least, Victor is considering the moral consequences of his actions. In the end, Victor’s decision to stop building the companion seems far more sensible than his agreeing to the monster’s request in the first place.
Read the Q&A for “Why does Frankenstein destroy the monster’s companion?” (1-mintue read)
Is there a video summary of the plot of Frankenstein available?
SparkNotes offers a brief video about Frankenstein that covers the main plot points.
View the SparkNotes video for Frankenstein. (9-minute video)
