Frankenstein
Scene #6 · Chapter 10
Victor encounters the Creature on the Mer de Glace glacier, where the being approaches him with superhuman speed, bounding over crevices. Victor initially responds with rage and violent threats, calling the Creature "devil," "vile insect," and "abhorred monster," and attempts to attack him physically. The Creature easily evades Victor and pleads for him to listen, arguing that he was originally benevolent but misery transformed him into a fiend. After the Creature invokes his right to be heard like any accused criminal and promises his story will explain his actions, Victor reluctantly agrees to follow him to a mountain hut to hear his tale, partly motivated by curiosity and a dawning sense of his duties as creator.
This confrontation establishes the central moral conflict of the novel by forcing Victor to acknowledge his responsibility as creator and giving the Creature a voice to challenge his abandonment. The Creature's eloquent self-defense and biblical allusions (comparing himself to Adam and the fallen angel) reveal his intelligence and capacity for reasoning, transforming him from a silent monster into a complex character deserving consideration. Victor's decision to listen marks a crucial turning point where he begins to recognize his obligations, setting up the Creature's narrative that will dominate the next section of the novel.
"Devil," I exclaimed, "do you dare approach me? And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust!"
Chapter 10 · Victor Frankenstein
"I expected this reception," said the dæmon. "All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!"
Chapter 10 · The Creature
I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.
Chapter 10 · The Creature
For the first time, also, I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness.
Chapter 10 · Victor Frankenstein
As I said this I suddenly beheld the figure of a man, at some distance, advancing towards me with superhuman speed. He bounded over the crevices in the ice, among which I had walked with caution; his stature, also, as he approached, seemed to exceed that of man.
Chapter 10 · Victor Frankenstein