Chapter 18 Summary

“It was the latter end of September that I again quitted my native country.” p.142 Elizabeth agrees for him to travel alone only because it was his idea alone; although, she did not want him suffering alone. Arrived at Strasburg where he waited 2 days for Clerval. There was a great contrast between the two friends: Henry, alive and joyful; Victor, gloomy, a “miserable wretch, haunted by a curse that shut up every avenue to enjoyment.” p

They will take the Rhine (river) to London. P.144 – Victor begins talking of Henry in the past tense. “He was a being formed in the ‘very poetry of nature’.” “His friendship was of that devoted and wondrous nature…” “But even human sympathies were not sufficient to satisfy his eager mind. The scenery of external nature, which others regard only with admiration, he loved with ardour –” Why would Victor talk of Henry this way?

Nature is everything. Nature supplied his “feeling” and “love” – without the need for intellectual “thought”, since nature had enough “charm” and “interest” on its own. So nature, it seems, took the place of all of his physical and emotional desires.

Victor continues talking about Henry: “And where does he now exist? Is this gentle and lovely being lost forever?” He asks Walton to “Pardon this gush of sorrow.” p.145 Finally in the latter end of December they reach Britain.

Summary

London – they will stay several months Victor becomes occupied with obtaining the necessary information to complete his promise. Had this journey taken place during Victor’s “days of study and happiness” it would have brought him great “pleasure”. But this was only for gathering the information he needed. People were “irksome” to him. “In Clerval I saw the image of my former self; he was inquisitive, and anxious to gain experience and instruction.” p.146

While Henry is busy seeking his own desirable knowledge. Victor is trying to hide his sorrow from Henry. Victor begins collecting the materials for his new creation. This was “torture” to him. It’s now February. They decide to travel north towards Scotland. They quitted London on March 27 th. Then they travel to Oxford.

P.148 – Victor enjoys this scenery very much; the memory of his past and his future are the only bitter things. “But I am a blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul…” “…[T]he iron had eaten into my flesh…” What literary device is evident in both of these quotes? What do these lines reveal about Victor?

After travelling through several towns, Victor now realizes that he has neglected his promise for some time. He fears “the effect of the daemon’s disappointment. He might remain in Switzerland, and wreak vengence on my relatives.” p.150 Victor begins to feel like the creature his following him. “Sometimes I thought that the fiend followed me, and might expedite my remissness by murdering my companion. When these thoughts possessed me, I would not quit Henry for a moment.” p.150

They travel through Edinburgh Victor tells Henry that he wished to make “the tour of Scotland alone.” p.150 He tells Henry to go have fun, that he may be gone a month or two. He explains that when they meet again, he will be happier. Victor determines to visit some remote spot to finish his work. He knows the creature will show himself when Victor has finished.

“Every day it became more horrible and irksome” p.152 “It was, indeed, a filthy process…” p.152 “During my first experiment, a kind of enthusiastic frenzy blinded me to the horror of my employment…But now I went in cold blood, and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands.” p.152 “I grew restless and nervous. Every moment I feared to meet my persecutor.” “…I sat with my eyes fixed on the ground, fearing to raise them, lest they should encounter the object which I so much dreaded to behold.”