I am writing this post after finishing Volume 1 in Frankenstein. Without reading any further, I am going to analyze a section in Volume 1 that seemed to be very interesting while containing a main element of British literature. On page 50, Victor has arrived in Geneva due to the wishes of his father and the needs of his cousin, Elizabeth. His father believed that he was the only one who could console Elizabeth after Victor's brother was murdered.
The second paragraph on this page describes what Victor saw during the storm that was in Geneva on the night he arrived, right before he was going to see his family. He believes he saw William's murderer solely based on looks and his monstrous characteristics. It also led him to believe that it was the monster who he made into a living being - A.K.A. Frankenstein. Victor says, "I could not be mistaken...its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity...it was...the filthy demon to whom I had given life" (p. 50). Since Victor was sure the figure he saw was Frankenstein, he hesitated to tell him family because he knew they would blame him for the death of his brother. Also he felt like he was the true murderer because he made the darn thing. This left him in a bad position, guilt-wise, so he was prepared to let Justine die over the blame of making the murderer.
This leads me to my next point being the element of British literature: the monster. He describes this figure as being out of the ordinary and a large beast of a creature. This is what is typically describes a monster character in literature. But was is even more interesting is the thought of Victor being the monster because not only did he create one which already led to one death, but he was prepared to keep his mouth shut about it and let Justine die as well. Maybe that is just me who sees Victor as the real monster, but it sure seems that way.
Questions:
1. Why was Justine accused? Who was the one who accused her?
2. Why was a young girl accused instead of a man? A man would have looked more like the character of Frankenstein anyways.
Justine was accused because a picture of Victor's mother, which was around William's neck just before he went missing and was subsequently found dead, was found on Justine's person shortly after by a servant. This evidence seems irrefutable to everyone, even the Frankenstein family.
ReplyDeleteAnd although this is from Victor's biased PoV so it may not be 100% trusted, Victor stills claims to not share the story of his creation not because he doesn't want to be blamed, but because he believes nobody will believe such an insane story (especially considering that he was very ill for half a year prior to his arrival at Geneva).
Justine was accused because of the picture that William had around his neck, and was found dead. I would believe that she had murdered him because there is no other evidence otherwise.
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