Frankenstein

Author: Shelley, Mary

John Tyler Wagner

Outside Reading Journal Entries

Journal Entry #3: Frankenstein does not keep his promise! Tragic Ending!
In Chapter 17, Victor refuses the monsters request to create a mate. However, the monster tells Victor
that he OWES him a mate, as it is his duty as creator. The monster says that he will be less lonely if he
had a mate, and even promises to live in South America away from people for the rest of their lives.
Finally, Frankenstein agrees to the promise. In Chapter 18, Frankenstein decides to leave for England,
for a length of two years, with his friend Henry, so he can work on the project of creating a second
monster. However, Victor leaves Henry with a friend in Scotland, and then leaves for England by
himself, as explained in Chapter 19. However, he begins to procrastinate about making another
vicious monster. He now feels guiltier, since he is not keeping his promise to his creation. As Victor is
working on the second monster, he realizes that it will have the free will to do whatever it would want;
although the first male monster promised to be peaceful, the second female monster may not agree
to do so. Also, what if the two monsters had monster babies? This would create the possibility of
more destruction and chaos. As a result, Frankenstein decides to destroy all of his work; however, he
does not know that the monster is watching him through the window. The monster promises to meet
Victor on his wedding night; this foreshadows that either he or Elizabeth will probably be murdered.
Victor believes that he will murder him on his wedding night; this is known as dramatic irony.
Furthermore, Victor takes the remains of his work and dumps then in the ocean. He is then accused of
murder (that had occurred the night before), since people saw him go to sea. In Chapter 21, Victor
finds out that the body he is accused of murdering is Henry (although the monster actually performed
the murder). Soon after, Victor becomes ill for two months, then is sent to prison for the murder;
however, he is found innocent of Henrys death and returns to Geneva with his father. In Chapter 22,

Frankenstein
Author: Shelley, Mary

John Tyler Wagner

Outside Reading Journal Entries

Victor receives a letter from Elizabeth; she is suspicious that he is in love with another woman. At this
time, Victor is still oblivious to the fact that the monster will murder Elizabeth. He returns home to
Geneva and marries Elizabeth. Chapter 23 is possibility the most climactic point in the novel. After
Elizabeth and Victor are married, the go to a cottage. Victor is outside of the cottage on the look-out
for the monster; however, he hears Elizabeth scream, and realizes that Victor wanted to kill Elizabeth,
not him. Victor then informs his father of the tragic news, and he drops dead from grief. Now Victor is
all alone and lonely, similar to the monster that he created. Victor realizes that he has no reason to
live anymore, so he decides to hunt down the monster. The monster travels all the way to the Arctic,
or North Pole, to lure Victor. By now, Victor Frankenstein is tired, and on his deathbed. (This is where
he meets Captain Walton.) In the end, Victor dies on the ship before it left for England. A few days
later, the monster finds Victor and cries over his dead body, and concludes that he has no purpose in
life, since his creator is dead. He builds a funeral pyre for himself on a mountain and dies lonely and
alone. Finally, the Captain Walton and his ship leave the Arctic to return home to England. Overall, the
novel Frankenstein ended as a sad, sad tragedy; however, there are several morals that readers can
learn from the story