3.5.1

Presentation & Key Quotations

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Theme: Revenge

Shelley presents revenge as a never-ending cycle, bringing only misery to those who pursue it.

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Revenge

  • The pursuit of revenge leads to the deaths of many characters, demonstrating the serious impact of this course of action.
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The Monster

  • After being rejected consistently, the Monster vows to take revenge on Victor, who has created him in his hideous form and left him without protection or provision.
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Victor

  • As the novel progresses, Victor also wants to “wreak a great and signal revenge” on his creation, who has caused him so much pain and loss.
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Mutual pursuit

  • By the end of the novel, the Monster and Victor are in mutual pursuit.
  • This highlights the impossibility of escaping revenge once one is embroiled in it.

Key Quotations: Revenge

Shelley presents revenge as a never-ending cycle, bringing only misery to those who pursue it.

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The Monster

  • After being shot for saving a little girl's life, the Monster fully embraces revenge for the hardships he has experienced, which he considers to be Victor's fault.
  • He vows to enact revenge on all of mankind, and his hellish language perhaps reminds the reader of Satan in 'Paradise Lost'.
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The Monster's oath

  • “This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense, I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound, which shattered the flesh and bone."
  • "The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth."
  • "Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind.” (Volume Two: Chapter 8)
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The Monster's murders

  • After committing his first murder, the Monster experiences a type of pleasure.
  • This seems to stem from a feeling of power, of which, up until this point, the Monster has had no experience.
  • He immediately links the murder of William to the effect it will have on Victor, demonstrating how revenge has led the Monster to be single-minded and obsessive.
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The murder

  • "I gazed on my victim, and my heart swelled with exultation and hellish triumph: clapping my hands, I exclaimed: 'I, too, can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him.'” (Volume Two: Chapter 8)

Key Quotations: Revenge

Shelley presents revenge as a never-ending cycle, bringing only mystery to those who pursue it.

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Victor and the Monster

  • After Victor destroys the female creature, the Monster is enraged.
  • He presents revenge as if it is now the sole thing which will sustain him, suggesting it is more valuable to him than necessities such as 'light or food'.
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Victor and the Monster cont.

  • “Are you to be happy while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness? You can blast my other passions; but revenge remains -- revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food!"
  • "I may die; but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery. Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful. I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom. Man, you shall repent of the injuries you inflict." (Volume Three: Chapter 3)
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Victor

  • By the end of his narrative, Victor also seems to be sustained by the pursuit of revenge, just like the Monster.
  • Shelley depicts how the negative impact of revenge can lower a previously noble and intelligent man to a base level.
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Victor cont.

  • “I was possessed by a maddening rage when I thought of him, and desired and ardently prayed that I might have him within my grasp to wreak a great and signal revenge on his cursed head.” (Volume Three: Chapter 6)

Jump to other topics

1Plot Summaries

2Characters

3Key Themes

4Authorial Method

5Context

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