Question

Read the excerpt from Chapter 18 in Frankenstein.

Alas! To me the idea of an immediate union with my Elizabeth was one of horror and dismay. I was bound by a solemn promise which I had not yet fulfilled and dared not break, or if I did, what manifold miseries might not impend over me and my devoted family! Could I enter into a festival with this deadly weight yet hanging round my neck and bowing me to the ground? I must perform my engagement and let the monster depart with his mate before I allowed myself to enjoy the delight of a union from which I expected peace.

Examine this excerpt to analyze the way the author’s choice of words adds to the meaning and impacts the tone of this portion of Frankenstein.

What does Victor mean when he talks about "this deadly weight yet hanging round my neck and bowing me to the ground"?

How do these words affect the tone at this point in the story? Use examples and evidence from the text to support your analysis.

Answer 1

Moral Pressure and Repentance

Step-by-step explanation:

In this chapter, Victor is hugely burdened with moral pressure and a sense of repentance. His meeting with Elizabeth is 'horror' and 'dismay' since it is conditional due to the fact that he gave word to his Creation to create a female to enjoy 'happiness'. That Victor fails or rather intends to fail another such creation he is in two minds whether to fulfill the promise he vowed to the Creation or not to do it since the devastation and ruin they may unleash. Hence, his conscience carries a huge weight. He promises again to perform another experiment to create a mate for the Creation so that he could enjoy life with Elizabeth.

The tone is of a unprecedented struggle with self with which Victor fights, a sense of doubt, a lasting terror and regret and repentance though he is filled with 'lonely and maddening reflection' and 'feeling haunted'. The creation that Victor began with so much delight has become a monstrous reality with no solution for its end. Victor goes on to create a mate though with a feeling ' intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil that made my heart sicken in my bosom'.