Frankenstein
by Mary Shelly
Table of Contents
- Introduction and Background
- Cast of Characters
- Plot Summary
- Major Characters - Analysis
- Summarization and Analysis by Chapter
- Walton, in Continuation
- Story Symbols and Themes
- Language and Texts
- Key Facts
- Significant Quotations
- Points to Ponder
- Discussion Topics
- Take the Quiz
- Further Reading
- Flashcards
- Biography of Mary Shelly
Chapter 19 to Chapter 24
Chapter Nineteen
As they move through England and Scotland on their journey, Victor is getting increasingly impatient to begin his work. It is not that he wants to make another monster, but only that he wants to be free of any obligation to the first one. In a Scottish town, Victor urges Henry to remain behind with an acquaintance. He says he wants to tour Scotland by himself. Henry is confused and reluctant, but he agrees. Victor heads to the Orkneys and finds a desolate, remote island on which he can complete the creation of another monster. He uses a small shack for a laboratory and beings to devote many hours each day to the new creature. He struggles to do the work, though, because he knows the monster will be grotesque. Still, he pushes forward because he has an agreement with the original monster.
This chapter really shows a great deal about Victor and his character. While he does not want to do anything for the monster he created because he loathes him so much, he does understand that he has an obligation as creator. When he first learned the secret of life he did not take into account everything that creating life could entail. It never occurred to him that the monster would be hideous and shunned by everyone. He did not think about the possibility of needing to make another hideous monster to keep the first one happy. He had big plans of "playing God" and making a race of new, better people. However, when that failed he tried to forget the entire thing instead of focusing on what he could do to help his creation and make its life better. Now he is faced with the realization of the monster's pain and what he has to do in order to make things right between the two of them. If he can make a female monster as a companion for the original monster and be rid of both of them his life can return to normal and no one else will have to suffer at the hands of something he created. Because of the guilt and obligation, he presses forward.
Chapter Twenty
While Victor is working on his new...
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