CHAPTER 21:
At Mr. Kirwin’s office, Victor learns
that a man in his mid-twenties was found dead on the shore with black
marks on his neck. And various witnesses testify that a boat much like
Victor’s was seen at sea. Victor is taken to see the body. It is Clerval. Victor falls into convulsions, and remains bedridden and delusional for two months. The monster’s revenge and Victor’s ambition cost another innocent life.
The monster intentionally targets Victor’s closest family and friends,
making Victor’s isolation as enforced as its own. When Victor regains awareness he is still in prison. Mr. Kirwin treats him kindly, advising him that he’ll likely be freed. He also tells Victor that his father has come to see him. Yet unlike the monster, Victor still does have connections to other men and a family. Two weeks later Victor is released
because the court has nothing but circumstantial evidence against him.
Despairing and determined to protect his family from the monster, Victor
returns with his father to Geneva. Victor’s release stands in contrast to Justine’s conviction. But Victor
has his father helping him, while Victor stayed silent and did not help
Justine.
CHAPTER 22:
En route to Geneva, they stop in Paris so Victor can regain his strength. His father tries to help by getting him to engage with society, but Victor feels he has no right to. Victor even tells his father he murdered Justine, William, and Clerval. His father considers him deranged, and Victor says no more. As Victor’s father seeks to draw him into society, Victor increasingly resembles the monster in his sense that he’s an outcast. As part of his isolation, Victor continues to keep his deadly secrets. While in Paris, Victor receives a letter from Elizabeth. She expresses her desire to marry Victor, but worries he may have taken another lover during his long absence. Victor remembers the monster’s vow to be with him on his wedding night, and decides that whether he kills it or it kills him, at least he will be free. He writes back that he wants to marry immediately, but adds that he has a terrible secret he will tell her the day after they are married. Victor’s cutting himself off from society makes Elizabeth doubt his love for him. But won’t waiting until a day after his wedding to tell his secret be too late? A selfish half-confession by Victor, who thinks more about himself than Elizabeth. A week later Victor and his father arrive in Geneva. The wedding takes place ten days later. Yet as Victor and Elizabeth sail to a cottage by Lake Como in Italy for their honeymoon, Victor’s fear of facing the monster dissolves his happiness. Elizabeth tries to cheer him by pointing out the beauty in nature. It doesn’t work. By now a painfully familiar scene: Victor depends on the temporary relief of Nature and the support of his companion, now Elizabeth instead of Clerval or Alphonse, in order to ease his anxiety.
MAJOR THEME OF CHAPTER 21:
Lost Innocence:
Frankenstein presents many examples of the corruption of youthful innocence. The most obvious case of lost innocence involves Victor.
A young man on the cusp of adulthood, Victor leaves for university with
high hopes and lofty ambitions. He aims to explore “unknown powers” and
enlighten all of humanity to the deepest “mysteries of creation,” but
his success and his pride brings an end to his innocence. He creates a monster
that reflects back to him the many flaws inherent in his own species
(an unquenchable thirst for love, a tendency toward violence, and a
bloodthirsty need for justice and revenge) and in himself (prejudice
based on appearance). And, in turn, Victor’s cruel “un-innocent”
behavior also destroys the monster’s innocence.
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