Key quotes and analysis

• I shall satiate my ardent curiosity'

  -Ambition and Exploration


  The parallel between Walton and Victor is established by their shared dangerous 'ardent' ambition.
• One man's life or death were but a small price to pay'

  -Ambition


  Highlights Walton's desperate need to be the first to discover new lands - similar to Victor's desperation to be uncover the secrets of the universe and create life - and that he will stop at nothing and hurt anybody in the way of him fulfilling his ambition.
• I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be the serpent to sting you'

  -Ambition and Science vs Religion


  Metaphor reveals ambition can be tempting. The biblical reference of 'serpent' highlights that Victor's ambition is against God and suggests he will face punishment the way Adam and Eve did for rebelling against their creator. Victor is also 'The Modern Prometheus' and Prometheus was punished for overreaching .The romantics (like Percy Shelley) saw Prometheus as a hero. It could be argued that Mary Shelley is using the novel to criticise

  the romantic movement.
• It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn'

  -Ambition and Science vs Religion

  'Secrets' shows that Victor is aware that the knowledge should be left unknown. The reference to heaven reveals Victor's desire to usurp God's role, the society in 1818 was very religious and the idea that a man could have the same power as God (and create life) would have been very shocking and seen immoral.
• One hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed down the stairs'

  -Acceptance and Man vs Monster

  Victor reads the monster's actions as a threat when they were most likely a desire for companionship. The verb 'rushed' shows an urgency to escape and foreshadows every other interaction the monster has with humanity (Agatha also rushes). Shelley lost children of her own and Victor's misfortune throughout could be due to his lack of infant care.
• Men appear to me as monsters, thirsting for each other's blood'

  -Man vs Monster, Revenge and Gothic


  This raises the question of who is the true monster of the story. Victor earlier claimed that the monster was 'in the light of his own vampire', and the violent verb 'thirsting' linked with 'blood' therefore draw comparisons between the monster and Frankenstein himself. Links to Rousseau's theory that no one is born bad but society influences them making a man become a monster.
• I will glut the maw of death until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends'

  -Man vs Monster, Revenge and Gothic


  Victor and the monster are bonded by their immense want of revenge on each other. The monster turns to revenge as a result of his isolation, and Victor does due to his own misery at the death and sorrow he caused by creating the monster.
• I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel'

  -Science vs Religion and Acceptance

  This links to the story of creation and Paradise Lost. The monster should be like first human who was guided by his creator and adored, however the lack of acceptance has led him to become the devil. There are links to Paradise Lost throughout the text, and the monster empathises with Satan as he watches the DeLacey's in isolation and envy.
• Licked it with their forked and destroying tongues'

  -Man vs Monster and Science vs Religion

  Shelley uses animal imagery that links to serpents. This again has connotations to the devil in the Garden of Eden and also to the Greek monster Medusa. The use of the word 'licked' makes it seem as if the monster is controlling the flames and develops the idea of his revenge being wicked and orchestrated.
• Perfect forms of my cottagers... I was terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool!'

  -Acceptance and Isolation


  He becomes fully convinced he's a monster and will only approach a blind man who can not judge his looks. The exclamation mark creates a desperate tone and the first person narrative creates sympathy. This contrasts Safie and Elizabeth who were outcasts but immediately accepted due to their 'heaven sent' looks. This juxtaposes Eve's in parallel lost further showing the contrasts between God's first humans and victor's.
• He seemed to jeer as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife'

  -Revenge and Man vs Monster


  The smile and outstretched hand mimic the moment the monster was created but with far more sinister connotations. The harsh alliteration of 'fiendish finger' shows Victor's deep hatred of his creation.
• I held the corpse of my dead mother'

  -Gothic


  When Victor created the monster he metaphorically 'killed the role of the mother'. He therefore made foreshadowed that Elizabeth would die, just as his mother already had, as the women in his life therefore had no purpose (in society's opinion at the time). This could reflect Mary's mother's death in childbirth as Frankenstein is a motherless novel.
• You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains - revenge henceforth, dearer than light and food'

  -Revenge and Acceptance


  Revenge alone now sustains the monster's existence due to continued rejection from society. The onomatopoeia of 'blasts' shows the strength of Victor's emotions and the repetition of revenge highlights his desire as driving force behind the murders.
• I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend'

  -Acceptance and Revenge


  Links to John Locke's 'Blank Slate Theory' and, Shelley's father, William Goodwin's theory that all humans were born good but corrupted by society.
• Born away by the waves and lost in the darkness and distance'

  -Isolation


  The closing line could be a metaphor for Victor's existence on earth being forever 'lost' without a companion to guide and care for him. The alliteration of 'darkness and distance' conveys his separation from society and the pain caused by it. Sympathy is created for the monster as his final actions show his innocence of him being unable to live without his creator - despite never being loved by victor.
• Beautiful! - Great God!'

  -Acceptance and Science vs Religion


  Victor's sarcasm and Shelley's use of exclamation marks show his shock at the creation he believed to be beautiful but has turned out a 'wretch' that is indescribably horrendous. The use of 'Great God' clearly displays Shelley's opinion - appropriate at the time due to the strong Christian faith and belief in the divine order - that going against god will lead to consequences.
• I am alone'

  -Isolation


  The repetition of this quote throughout the monster's narrative and the use of first person reinforces sympathy for the monster by readers. It mimics 'I have no friend' said by Walton, suggesting that despite his dangerous ambition, Walton may not make the same mistakes as Victor.
• On a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils'

  -Gothic and Nature


  The pathetic fallacy of the night creates an effect of a sinister scene and suggests that nature is already against the creation of the monster. The use of 'toils' shows that Victor was so immersed and drained by his work he can only now see what damage it has caused.
• Being hardly more than a rock'

  -Gender


  The monster was built at a university, an academic setting, however his companion was built on barren land. This could show society's expectation of men being educated and higher in society whilst women hid in the shadows of their husbands and fathers to merely serve their desires.
• The wind arose; the sea roared'

  -Nature


  The animal imagery 'roared' shows the sea is unpredicted and should be awed and feared as it can change in an instant. This links to the ideas of romanticism Shelley could have been inspired by as many writers at the time (including her husband) believed nature was sublime and above humans. It also shows that only the sea separated the two enemies and nature has the power to prevent human conflict.
• Seek happiness in tranquillity, and avoid ambition: 'Contrast to 'I will pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers''

  -Excessive ambition


  The Romantics(Percy Shelley)believed in individualism and the power of imagination. Perhaps Mary Shelley is criticising the Romantic Movement as we see that too much unchecked ambition and playing with things we don't fully understand can lead to disaster.