CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES

CHAPTER 20

Summary

Victor reflects on his past and realizes that it has been three years since he first created the monster. Now he is creating another, and he contemplates the consequences of a similar creation. Most of all he fears that the two creatures may try to have children.

Just then the monster arrives, and Victor, in a fit of desperation, destroys the almost completed creation. He vows not to resume his labors and confronts the creature. Victor thinks of calling for help but feels totally helpless. He fights with the monster unsuccessfully, and then the creature departs, threatening that he will appear again on Victor's wedding night.

He later receives a letter from Clerval asking him to join him in Perth. Clerval says that he cannot delay his departure and must prepare for his expedition to India. But Victor first needs to get rid of the body of the monster's partner. He decides to dump it into the sea late at night. He completes this task but stays a little while longer on the sea until he falls asleep. He wakes up in the morning to find himself totally lost.

Hungry and fatigued, he arrives in a strange land. He is greeted rudely and told to appear before a magistrate. Since a dead body has been found under suspicious circumstances, he is suspected of committing the murder.

Notes

Although Victor has started work on the monster, he is evidently not comfortable with the idea. He finds himself thinking about the consequences again and again. This is very much unlike the last time, when he was concerned only with his ambition and new found knowledge. This time he fearlessly destroys the creation right in front of the monster. For once, he stands up for what he believes is right and refuses to be deterred.

It is ironic that the monster refers to him as "slave" and proclaims, "you are my creator, but I am your master, obey!" But Victor is not convinced. The monster threatens him. Victor is now concerned about Elizabeth and cannot get the monster's words about his wedding night out of his mind.

Victor becomes lost at sea. The irony is that now that he has finally overcome his conflict, he is still rather lost and purposeless. He finds himself in a strange land where he must now face the consequences of his deeds. Victor's present situation is similar to that of the monster, who had similarly been cold and hungry, lost and helpless in a strange land. The monster was treated with hostility for being a stranger, as Victor is treated in Ireland.

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