Prior to chapter five of Mary Shelley's
Frankenstein, Victor is very excited about the being he is about to
reanimate with life. All of chapter four is spent defining, in great detail, the
exhaustive extent Victor went through to insure the success of his experiment and the
blessing he would receive from his "son." Throughout the chapter, Victor's language is
overwhelmingly positive.
A new species would bless me as its creator and
source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could
claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve
theirs.
Essentially, Victor
exhausted every means he had to choose each part for his "son." He was meticulous in
defining how the parts were put together, even the tiniest
veins.
It is in chapter five where Victor’s dismay and
horror are seen. The creature he had worked relentlessly upon was
horrifying.
How can I describe my emotions at this
catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had
endeavored to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as
beautiful. Beautiful!—Great
God!
Instead of being
overjoyed at his success, Victor's language shows his utter disappointment. His creature
is not beautiful--the pieces he chose did not come together to result in the beautiful
being he desired. Instead, the dreamt beauty is shattered upon the opening of the
creature's eye.
Essentially, Victor’s language leaves
nothing to the imagination about his feelings. Readers are very aware of Victor's horror
and dismay. Therefore, the importance of Victor’s language lies in the fact that nothing
of his emotion is hidden from the reader. Instead, readers are very aware of Victor’s
horror at his "son."
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