Frankenstein Chapters 13-16
Chapters 13-16
As Spring advanced, Felix, seemed to fall deeper into his melancholy until one day a lovely lady in a black veil entered the cottage, she sought out Felix but did not speak the same language as the inhabitants of the cottagers. Life seemed to return to Felix as he beheld the beautiful woman, and he introduced her to his family as Safie. Safie then remained with the family and the creature observed how she seemed to bring happiness to the tiny dwelling.
The inhabitants of the cottage taught Safie language, and the creature used the opportunity to learn it for himself in detail, but he also learned of the history of man as Felix read to Safie the various histories of different civilizations. The creature was moved by the contrast that existed in human nature but he was most affected by discovering how his own life had differed significantly from those of other humans. He had had no father or mother to coach him or love him, no friends to support him and enliven him. He felt wretchedly alone and regretted having learned so much.
The old blind man was called De Lacey, and he had been a reputed gentleman that had lived in Paris with his family just a few months before the monster had discovered them. The reason for their present squalor and misfortune was Safie's father, who was a Turk Merchant in the city of Paris. It so happened that the Turk was being prosecuted by the French government unfairly due to his religious beliefs under the guise of unfair trade practices. Felix was affected by the situation and resolved to aid the Turk in escaping the harsh sentence of the court. When he went to converse with the captive, the Turk had offered him untold wealth and property but Felix had refused it all. However, Felix was deeply affected by the sight of the Turk's beautiful daughter, and noticing this the Turk had promised him her hand in marriage in return for assistance.
Felix had resolved to aid the man before seeking a reward, and so he continued to endeavor to restore the Turk to freedom. Eventually, they hatched a plan, and the Turk was able to escape. Felix accompanied the Turk and his daughter to Italy where they awaited the right time to board a ship to Turkey, however, the Turk's heart had grown averse to the idea of a Christian man marrying his daughter.
Felix soon learned that the French government had detected his involvement in the Turk's escape and so his blind father and sister had been thrown into prison. Felix rushed back to Paris and attempted to free his family, and the process took quite a few months and in that time the wealth of their family was ruined. Upon learning of this, the Turk resolved to leave Italy and return home and to take along his daughter, and thereby betray Felix. Safie had been raised by a mother who had been taken a slave and converted to Islam, she had passed on her Christian teachings to her daughter. Safie was reluctant to return to a country where the place of a woman was so precarious, and she had also grown to have genuine affection towards Felix. So when her father left for Turkey, she abandoned Italy and came after Felix to the German village where he now survived.
Frankenstein's monster had discovered in the woods a portmanteau with some books that included, Paradise Lost, The sorrow of Werter, and Plutarch's Lives. He had read these books over and over again, their contents had enriched him with knowledge. That knowledge had brought along with it despair, as he compared his own life to that of Adam, who although the first of his race, had been created in the image of God. God had guided and protected Adam, and he had also had access to the comfort of the company of Eve. Instead, the creature only saw the reflection of Satan in his horrid appearance, and he had learned the disgusting process of his creation for he had discovered Victor's journal in the clothes that he had worn when he quit the laboratory.
As spring warmed into Summer, and Summer melted into Autumn, Frankenstein's monster occupied his days in plotting the day he would reveal himself to the lovely inhabitants of the cottage. On a day when all but the blind man had left the cottage for one work or another, the wretch worked up the courage to enter the cottage pretending to be a traveler seeking warmth and rest. The old man was impressed by the way the wretch spoke and when the creature asked the aid of the blind man in assuaging the prejudices of the people he wished to travel to, the old man readily agreed. Barely had this occurred, when the other members of the family returned. Agatha fainted at the sight of the monster, while Felix struck him down and rescued his father from the clutches of the monster. Frankenstein's monster escaped back into the kennel that he had occupied for so long.
The creature retreated to his hovel and later in the night he let loose howls of his pain in the woods surrounding the house. He spent the whole day in the forest and returned the following night to discover the cottage abandoned by the family. He cursed his fate and vowed to attain revenge on his creator, and being aware of Victor's native town, Geneva, from the text of the journal, he ventured forth. He traveled by night and stayed hidden by day, the journey was difficult owing to his limited tools of navigation and the bitter cold of winter. Once he attempted to travel by daylight but soon encountered a lady drowning in a river, but when he attempted to rescue the girl, a man appeared and mistook the fainted lady as being a victim of the monster. He grabbed the lady and dashed into the woods, and when the monster followed, the man pulled out a gun and shot the monster in the shoulder.
In agony, the monster remained in the woods until his wounds healed, and his bitter resentment towards mankind continued to grow. He began to travel again once his shoulder has healed and soon reached Geneva. He hid himself in a crevice where William soon arrived, and at the sight of the small child, the monster hatched another plan to overcome his loneliness. He attempted to kidnap the child as he was unlikely to have the same prejudices as grown men, but when William revealed the name of his Father as Frankenstein, the monster killed the child. He then went to a barn where he discovered Justine lying asleep. Although he was unaware of who she was, he decided to frame her for the murder of the child by planting on her the locket that he had taken from the child's corpse. He ends his tale and places before Victor his demand, that he create another creature like him so that the monster may never again feel alone.
Analysis
The account of Safie and her father adds yet another layer of narration in the novel, and this style allows the author to re-emphasize familiar plots from various viewpoints. The theme that is particularly evident in all of these layers is that of an 'outsider'. Robert Walton feels like an outsider for he lacks friends, Victor feels separate from his friends and family due to the terrible secret that he harbors, and the monster feels like an outsider because he is singular in creation. The same theme is evident in the account of Safie's father who is persecuted by the French government for having foreign beliefs, and lastly, Safie feels alone because she has been raised with Christian morals in an Islamic nation.
The monster is fascinated with the relationship between Safie and Felix because it serves to contrast the relationship the monster shares with Victor. The monster observes Felix's bravery in risking his comfortable life for the prevention of injustice, the monster hopes that his account will inspire in Victor the realization of his unjust treatment of the creature.
