Frankenstein Chapters 5-8
Chapters 5-8
The creature that Victor is fashioning is finally completed in November, the night that he completes the work, Victor bestows on the creature animation. He is at once repulsed and disgusted with his creation, he storms out of his lab and goes into his bedroom. He falls asleep only to have a terrible nightmare about his cousin, and as he awakens from the terrible dream, he observes the horrible creature he had animated. The creature stands by his bed looking at him, it makes a grotesque expression akin to a smile and in an attempt to speak produces only incoherent sounds. Victor rushes away from the creature and takes to the streets. He walks about and soon discovers his friend, Henry, alighting from a carriage.
He is beyond ecstatic to discover that his friend had traveled to pursue his education, although he is worried the creature may still lurk in his room, Victor carefully leads Henry back to his room. Henry expresses his worry for Victor's visibly poor health, and Victor feels himself become wilder in part due to the relief he experiences in discovering that the creature had somehow left his apartment. Victor collapses with a fever and Henry nurses him back to health gently over many months. Eventually, Victor recovers and Henry hands him a letter from Elizabeth.
Elizabeth's letter begins with her worry for Victor's health and the uneasiness she feels in not being present to nurse him back to health. She reassures him about the health of his father, and the continued development of his younger brother Ernest, who now wishes to serve in the army. Elizabeth also writes fondly of Victor's youngest brother, William. She gossips to him the news of the recent marriages, ongoing courtships in their town, and ends her letter with a plea for a letter from his hand.
Victor immediately writes to his family, and his health begins to make a quick turn for the better. He later takes Henry around the university to introduce him to the professors, but Victor now feels positively pained at the discussion of subjects relating to Natural Philosophy. The weather forces Victor to remain in Ingolstadt longer than he had hoped, but he resolves to return home in the coming spring.
Victor and Henry return from a sojourn to discover a letter from Victor's father. The letter contains the dreadful news of his youngest brother, William's murder, the young child was discovered with the black prints of his killer upon his neck. Upon seeing the marks on the neck, Elizabeth had promptly blamed herself for she had allowed William to wear a valuable locket with Victor's mother's miniature.
He rushes towards Geneva and as he nears familiar environs, his misery overtakes his spirit, and he arrives in Geneva late into the night. The closed doors of the town allow Victor to consider visiting the site of his brother's death before venturing home. He crosses the lake on a boat and climbs a hill to stare at the oncoming storm. He mourns for William and suddenly perceives a figure standing close to him, the flash of the lightning reveals the wretched creature that Victor had himself wrought. The creature bounds away from him and climbs an impossibly high side of a mountain with seeming ease. The moment he sees the creature, Victor becomes convinced that it was the same creature that had killed his brother. He spends the night out in the storm that night, reliving the terrible night of the creature's birth and the two years that had passed since that night.
He returns home to discover a mourning family and is informed that one of the servants, Justine Mortiz, has been taken in custody for the murder of William. Justine had been a loyal servant to the household, she had been rescued from terrible circumstances by Victor's mother and had been extremely close with Catherine. She was also dearly held by Elizabeth, who was distraught at the death of William and the arrest of her dearest Justine. Victor reveals that he is certain that Justine is not the killer, and that he believes he is aware of the identity of the killer. Victor's father informs him that Justine is to face the court later that day.
Victor accompanies his family to the trial of Justine. They see her enter the courtroom dressed for mourning, and her expression radiates the calm of innocence. The prosecutor lays before the court the suspicious circumstances which led to Justine's arrest. It is revealed that Justine had been absent the entire night of William's murder, then she had been sighted in the morning near where his body had been found. Justine had returned home and told the family that she had been out searching for the boy, and upon seeing his cold and dead body, she had taken to bed for many days. Later, a servant had found on her person the very miniature that Elizabeth herself had tied onto the child's neck the very day of his disappearance.
As the public turns their hatred towards Justine, she makes a plea to the judges. She explains that she had been returning from an Aunt's home nearby on the night of the incident. On her way back she had learned of William's disappearance and stopped to search for him. She had been unable to enter Geneva due to the closure of the gates, so she had spent the night in a barn where she had slept fitfully. The fact that she was seen near the place where William's corpse had been recovered was merely by chance. At last, she couldn't contemplate an explanation for how the miniature had found its way on her person.
Elizabeth also pleads with the court for the sake of Justine, she reveals to them the deep connection that Justine had shared with Victor's mother. How Justine had treated William like a child of her own, and how she, Elizabeth, considered Justine to be a sister. The court was moved by Elizabeth's testimony but it only caused to turn the public's ire on Justine, who they felt had betrayed the confidence of such a loving family. Victor was tortured by the proceedings, as he was convinced that the guilt of the murder of William lay with him and him alone. He could not stand the trial any longer and rushes away from the court.
The next day he learns that all the Judges had pronounced her guilty, and Justine herself had confessed to the crime. Later, Justine sends a request to see Elizabeth in person, Victor accompanies Elizabeth to the cell where Justine is held. Justine immediately falls at the feet of Elizabeth and explains how her confessor had threatened her in the direst manner and had made her believe that she had indeed been the monster who had somehow killed William. Victor feels the grief more poignantly than either Justine or Elizabeth, for he feels that with the hanging of Justine, he shall now be guilty of two murders.
Analysis
The creation of the monster introduces the theme of an ever-present creature, that can appear at any given moment. This theme remains closely associated with the monster throughout the novel, for instance, his sudden appearance aboard the ship where Victor's remains are kept.
The use of letters in the narration lends it an unreliable characteristic but also serves as a means of immersion for the reader. The letters from Elizabeth and Alphonse allow the reader to learn more about the characters and their distinct voice. However, it renders the narrative unreliable for it is highly improbable that Victor remembers the contents of the letters word for word, or that Robert would be able to record them in such a manner.
