Chapter 15
Whilst out gathering one night, the creature comes across a satchel that contains some books and clothes, which he takes back to the shelter, eager to learn. The books include Paradise Lost, by John Milton, Sorrows of Werter, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Plutarch’s Lives.
The creature is unaware of the concept of fiction, it seems, and reads Paradise Lost as if it were wholly factual, finding many similarities between that and his own situation. The monster, with his new aptitude in reading, searches through the pockets of the clothing he filched from Victor’s apartment, discovering the horrific way in which he was created and the demeaning way in which his creator viewed him.
The creature then seeks to reveal himself to the cottagers, motivated by his depressing discoveries. He starts with De Lacey, who is blind, hoping to be able to use him in order to convince the others that, whilst he may be ugly, he is of a gentle nature.
There comes a day when Felix, Agatha, and Safie depart on a long walk together, whilst De Lacey remains home. The creature enters the home and begins to speak to De Lacey, but is quickly ambushed by an unexpected return of the others, in which he is fought away by Felix, terrified.
Frankenstein
Frankenstein is the classic gothic horror novel which has thrilled and engrossed readers for two centuries. Written by Mary Shelley, it is a story which she intended would ‘curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart.’ The tale is a superb blend of science fiction, mystery and thriller.
Victor Frankenstein driven by the mad dream of creating his own creature, experiments with alchemy and science to build a monster stitched together from dead remains. Once the creature becomes a living breathing articulate entity, it turns on its maker and the novel darkens into tragedy.
The reader is very quickly swept along by the force of the elegant prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multi-layered themes in the novel. Although first published in 1818, Shelley’s masterpiece still maintains a strong grip on the imagination and has been the inspiration for numerous horror movies, television and stage adaptations.