Yesterday, we saw Victor destroy the mate he was creating for the creature and wrote about why Victor made this decision
Volume III, Chapter 3- pgs 139-142
What vow does the creature make?
Volume III, Chapter 3, Pages 140–147
1 Several hours passed, and I remained near my window gazing on the sea; it was almost motionless, for the winds were hushed, and all nature reposed under the eye of the quiet moon. I felt the silence, although I was hardly conscious of its extreme profundity, until my ear was suddenly arrested by the paddling of oars near the shore, and a person landed close to my house.
2 In a few minutes after, I heard the creaking of my door, as if some one endeavoured to open it softly. I trembled from head to foot; I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot.
3 Presently I heard the sound of footsteps along the passage; the door opened, and the wretch whom I dreaded appeared. Shutting the door, he approached me, and said, in a smothered voice—
4 “You have destroyed the work which you began; what is it that you intend?
5 “Do you dare to break your promise? I have endured toil and misery, incalculable fatigue, and cold, and hunger; do you dare destroy my hopes?”
6 “Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.”
7 “You believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master—obey!”
8 “The hour of my weakness is past, and the period of your power is arrived. Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness. Shall I, in cool blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon, whose delight is in death and wretchedness. Begone!”
9 “Your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness for ever. Are you to be happy, while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness? Beware; for I am fearless. You shall repent of the injuries you inflict.”
10 “I go; but I shall be with you on your wedding-night.”
11 All was again silent; but his words rung in my ears. Why had I not followed him, and closed with him in mortal strife? I shuddered to think who might be the next victim sacrificed to his insatiate revenge.
12 And then I thought again of his words—“I shall be with you on your wedding-night.” In that hour I should die, and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice.
13 The next morning, at day-break, I summoned sufficient courage, and unlocked the door of my laboratory. The remains of the half-finished creature I had destroyed lay scattered on the floor, and I almost felt as if I had mangled the living flesh of a human being. With trembling hand I conveyed the instruments out of the room; but I reflected that I ought not to leave the relics of my work to excite the horror and suspicion of the peasants, and I accordingly put them into a basket, with a great quantity of stones, and laying them up, determined to throw them into the sea that very night.
14 Between two and three in the morning the moon rose; and I then, putting my basket aboard a little skiff, sailed out about four miles from the shore. The scene was perfectly solitary. I took advantage of the darkness, and cast my basket into the sea.
15 I listened to the gurgling sound as it sunk, and stretched myself at the bottom of the boat. I heard the sound of the boat, as its keel cut through the waves; the murmur lulled me, and in a short time I slept soundly.
16 I do not know how long I remained in this situation, but when I awoke I found that the sun had already mounted considerably. The waves continually threatened the safety of my little skiff. I found that the wind must have driven me far from the coast from which I had embarked.
17 I had already been out many hours, and felt the torment of a burning thirst, a prelude to my other sufferings. I looked upon the sea, it was to be my grave.
18 “Fiend, your task is already fulfilled!”
19 Some hours passed thus; but by degrees, as the sun declined towards the horizon, the wind died away into a gentle breeze, and the sea became free from breakers. But these gave place to a heavy swell; I felt sick, and hardly able to hold the rudder, when suddenly I saw a line of high land towards the south.
20 How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!
21 I easily perceived the traces of cultivation and found myself suddenly transported back to the neighbourhood of civilized man.
22 As I was occupied in fixing the boat, several people crowded towards the spot. They seemed very much surprised at my appearance; but, instead of offering me any assistance, whispered together with gestures that at any other time might have produced in me a slight sensation of alarm.
23 “My good friends, will you be so kind as to tell me the name of this town, and inform me where I am?”
24 “You will know that soon enough. Maybe you are come to a place that will not prove much to your taste; but you will not be consulted as to your quarters, I promise you.”
25 “Why do you answer me so roughly? Surely it is not the custom of Englishmen to receive strangers so inhospitably.”
26 “I do not know what the custom of the English may be; but it is the custom of the Irish to hate villains.”
27 “Come, Sir, you must follow me to Mr. Kirwin’s, to give an account of yourself.”
28 “Who is Mr. Kirwin?”
29 “Mr. Kirwin is a magistrate; and you are to give an account of the death of a gentleman who was found murdered here last night.”
30 This answer startled me; but I presently recovered myself. I was innocent; that could easily be proved: accordingly I followed my conductor in silence, and was led to one of the best houses in the town. Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me, and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy or death.
Remember that the creature is 8 ft tall and incredibly strong. If he wanted to, he could easily have attacked Victor during the scene. Why didn't he?
Volume III, Chapter 3, Pages 140–147
1 Several hours passed, and I remained near my window gazing on the sea; it was almost motionless, for the winds were hushed, and all nature reposed under the eye of the quiet moon. I felt the silence, although I was hardly conscious of its extreme profundity, until my ear was suddenly arrested by the paddling of oars near the shore, and a person landed close to my house.
2 In a few minutes after, I heard the creaking of my door, as if some one endeavoured to open it softly. I trembled from head to foot; I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot.
3 Presently I heard the sound of footsteps along the passage; the door opened, and the wretch whom I dreaded appeared. Shutting the door, he approached me, and said, in a smothered voice—
4 “You have destroyed the work which you began; what is it that you intend?
5 “Do you dare to break your promise? I have endured toil and misery, incalculable fatigue, and cold, and hunger; do you dare destroy my hopes?”
6 “Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.”
7 “You believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master—obey!”
8 “The hour of my weakness is past, and the period of your power is arrived. Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness. Shall I, in cool blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon, whose delight is in death and wretchedness. Begone!”
9 “Your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness for ever. Are you to be happy, while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness? Beware; for I am fearless. You shall repent of the injuries you inflict.”
10 “I go; but I shall be with you on your wedding-night.”
11 All was again silent; but his words rung in my ears. Why had I not followed him, and closed with him in mortal strife? I shuddered to think who might be the next victim sacrificed to his insatiate revenge.
12 And then I thought again of his words—“I shall be with you on your wedding-night.” In that hour I should die, and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice.
13 The next morning, at day-break, I summoned sufficient courage, and unlocked the door of my laboratory. The remains of the half-finished creature I had destroyed lay scattered on the floor, and I almost felt as if I had mangled the living flesh of a human being. With trembling hand I conveyed the instruments out of the room; but I reflected that I ought not to leave the relics of my work to excite the horror and suspicion of the peasants, and I accordingly put them into a basket, with a great quantity of stones, and laying them up, determined to throw them into the sea that very night.
14 Between two and three in the morning the moon rose; and I then, putting my basket aboard a little skiff, sailed out about four miles from the shore. The scene was perfectly solitary. I took advantage of the darkness, and cast my basket into the sea.
15 I listened to the gurgling sound as it sunk, and stretched myself at the bottom of the boat. I heard the sound of the boat, as its keel cut through the waves; the murmur lulled me, and in a short time I slept soundly.
16 I do not know how long I remained in this situation, but when I awoke I found that the sun had already mounted considerably. The waves continually threatened the safety of my little skiff. I found that the wind must have driven me far from the coast from which I had embarked.
17 I had already been out many hours, and felt the torment of a burning thirst, a prelude to my other sufferings. I looked upon the sea, it was to be my grave.
18 “Fiend, your task is already fulfilled!”
19 Some hours passed thus; but by degrees, as the sun declined towards the horizon, the wind died away into a gentle breeze, and the sea became free from breakers. But these gave place to a heavy swell; I felt sick, and hardly able to hold the rudder, when suddenly I saw a line of high land towards the south.
20 How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!
21 I easily perceived the traces of cultivation and found myself suddenly transported back to the neighbourhood of civilized man.
22 As I was occupied in fixing the boat, several people crowded towards the spot. They seemed very much surprised at my appearance; but, instead of offering me any assistance, whispered together with gestures that at any other time might have produced in me a slight sensation of alarm.
23 “My good friends, will you be so kind as to tell me the name of this town, and inform me where I am?”
24 “You will know that soon enough. Maybe you are come to a place that will not prove much to your taste; but you will not be consulted as to your quarters, I promise you.”
25 “Why do you answer me so roughly? Surely it is not the custom of Englishmen to receive strangers so inhospitably.”
26 “I do not know what the custom of the English may be; but it is the custom of the Irish to hate villains.”
27 “Come, Sir, you must follow me to Mr. Kirwin’s, to give an account of yourself.”
28 “Who is Mr. Kirwin?”
29 “Mr. Kirwin is a magistrate; and you are to give an account of the death of a gentleman who was found murdered here last night.”
30 This answer startled me; but I presently recovered myself. I was innocent; that could easily be proved: accordingly I followed my conductor in silence, and was led to one of the best houses in the town. Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me, and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy or death.
Who do you think is dead, and how do you think he or she died? What makes you think so?
Volume III, Chapter 4, Pages 150–155 1 Mr. Kirwin, on hearing this evidence, desired that I should be taken into the room where the body lay for interment, that it might be observed what effect the sight of it would produce upon me. 2 I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin. 3 How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. 4 “Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life?” 5 The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions.
6 A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death: my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval.
7 Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented; and, at others, I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck, and screamed aloud with agony and terror.
8 Why did I not die? How many youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture.
9 But I was doomed to live; and, in two months, found myself in a prison, stretched on a wretched bed. 10 The whole series of my life appeared to me as a dream; I sometimes doubted if indeed it were all true, for it never presented itself to my mind with the force of reality. 11 As the images that floated before me became more distinct, I grew feverish; a darkness pressed around me; no one was near me who soothed me with the gentle voice of love; no dear hand supported me. 12 Who could be interested in the fate of a murderer, but the hangman who would gain his fee? 13 One day, when I was gradually recovering, I was seated, my eyes half open, and my cheeks livid like those in death. 14 I was overcome by gloom and misery. At one time I considered whether I should not declare myself guilty, and suffer the penalty of the law, less innocent than poor Justine had been.
15 The door of my apartment was opened, and Mr. Kirwin entered. His countenance expressed sympathy and compassion; he drew a chair close to mine, and addressed me in French— 16 “It was not until a day or two after your illness that I thought of examining your dress, that I might discover some trace by which I could send to your relations an account of your misfortune and illness. I found several letters, and, among others, one which I discovered from its commencement to be from your father. I instantly wrote to Geneva: nearly two months have elapsed since the departure of my letter. But you are ill; even now you tremble: you are unfit for agitation of any kind.” 17 “This suspense is a thousand times worse than the most horrible event: tell me what new scene of death has been acted, and whose murder I am now to lament.” 18 “Your family is perfectly well, and some one, a friend, is come to visit you.”
19 I know not by what chain of thought the idea presented itself, but it instantly darted into my mind that the murderer had come to mock at my misery, and taunt me with the death of Clerval, as a new incitement for me to comply with his hellish desires. I put my hand before my eyes, and cried out in agony— 20 “Oh! take him away! I cannot see him; for God’s sake, do not let him enter!” 21 Mr. Kirwin regarded me with a troubled countenance. He could not help regarding my exclamation as a presumption of my guilt, and said, in rather a severe tone— 22 “I should have thought, young man, that the presence of your father would have been welcome, instead of inspiring such violent repugnance.”
23 "My father!” 24 Nothing, at this moment, could have given me greater pleasure than the arrival of my father. I stretched out my hand to him.
25 “Are you then safe—and Elizabeth?” 26 My father calmed me with assurances of their welfare. 27 “What a place is this that you inhabit, my son! You travelled to seek happiness, but a fatality seems to pursue you. And poor Clerval—” 28 “Alas! yes, my father, some destiny of the most horrible kind hangs over me, and I must live to fulfil it.” 29 The appearance of my father was to me like that of my good angel. 30 I had already been three months in prison; and although I was still weak, and in continual danger of a relapse, I was obliged to travel nearly a hundred miles to the county-town, where the court was held.
31 I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me. 32 Sometimes they were the expressive eyes of Henry, languishing in death, the dark orbs nearly covered by the lids, and the long black lashes that fringed them; sometimes it was the watery clouded eyes of the monster, as I first saw them in my chamber at Ingolstadt. 33 The grand jury rejected the bill, on its being proved that I was on the Orkney Islands at the hour the body of my friend was found, and a fortnight after my removal I was liberated from prison and allowed to return to my native country. 34 “He may be innocent of the murder, but he has certainly a bad conscience.”
On page 154, Victor says “some destiny of the most horrible kind hangs over me, and I must live to fulfill it” (28). What does he think is his destiny?
It is clear from the passage that the grand jury believes Victor to be while Victor believes himself to be of murder.
What is the main reason for this difference of opinion?
Victor tells his father that he is the deaths of William, Justine, and Henry.
What do Elizabeth and Victor write to one another?
Elizabeth to Victor
Victor to Elizabeth
Reread paragraphs 9–12 in the passage. When the creature says "I shall be with you on your wedding-night" (10), what does Victor believe he is threatening to do? What do you believe he is threatening to do?
At this point in the story, who is dead and who remains alive?
Dead
Alive
How much sympathy do you feel for Victor at this moment in the book?
Find a quote that you can use to explain how you feel about Victor.
Copy it here:
Volume III, Chapter 4, Pages 150–155
1 Mr. Kirwin, on hearing this evidence, desired that I should be taken into the room where the body lay for interment, that it might be observed what effect the sight of it would produce upon me.
2 I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin.
3 How can I describe my sensations on beholding it? The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me.
4 “Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life?”
5 The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions.
6 A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death: my ravings, as I afterwards heard, were frightful; I called myself the murderer of William, of Justine, and of Clerval.
7 Sometimes I entreated my attendants to assist me in the destruction of the fiend by whom I was tormented; and, at others, I felt the fingers of the monster already grasping my neck, and screamed aloud with agony and terror.
8 Why did I not die? How many youthful lovers have been one day in the bloom of health and hope, and the next a prey for worms and the decay of the tomb! Of what materials was I made, that I could thus resist so many shocks, which, like the turning of the wheel, continually renewed the torture.
9 But I was doomed to live; and, in two months, found myself in a prison, stretched on a wretched bed.
10 The whole series of my life appeared to me as a dream; I sometimes doubted if indeed it were all true, for it never presented itself to my mind with the force of reality.
11 As the images that floated before me became more distinct, I grew feverish; a darkness pressed around me; no one was near me who soothed me with the gentle voice of love; no dear hand supported me.
12 Who could be interested in the fate of a murderer, but the hangman who would gain his fee?
13 One day, when I was gradually recovering, I was seated, my eyes half open, and my cheeks livid like those in death.
14 I was overcome by gloom and misery. At one time I considered whether I should not declare myself guilty, and suffer the penalty of the law, less innocent than poor Justine had been.
15 The door of my apartment was opened, and Mr. Kirwin entered. His countenance expressed sympathy and compassion; he drew a chair close to mine, and addressed me in French—
16 “It was not until a day or two after your illness that I thought of examining your dress, that I might discover some trace by which I could send to your relations an account of your misfortune and illness. I found several letters, and, among others, one which I discovered from its commencement to be from your father. I instantly wrote to Geneva: nearly two months have elapsed since the departure of my letter. But you are ill; even now you tremble: you are unfit for agitation of any kind.”
17 “This suspense is a thousand times worse than the most horrible event: tell me what new scene of death has been acted, and whose murder I am now to lament.”
18 “Your family is perfectly well, and some one, a friend, is come to visit you.”
19 I know not by what chain of thought the idea presented itself, but it instantly darted into my mind that the murderer had come to mock at my misery, and taunt me with the death of Clerval, as a new incitement for me to comply with his hellish desires. I put my hand before my eyes, and cried out in agony—
20 “Oh! take him away! I cannot see him; for God’s sake, do not let him enter!”
21 Mr. Kirwin regarded me with a troubled countenance. He could not help regarding my exclamation as a presumption of my guilt, and said, in rather a severe tone—
22 “I should have thought, young man, that the presence of your father would have been welcome, instead of inspiring such violent repugnance.”
23 "My father!”
24 Nothing, at this moment, could have given me greater pleasure than the arrival of my father. I stretched out my hand to him.
25 “Are you then safe—and Elizabeth?”
26 My father calmed me with assurances of their welfare.
27 “What a place is this that you inhabit, my son! You travelled to seek happiness, but a fatality seems to pursue you. And poor Clerval—”
28 “Alas! yes, my father, some destiny of the most horrible kind hangs over me, and I must live to fulfil it.”
29 The appearance of my father was to me like that of my good angel.
30 I had already been three months in prison; and although I was still weak, and in continual danger of a relapse, I was obliged to travel nearly a hundred miles to the county-town, where the court was held.
31 I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me.
32 Sometimes they were the expressive eyes of Henry, languishing in death, the dark orbs nearly covered by the lids, and the long black lashes that fringed them; sometimes it was the watery clouded eyes of the monster, as I first saw them in my chamber at Ingolstadt.
33 The grand jury rejected the bill, on its being proved that I was on the Orkney Islands at the hour the body of my friend was found, and a fortnight after my removal I was liberated from prison and allowed to return to my native country.
34 “He may be innocent of the murder, but he has certainly a bad conscience.”
What is one piece of evidence that you think would have caused the grand jury to share Victor's perspective?
Volume III, Chapter 5, Pages 156–161 1 We had resolved not to go to London. I dreaded to see again those places in which I had enjoyed a few moments of tranquility with my beloved Clerval. As for my father, his desires and exertions were bounded to again seeing me restored to health and peace of mind. My grief and gloom was obstinate, but he would not despair. 2 “Alas! my father, how little do you know me. Justine, poor unhappy Justine, was as innocent as I, and she suffered the same charge; she died for it; and I am the cause of this—I murdered her. William, Justine, and Henry—they all died by my hands.” 3 “What do you mean, Victor? are you mad? My dear son, I entreat you never to make such an assertion again.” 4 “I am not mad. I am the assassin of those most innocent victims; they died by my machinations.” 5 The conclusion of this speech convinced my father that my ideas were deranged, and he instantly changed the subject of our conversation.
6 As time passed away I became more calm: misery had her dwelling in my heart, but I no longer talked in the same incoherent manner of my own crimes. I curbed the imperious voice of wretchedness, which sometimes desired to declare itself to the whole world. 7 We arrived at Paris. In this city, I received the following letter from Elizabeth— 8 My Dearest Friend, 9 It gave me the greatest pleasure to receive a letter from my uncle dated at Paris; you are no longer at a formidable distance, and I may hope to see you in less than a fortnight. My poor cousin, how much you must have suffered! I would not disturb you at this period, when so many misfortunes weigh upon you; but a conversation that I had with my uncle previous to his departure renders some explanation necessary before we meet.
10 You well know, Victor, that our union had been the favourite plan of your parents ever since our infancy. We were affectionate playfellows during childhood. But as brother and sister often entertain a lively affection towards each other, without desiring a more intimate union, may not such also be our case? Tell me, dearest Victor. Do you not love another? 11 You have travelled; you have spent several years of your life at Ingolstadt; and I confess to you, my friend, that when I saw you last autumn so unhappy, flying to solitude, from the society of every creature, I could not help supposing that you might regret our connexion, and believe yourself bound in honour to fulfil the wishes of your parents. I confess to you, my cousin, that I love you, and that in my airy dreams of futurity you have been my constant friend and companion. But it is your happiness I desire as well as my own when I declare to you that our marriage would render me eternally miserable, unless it were the dictate of your own free choice. Ah, Victor, be assured that your cousin and playmate has too sincere a love for you not to be made miserable by this supposition. Be happy, my friend; and if you obey me in this one request, remain satisfied that nothing on earth will have the power to interrupt my tranquillity. 12 Do not let this letter disturb you; do not answer it to-morrow, or the next day, or even until you come, if it will give you pain. My uncle will send me news of your health; and if I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness. 13 Elizabeth Lavenza. 14 Geneva, May 18th
15 This letter revived in my memory what I had before forgotten, the threat of the fiend—“I will be with you on your wedding-night!” On that night would the daemon employ every art to destroy me, and tear me from the glimpse of happiness which promised partly to console my sufferings. On that night he had determined to consummate his crimes by my death. If the monster executed his threat, death was inevitable; yet, again, I considered whether my marriage would hasten my fate. My destruction might indeed arrive a few months sooner; but if my torturer should suspect that I postponed it, influenced by his menaces, he would surely find other, and perhaps more dreadful, means of revenge. I resolved, therefore, that if my immediate union with my cousin would conduce either to her’s or my father’s happiness, my adversary’s designs against my life should not retard it a single hour.
16 I fear, my beloved girl, little happiness remains for us on earth; yet all that I may one day enjoy is concentered in you. Chase away your idle fears; to you alone do I consecrate my life, and my endeavours for contentment. I have one secret, Elizabeth, a dreadful one; when revealed to you, it will chill your frame with horror, and then, far from being surprised at my misery, you will only wonder that I survive what I have endured. I will confide this tale of misery and terror to you the day after our marriage shall take place; for, my sweet cousin, there must be perfect confidence between us. But until then, I conjure you, do not mention or allude to it. This I most earnestly entreat, and I know you will comply. 17 Victor Frankenstein
18 We returned to Geneva. My cousin welcomed me with warm affection; yet tears were in her eyes. 19 She was thinner, and had lost much of that heavenly vivacity that had before charmed me; but her gentleness, and soft looks of compassion, made her a more fit companion for one blasted and miserable as I was. 20 Elizabeth alone had the power to soothe me when transported by passion, and inspire me with human feelings when sunk in torpor. She wept with me, and for me. When reason returned, she would remonstrate, and endeavour to inspire me with resignation. Ah! it is well for the unfortunate to be resigned, but for the guilty there is no peace. 21 Soon after my arrival my father spoke of my immediate marriage with my cousin.
22 Heavy misfortunes have befallen us but let us only cling closer to what remains, and transfer our love for those whom we have lost to those who yet live. Our circle will be small, but bound close by the ties of affection and mutual misfortune.” 23 I agreed with my father, that if my cousin would consent, the ceremony should take place in ten days, and thus put, as I imagined, the seal to my fate. “I shall be with you on your wedding-night.” 24 As the period fixed for our marriage drew nearer, whether from cowardice or a prophetic feeling, I felt my heart sink within me. But I concealed my feelings by an appearance of hilarity, that brought smiles and joy to the countenance of my father, but hardly deceived the ever-watchful and nicer eye of Elizabeth. 25 I shut up, as well as I could, in my own heart the anxiety that preyed there, and entered with seeming earnestness into the plans of my father, although they might only serve as the decorations of my tragedy. In the mean time I took every precaution to defend my person, in case the fiend should openly attack me. I carried pistols and a dagger constantly about me, and was ever on the watch to prevent artifice. As the period approached, the threat appeared more as a delusion, while the happiness I hoped for in my marriage wore a greater appearance of certainty.
What is one way Victor's father did not respond to Victor's claim of guilt?
Victor completely accepts the fact that the creature will soon kill him and doesn't even try to defend himself.
Which portion of the text best supports your answer to the previous question?