Frankenstein Quotes - chapters 7 - 9

Justine died; she rested; and I was alive

A laconic tricolon contrasts Victor and Justine: he gives only facts, not reactions: does he pity or envy her? Balanced phrasing contrasts him and Justine, making the crucial difference the rest, which Victory cannot achieve. (Justine...alive)

rely on the justice of our laws, and the activity with which I shall prevent the slightest shadow of partiality.

Alphonse Frankenstein's faith in the law, in Justice. Masculine. Sets up for disappointment. (rely...partiality)

When I thought of him I gnashed my teeth, and my eyes became inflamed, and I ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had so thoughtlessly bestowed

Becoming somewhat animalistic, Satanic, when he considers the Creature. Same passionate language - A! - turning from science to its results. (When...bestowed)

my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me

Classic doubling quote, as Victor regards the Creature as a supernatural version of himself. Egocentric emphasis on himself. (my...me)

men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other's blood

Elizabeth demonstrates her loss of innocence. A damning indictment on society, significantly worded, inspite of her ignorance of his existence, to remind us of the Creature - but remove some of the blame from him, and place it just onto humanity (men...blood)

I feel as if I were walking on the edge of a precipice, towards which thousands are pressing, and endeavouring to plunge me into the abyss

Elizabeth feels hunted, teetering on the brink - intimations of her coming death? Perhaps a fear of society. (I...abyss)

the fiend that lurked in my heart

Elizabeth is not able to dispel this from Victor. Suggests doubling. (the...heart)

sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, sorrows

Frankenstein compares nature to his own fleeting woes, and implicitly devalues the standing of man in comparison to the superhuman presences evoked there. (sought...sorrows)

a power mighty as Omnipotence

God is present in the climes of nature. Now, in his suffering, Victor acknowledges God's omnipotence - but it's too late. He should have realised before. (a...Omnipotence)

wretched mockery of justice

How Justine's trial is perceived, in stark contrast to Alphonse's expectations (wre...ice)

I commit my cause to the justice of my judges

Interestingly alliterative phrase as Justine resigns her fate - draws our attention to the lack of fairness in the Genevan justice system. (I...judges)

the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy dæmon, to whom I had given life

It dawns on Victor that he has seen the Creature; he brands him with a threefold condemnation. Dehumanising. Alliteration stresses rapidity of the realisation. (the...life)

until I almost began to think that I was the monster that he said I was

The fragility of her self belief, as she comes to question even her own innocence. Parallels created between Justine and the creature, both condemned (unfairly?) by the world. (until...was)

Live, and be happy, and make others so.

Justine's last words to Elizabeth, with three instructions: stressing the role of the female. Elizabeth only manages the last. (Live....so)

'God knows... how entirely I am innocent'

Justine's opening statement in her testimony declares her piety and unshaking faith, and depicts God as set above all mortals and their flimsy system of justice. (God...innocent)

I had begun life with benevolent intentions... now all was blasted

Like the Creature, Victor was good-hearted in his younger days. Fits with Rousseau's theories. The lightning struck tree is evoked. (I...ions...now...blasted)

I saw the lightnings playing on the summit of Mont Blanc in the most beautiful figures

The mighty lightning storm, associated with the Sublime and also with the Creature. Creates a link with the storm of his childhood. Merging of beautiful and sublime. (I....figures)

making it appear like a vast sheet of fire

The placid lake takes on a hellish appearance, brimful of danger and pain. (making...fire)

Love, affection and tenderness: 'amiable' 'benevolent' 'nursed' 'affection' 'care' 'beloved' 'warmly attached' 'affectionate'

Semantic field in Elizabeth's testimony of Justine.

I wept like a child. "Dear mountains! my own beautiful lake! how do you welcome your wanderer? Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?

Victor's grief at his brother's death; becoming almost unhinged. Plaintive address to nature, in rather a possessive manner. Beginning to see them as heralding his fate. 'I...unhappiness?'

it was augmented and rendered sublime by the mighty Alps... belonging to another earth, the habitations of another race of beings

The Alps are otherworldly, bring a sublime element to the scene. Associating them totally with the non-human creature. (it...Alps...belonging...beings)

The mere presence of the idea was an irresistible proof of the fact

The certainty of his unfounded assumption - seems also to acknowledge it himself. (the...fact)

maternal nature bade me weep no more

The female side of nature, in her calming role. Is Victor misinterpreting? (maternal...more)

I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish.

Victor describes his internal turmoil in deeply Satanic, Miltonic terms, which will be echoed later by the Creature. (I....extinguish)

one might as well try to overtake the winds, or confine a mountain-stream with a straw

Victor despairs of trying to track down the Creature. He is not of the human world. Nature is equally as independent, can't be bent to human whims. (one...straw)

This noble war in the sky elevated my spirits; I clasped my hands, and exclaimed aloud, "William, dear angel! this is thy funeral, this thy dirge!"

Victor is inspired by the raging storm to address his brother's spirit. Connotations of conflict and antipathy - and the celestial war of Genesis - and of death, represented in nature. (This...dirge)

solitude was my only consolation - deep, dark, deathlike solitude

Victor retreats to isolation to bring solace. Threefold, deadening alliteration. framed by solitude (solitude....solitude)

I, the true murderer, felt the never-dying worm alive in my bosom, which allowed of no hope or consolation

Victor takes on responsibility for the actions of the Creature, attesting to their oneness created by their doubling. Guilt. Sin? Snakelike? (I...consolation)

Come, Victor; not brooding thoughts of vengeance against the assassin, but with feelings of peace and gentleness, that will heal, instead of festering, the wounds of our minds

Victor's father - to no avail - counsels Christian forgiveness, the opposite of which Victor will display to his Creature. Suggestion of the damage of vengeance (Come...minds)

I gnashed my teeth and ground them together, uttering a groan that came from my inmost soul

Victor's physical reaction to his misery, mirroring the actions of Satan. Alliterative guttural sounds. (I...soul)

From the tortures of my own heart, I turned to contemplate the deep and voiceless grief of my Elizabeth.

Victor, from his self-absorption, also remembers Elizabeth's pain - but he comes first. She is just a possession. (From...Elizabeth)

The tortures of the accused did not equal mine; she was sustained by innocence, but the fangs of remorse tore my bosom and would not forego their hold.

Victor, in his egocentricity, thinks only of his own sufferings, his own Prometheus like torment, above the despair of Justine. The gratification of his wishes has now taken its serpentine form. (the...hold)

monument of presumption and rash ignorance

What the Creature represents for Victor, displaying his arrogant affront to God, and belittling all his precious knowledge. (mon...ance)

the blackest ingratitude

What the general public charge Justine with, with baggage relating to her place in society. (th...ude)