I now also began to collect the materials necessary for my new creation, and this was to me like the torture of single drops of water continually falling on the head.
Chapter 19 · Victor Frankenstein
Context
Victor begins gathering materials in London to create a female companion for the creature, describing the psychological toll this task takes on him.
Analysis
The simile compares his work to water torture—not a single devastating blow but relentless, cumulative suffering. This frames the task as something inflicted on him rather than something he chose, and the slow-drip image makes his agency disappear: torture is done to you, not by you. The physical precision of 'single drops' makes his dread feel visceral, but also oddly self-pitying given that he could simply refuse.
Essay Tip
Use this to show how Victor's language of torture and compulsion masks the fact that he has a choice—by describing his promise as torment, he avoids asking whether he should keep it at all.