Chapters 14-20 - Quotations

English Lit: Edexcel A Level Frankenstein, topic 7.2.5

Here are key quotations from Chapters 14-20:

"The picture I present to you is peaceful and human, and you must feel like you could deny it only in the wantonness of power and cruelty".
The Monster proposes a very convincing argument to Victor and questions his creator’s morals and ego whilst making an appeal for companionship.

"But I am a blasted tree - the bolt has entered my soul".
This internal analeptic narrative shift refers to Chapter 2, when Victor views the unbridled power of nature.
By referring to himself as the ‘blasted tree’, he is acknowledging his inability to be able to control nature and therefore questions whether he should create another monster.
He is aware that untamed knowledge, ‘the bolt’, has destroyed his life and he feels powerless to change his fate.

"I go; but remember, I shall be with you on your wedding-night."
The Monster enters Victor’s room and confronts him with the broken promise. After being betrayed again by Victor, the Monster makes a new promise. Victor, being so self-centred, believes this threat is levelled at him and worries about what Elizabeth would do without him.

"Had I the right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting Generations".
Only now does Victor start to think about others and how his actions affect them rather than thinking solely about himself.

Test yourself on Chapters 14-20 - Quotations