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Frankenstein
Mountaineers · 10th–12th
I had sagacity enough to discover that the unnatural hideousness of my person was the chief object of horror with those who had formerly beheld me. My voice, although harsh, had nothing terrible in it; I thought, therefore, that if in the absence of his children I could gain the good will and mediation of the old De Lacey, I might by his means be tolerated by my younger protectors.
If you will unreservedly confide to me the particulars of your tale, I perhaps may be of use in undeceiving them. I am blind and cannot judge of your countenance, but there is something in your words which persuades me that you are sincere. I am poor and an exile, but it will afford me true pleasure to be in any way serviceable to a human creature.
Read the two passages aloud, one after the other. How well does the creature’s plan foresee what the old man says?
Narration Tell the chapter back in your own words, from the leather case he finds in the wood to his escape to the hovel.
1. He guesses that “a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter” would have made him different. If he is right, how much of who he is was ever his to choose?Theme
2. He loves the cottagers. Yet when he watches their happiness, “the bitter gall of envy” rises in him. What does that envy want?Character
3. He calls his body an ugly copy of Victor’s, “more horrid even from the very resemblance.” Why would looking like a man make him more horrid, not less?Character
4. When De Lacey asks for the friends’ names, the creature cannot answer and sobs aloud. Why does the moment he planned for so long undo him?Character
5. De Lacey says the hearts of men are “full of brotherly love and charity” unless self-interest gets in the way. What gets in the way when the family comes home?Moral reasoning
Make a Connection Think of a story, or a time you know of, when someone was known only by their words at first, in letters, on the phone or in the dark. What happened when they were finally seen?
As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed.
The patriarchal lives of my protectors caused these impressions to take a firm hold on my mind; perhaps, if my first introduction to humanity had been made by a young soldier, burning for glory and slaughter, I should have been imbued with different sensations.
Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred.
I had sagacity enough to discover that the unnatural hideousness of my person was the chief object of horror with those who had formerly beheld me.
If you will unreservedly confide to me the particulars of your tale, I perhaps may be of use in undeceiving them.
Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me?
1. He waits until the blind man is alone. He keeps back who his friends are until the very end. How fair is that to De Lacey?
2. Felix beats him with a stick. He tells Victor he could have torn Felix “limb from limb, as the lion rends the antelope.” Why does he want Victor to know that?
3. De Lacey cannot see the creature, so he judges him by his words. Felix, Agatha and Safie judge him by his looks, and they are horrified. Who sees him more truly?