Frankenstein
Scene #5 · Chapter 8
Justine stands trial for William's murder, and despite her calm defense and Elizabeth's passionate testimony to her character, the circumstantial evidence—particularly the miniature portrait found in her pocket—condemns her. The jury delivers a unanimous guilty verdict (all black ballots), and Justine confesses under pressure from her confessor who threatens her with excommunication and hellfire. Victor and Elizabeth visit her in prison, where Justine reveals she confessed falsely to obtain absolution but maintains her actual innocence. The next day, Justine is executed on the scaffold despite Elizabeth's eloquent appeals and Victor's anguished protests.
This moment establishes Victor as the "true murderer" who bears full moral responsibility for two deaths while an innocent person suffers the consequences of his creation. The execution demonstrates the novel's critique of justice systems that rely on circumstantial evidence and public opinion rather than truth, while Victor's inability to speak out—fearing he would be thought mad—reveals how his isolation and secrecy perpetuate the tragedy. The scene foreshadows Victor's prophetic warning that more deaths will follow, establishing the pattern of innocent victims suffering for his "unhallowed arts."
I did confess, but I confessed a lie. I confessed, that I might obtain absolution; but now that falsehood lies heavier at my heart than all my other sins.
Chapter 8 · Justine Moritz
"I do not fear to die," she said; "that pang is past. God raises my weakness and gives me courage to endure the worst. I leave a sad and bitter world; and if you remember me and think of me as of one unjustly condemned, I am resigned to the fate awaiting me."
Chapter 8 · Justine Moritz
"I know," continued the unhappy victim, "how heavily and fatally this one circumstance weighs against me, but I have no power of explaining it; and when I have expressed my utter ignorance, I am only left to conjecture concerning the probabilities by which it might have been placed in my pocket."
Chapter 8 · Justine Moritz
"God knows," she said, "how entirely I am innocent. But I do not pretend that my protestations should acquit me; I rest my innocence on a plain and simple explanation of the facts which have been adduced against me, and I hope the character I have always borne will incline my judges to a favourable interpretation where any circumstance appears doubtful or suspicious."
Chapter 8 · Justine Moritz
The ballots had been thrown; they were all black, and Justine was condemned.
Chapter 8 · Narrator