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What happens in Chapter 21 of Frankenstein?
Victor falls unconscious when he is shown Henry’s body, covered with the black marks of the monster’s hands around his neck. When Victor awakens, he is greeted by his father who waits with him until the court finds him not guilty of Henry’s murder, after which they depart for Geneva.
What happens in Chapter 22 of Frankenstein?
Stopping in Paris on the way home to Geneva, Victor vows to fight to the death with the monster to end his ongoing misery. Victor and Elizabeth marry in Geneva, then depart to a family cottage to spend the night.
What happens in Chapter 23 of Frankenstein?
As Victor searches for the monster, he hears Elizabeth scream as she is killed by the monster. His father dies after Victor reveals his secret to him, and he vows to devote the rest of his life to destroying the monster.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Chapters 21–23. (3-minute read)
How are the two murder trials in Frankenstein similar and how are they different?
Frankenstein is not thought of as a courtroom drama, but there are in fact two murder trials in the novel. What most ties together Justine being tried for killing William in Chapter 8 and Victor being blamed for Henry’s murder in Chapter 21 is that they are both falsely accused of murders that were committed by the monster. They are also both tried based on circumstantial rather than direct evidence. Where they differ is that Justine is convicted by the court in Geneva, while the court in Scotland decides there is insufficient evidence to convict Victor.
Why Justine is convicted (and then executed) and Victor is set free is more complicated. This could be a result of Justine falsely confessing. However, she only confesses after being relentlessly browbeaten by the authorities in Geneva, whereas the magistrate in Scotland, M. Kirwin, treats Victor with respect, perhaps because he is a man and she is a woman in a sexist world. The disparity between the two cases could also be a subtle comment by the novel’s British author suggesting that Britain’s justice system is fairer than those on the European continent.
Could Elizabeth’s death in Frankenstein have been prevented?
While there is a growing sense of inevitability about Elizabeth’s death at the hands of the monster in the latter stages of the novel, clearly it could have been avoided if Victor had chosen to do any of several things leading up to her murder differently. Leaving her alone in a room when he knows the monster is lurking is just the last of the many mistakes Victor makes in his pitiful effort to protect his bride. The fact that he is leaving her alone on their wedding night is even more astonishing and could be read as confirmation of some observers’ suspicion that Victor never had any sexual interest in Elizabeth in the first place.
Read a Q&A about why Victor leaves Elizabeth alone on their wedding night. (1-minute read)
Read “Sexual Confusion and Ambiguity in Frankenstein” in our Gothic essay. (2-minute read)
Is Elizabeth’s murder typical of the poor treatment of women in Frankenstein?
The Subjugation of Women is a recurring motif in Frankenstein, and we’ve already talked about examples of women characters being underappreciated in the male dominated society of the novel. The monster murdering Victor’s bride in retaliation for Victor destroying the female companion he was building for the monster takes this subjugation to a new level, however. This is discussed further in the third Mini Essay for the novel, which you can link to below.
Read more about Victor and the monster treat women in the novel. (2-minute read).
