My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar. Did any one indeed exist, except I, the creator, who would believe, unless his senses convinced him, in the existence of the living monument of presumption and rash ignorance which I had let loose upon the world?
Chapter 7 · Narrator
Context
Victor considers revealing that the creature killed William but decides against it, reasoning that his story would be dismissed as insane. He reflects on the impossibility of making others believe in the creature's existence without physical proof.
Analysis
Victor calls the creature "the living monument of presumption and rash ignorance which I had let loose upon the world," using architectural language ("monument") that turns the being into a static symbol rather than an active agent. This monumental metaphor lets Victor acknowledge his own "presumption and rash ignorance" while displacing it onto the creature—he confesses through the thing he made, speaking guilt at one remove.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Victor's language consistently converts the creature into metaphor or symbol (here, a "monument") because he cannot bear to treat it as a being with agency—this rhetorical strategy lets him admit fault abstractly while avoiding direct moral reckoning with what he has done.