Frankenstien reading journal continued 9-15

Chapter 9

• 'nothing is more painful to the human mind... than the dead calmness of inaction'  Victor is faced with the guilt of both Justine and Williams death, and yet he cannot tell anyone or do anything to stop his creature from causing more havoc. It is in this chapter that Victor reaches a turning point in his conscience, as he realises that he has made a huge mistake in creating the creature, and knows that he cannot do some thing to stop it alone, so he understands he must seclude himself to try and associate with the monster.
• Elizabeth becomes Victors comfort, almost becoming the male figure in their relationship. 'I drew near to her, as if in terror'. This reflects just how badly the guilt is affecting Victor and how his strong persona that we saw near the beginning transformed to the figure we see at the very beginning in the ice.
• Victor journeys in to Nature which provides him with a 'long lost sense of pleasure' This is  the start of a more romantic approach to the novel. Rather than the traditional Gothic approach, the closeness and recluse that victor Can create with nature and the wordsworthian language which Shelley uses to reflect almost a turn in the novel.

Chapter 10

• Romantic theme of the 'sublime' reoccurs - this time is gives Victor the 'greatest consolation' he was capable of receiving. Reflects upon the power of nature, in a similar way to how the power of science has been presented. Both have restored animation, science to the creature, and nature to victor. However science, he was in control of, and nature is in control of Victor, 'the glacier overhung me'.nature
• When Victor awakes 'a dark melancholy clouded every thought'. This is realistically true, because a mist has covered the beauty of nature. However, it is symbolic of how victors lie, which was beautiful, has been made dark through his creation of the creature.
• Moves from describing nature in a romantic way to a scientific way 'perpendicularity of the mountain' - his old self cannot help but assess everything scientifically. evidence of taxonomy.
• Describes the creature as possessing 'superhuman speed' which suggests that it exceeds man physically. Creates the feeling of doom because if the creature does really exceed man, then how will victor destroy it??? Hints that maybe to destroy it is not the answer.
• 'I out to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel' The creature compares himself to the biblical image, first of Adam then of the fallen angle - the devil. By his calling himself this, it is almost as if he realises the cruelty of his actions, even though he does not appear to at the time. This shows he is accepting the title 'devil'. It also means he is referring to Frankenstein as God, giving him infinite power and respect, is this something Frankenstein likes?????

Chapter 11

• 'the original era of my being' - the creature speaking - parallels to Adam from the bible, like previous chapter, yet in this reference he can be compared to Adam in his innocent, before the fall. This is because of his naivety. Then when the creature eats some berries in the novel they turn him from a 'dormant state' to a state to one of enlightenment.
• 'retreat as their pandemonium appears to the dreams of hell' - reinforces the links between paradise lost. 
• Describes the girl as 'the fair creature' - This suggests that the girl could remind him of himself, or his childish state that he was in when he was first created and referred to as 'the creature'. Proves that the creature was originally an innocent, but was formed and changed by the society that he was brought up in; which secluded and alienated him.

Chapter 12

• 'I ob severed with pleasure' The creature helps the family by collecting wood for them, and this is his reaction to their reaction. He is pleased that by using his 'superhuman strength' for good he has caused happiness and this affords him the feeling of pleasure, the same to what he said he felt at killing William. This proves that there is a kinder and lighter side to the creature which, Frankenstein has failed to recognise. Glimmer of hope!
• Describes language as 'a godlike science' - likening humans to god, in a similar way to how he likens victor to gods. Also likening his own power to the power of god because he does attain this skill. Also proves that he is not aware of how he is viewed by others, because he seems to think humans are more advanced than him, yet victor believes he has the capability to be better than a human.
• describes the family first as 'amiable', this is a contrast to the way he will describe them in later chapters when they have wronged him. In this way his actions and feelings resemble that of a child as he dislikes people if they are mean to him.
• Described himself as a 'foolish wretch' when he is looking back in hindsight as his actions. This makes it seem as if he has given in to the fact that he is 'ugly' and different so the thought that he would have a chance of being accepted, is a foolish one, according to himself. This makes the reader realise the impact that society has on the monster, and how different he could have been if he was treated differently.

Chapter 13

• The monster creates romantic descriptions of the family 'dying away, like a nightingale of the woods'. This proves that he has a softer, empathetic side, which has been highlighted in his narrative chapters, because we are his viewing life form his view which is a much more traumatic yet naive version of it, when compared with Victors idea of the monster. This creates sympathy between the monster and the reader, and perhaps Victor has sympathy for his creation too????
• 'I may boast that I improved more rapidly than the arabian' The creature is talking about how he learnt to 'master the skills of speach' quicker than the Arabian. This language of 'boasting' really reinforces the idea that his actions reflect those of a child because he takes pride in that fact that he has almost 'won a race' in learning to speak the fastest. This also can be a reference to his superhuman skills at work, and proves that it is not only his physical attributes that are better than a humans, but his mental ones too.
• The creature starts to describe himself as 'a monster, a blot on the earth' and these descriptions inflict 'agony' upon him. This exploits both his sensitive nature, and his cleverness, as he has discovered the reason for his alienation.
• The creature begins to long for a family and wonder at why he has none and why he has no Friends - reflects his loneliness, and brings up the suggestion that perhaps that is the reason for his murderous behaviour later on.

Chapter 14

• We learn of the De Lacy family, and how Felix's family were exiled because he tried to free them from slavery. This highlights the political and social flaws that Mary Shelley had to deal with at the time of writing, because Felix's 'crime' is morally not a crime at all.
• Also, as Safie returns to the  'safey...in the cottage of her lover', which produces almost a fairytale type love story of the creature. This could play a part in his longing for a lover, and a Friend. But this will defiantly lead him to being more lonely, as he realises what he is missing.
• The influences of woman roles in the novel is accentuated here.

Chapter 15

• Links to Paradise lost - victor as god, he makes life, yet he could be perceived as Satan because of his thirst for knowledge, and because he gets punished at the end of the novel. There is also links between the creature and creation as they were both created.
• Creature learns to read using highly complex books; 'Paradise lost, a volume of Plutarch's Lives, and the sorrows of Werter' - very romantic novels, reflected in the language used by the creature. Also could be argued that the Romanticism is reflected in the creatures ideals as he has very idealistic views on family and love, which are not always a reality for most people, and yet he views it as only not a reality for him because he is different.
• 'He had abandoned me... I cursed him' The creature hates his creator, even though he has not met him, just because he left him. shows the impact of loneliness ad abandonment in the novel. Victors abandonment symbolises the alienation that the creature receives from society.
• ' i did not head the bleakness of the weather' A contrast to most of the rest of the book, where the weather seems to manipulates the goings on, pathetic fallacy. 
• calls the cottage family his 'friends' even though there are not fully aware of his existence. Proves how dear the creature holds companionship. 
• 'the hearts of men... are full of brotherly love and charity' this is not how the hearts of men act towards the creature so it brings up the question of why??????