After agreeing to his deal with the monster, Frankenstein begins to question his decision and starts to have cold feet. The prospect of creating yet another monster seems impossible to him but he also sees no other option. He concludes that he has to travel to England to complete his task and is joined by Henry. The incessant need to rid himself of the monster is eating away at him. Finally, he settles in Scotland where he spends his days in a small laboratory. The closer he becomes to finishing his task, the more he dreads the consequences that will inevitably follow. His attitude throughout this process is the antithesis of his first attempt earlier in the book.

When making the deal with Victor, the monster promised that if given a companion he would never cause harm again. However, what is stopping his companion from becoming destructive? Or what if they decide to have children and continue their horrible bloodline? The possible answers to these questions were so terrifying to Victor that he immediately stopped and destroyed his work. Upon seeing this, the monster vows to ruin his wedding night. Later, Victor receives a letter from Henry asking that they continue their travels. Victor agrees and goes about erasing any trace of his presence. He even goes as far as to deposit his tools in the ocean where he is eventually pushed out to sea by a strong storm. He finally reaches land and is immediately berated by a group of hostile townspeople who accuse him of murder. After hearing many witnesses testify against him, Victor is lead to the body where, to his horror, he discovers that yet another one of his friends has fallen victim to his creation. At the sight of Henry’s body, he falls deeply ill and is moved to a prison cell for two months. Victor is found innocent on the grounds of lack of evidence and returns to Geneva with his father.

Victor receives a letter from Elizabeth asking if he has found someone else who holds his affections to which he responds that she is the only reason for his happiness. With the monster’s threat in his head, Victor decides his wedding to Elizabeth will bring an end to his misery no matter who is victorious. With this realization, he and Elizabeth get married and leave to spend their first night alone together in a family cottage by a lake. Filled with paranoia over the impeding confrontation with the monster, Victor advises Elizabeth to retire for the night so that she will not see the monster’s horrifying appearance. Yet his plan is ruined when the monster takes Elizabeth as his victim rather than Frankenstein. Soon after, consumed with grief, Frankenstein’s dad dies. Finding that he has nothing to lose, Frankenstein makes it his mission to find and destroy the monster. His task proves too much for him as he eventually dies after regaling Walton with his story and begging him to continue his quest for vengeance.

Walton resumes the role of narrator and discusses Frankenstein’s last few days from his point of view. He describes his men losing their courage to continue with their expedition and how Frankenstein was able to inspire them to persevere and continue on. After his death, the monster returns and shows a great deal of remorse for his actions. He regrets all the crimes he has committed and feels that because his master is dead, he is dead.

The passage that stuck out to me was on page 122 where the monster addresses Victor in a very demanding and dominant way. He calls him “slave” and emphasizes of the power that he holds over his emotions. The monster finishes with the words, “you are my creator, but I am your master; – obey!” This power shift contrasts the actions of the monster earlier in the story when he refers to Frankenstein as his lord and king. The monster has been rejected by his master and now seeks the only comfort he knows which is in the misery of others. Although his words seem strong and commanding, it further emphasizes the decay of both the monster and his creator.