Frankenstein Chapters 9-12
Chapters 9-12
Frankenstein is deeply affected by the death of Justine Mortiz, and the loss of his brother. The guilt of their death makes him seek solitude, and he shuns the company of all his family members. Both his father and Elizabeth attempt to have him open up to them, but to no avail. Their sadness just further reinforces his guilt and he spends many a night out by himself. Whenever Victor's thoughts turn towards the monster he is affected by a deep desire for revenge, and he is convinced that the daemon will yet continue to do more evil in the world. These thoughts plague his peace of mind, and so he sets out on a journey into the wild as he had done before in childhood. He heads for the Alpine valleys, where the presence of nature alleviates some of his dark tempers. After an arduous journey, Victor arrives at the village of Chamonix.
After spending a night and a day in the village and the surrounding mountains, Victor begins to feel better, but this is short-lived. The next morning, the weather turns dreary and even the mountains that Victor is ever so fond of viewing from afar are hidden from him by dark clouds of rain. Thinking little of storm or rain, Victor decides to ascend a mountain and view the ever-moving glacier whose sight had affected him so deeply in youth. He climbs without the aid of a guide and reaches the summit. He crosses the treacherous glacier to the other mountain and there finds some semblance of clam, but this is interrupted by the appearance of the wretched creature.
Frankenstein's monster appears in front of him, and he immediately calls him the devil and curses him for the misfortune he has brought. The creature says that he could have been Victor's Adam but instead, he had made of him a fallen angel without the occurrence of any misdeed. He is anguished by the hate and abhorrence that Victor has for his creation, and promises to unleash a wave of evil upon mankind unless victor hears his tale. Victor is at first reluctant, but the creature's insistence that he as the creator of wretch must listen to his tale and only that would prevent him from bringing misfortune to his friends as well as other humans. Victor is finally moved by these entreaties and begins to feel that he as the creator does indeed owe the creature some goodwill. He follows the creature to the ice caves that he calls home to listen to his tale of woe.
When the creature had first been given life, the only impression of the world had been a strong light, all other sensations had been mixed to him. He was able to discover how to move about and had ventured into the forests surrounding Ingolstadt, where he had lain under a tree with exhaustion. He had slaked his hunger with some berries and his thirst from a brook nearby. He lay there till the night, and the cold had brought him a new pain. The only alleviation from the cold had been the light of the moon, and he had stared at it in wonder.
Little by little, he began to make sense of the different senses he had, he would listen to the singing birds and eat nuts and berries. Then he discovered a lit fire and it caused him much wonder. The warmth and light of the fire were wonderful to him, and he carefully nursed the fire to keep burning. He soon had to leave the forest for he was having trouble securing food for himself, his travels soon led him to a village. He attempted to enter a home but was expelled by the humans there who threw rocks and other missiles at him. He hid in a little kennel of wood that adjoined a house inhabited by an old man, a young man, and a young woman. The creature observed them from his kennel, he saw how the family was plagued by some sadness, and as the older man comforted the young girl, he found growing within him pain and pleasure that he had never experienced before. He watched them go about their routines from his little hovel.
The occupants of the little cottage were Felix, Agatha, and their blind father. The most discernible source of suffering for them was poverty, and after realizing so the creature avoided stealing any food from them. Instead, he tried to assist the family, for he was greatly moved by the gentle demeanor they applied when dealing with one another. That behavior was severely in contrast to the treatment the creature had received at hands of other men. The creature also learned of language as he continued to observe them, and was also fascinated by the discovery of reading, which Felix often did. He entertained thoughts of revealing himself to the family, who would at first be disgusted by his appearance but then realize the gentleness of his demeanor. The creature had come to realize that his countenance was indeed abhorrent for he had compared the beautiful figures of the cottage residents with his own.
Analysis
The author ties Victor to the Romantic movement of literature wherein nature has a significant impact on Victor's mood and thoughts. His foray into the alps serves to alleviate some of the anguish that he experiences, at the same time, a change to inclement weather induces in him a moroseness. Both Victor and his creature are tied closely to nature, yet both of them can be viewed as unnatural, for one of them sought to twist the powers of nature to create the other.
The interaction Victor has with the monster has a profound impact on both the reader and Victor himself, for up until this point the monster had existed as a seemingly unthinking evil creature. Now, the creature is seen as an educated and sensitive being, that was deeply affected by Victor's abhorrence towards his own creation. The monster also heaps on Victor the consequences of his misdeeds by comparing himself to Adam and Victor to God, the creator of Adam.
It is also interesting to note the similarities in Victor's and the monster's style of narration, while it could be argued that this is because Victor is relating the monster's which is in turn being affected Robert's interpretation. However, the similarities in narration style are accompanied by other similarities in the monster and Victor, for instance, their romantic style of relating to nature, and their independent conclusions about the destructive quality of knowledge.
