Chapter 17 of the novel Frankenstein
the creature speaks to his creator, Victor Frankenstein, and
says:
You must
create a female for me, with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies
necessary for my being. This you alone can do; and I demand it of you as a right which
you must not refuse to
concede.
After listening to
this request Victor Frankenstein first became angry because he connected what the
monster requested with the possibility of him striking again into acts of violence.
However, the monster described itself as a creature worthy of love and as needful of it
as any other living being. Victor was somewhat moved by this description and felt a
sense of guilt. After all, it was he who was to blame for the creation of the monster.
Was he also responsible for providing a quality of life for
it?
The monster observed Victor’s hesitation and took that
opportunity to appeal for his request with even more fervor. The monster even told
Victor that, if he complies, he would move away from the rest of society with his female
creature and never be in Victor’s life again.
This, Victor
did not believe. He felt that the monster harbored too much anger within to not unleash
its bitterness in the future. Therefore, he refused by telling the
monster:
"You
propose," replied I, "to fly from the habitations of man, to dwell in those wilds where
the beasts of the field will be your only companions. How can you, who long for the love
and sympathy of man, persevere in this exile? You will return, and again seek their
kindness, and you will meet with their detestation; your evil passions will be renewed,
and you will then have a companion to aid you in the task of destruction. This may not
be: cease to argue the point, for I cannot
consent."
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