But a blight had come over my existence, and I only visited these people for the sake of the information they might give me on the subject in which my interest was so terribly profound.
Chapter 19 · Victor Frankenstein
Context
Victor is in London, where Clerval seeks intellectual company while Victor only engages with natural philosophers to gather information for building the creature's mate. He describes his state of mind during these social visits.
Analysis
The word 'blight' casts Victor's condition as a botanical disease—something external that ruins healthy growth. This frames his misery not as guilt or moral failing, but as a kind of infection, allowing him to position himself as victim rather than agent. The phrase 'terribly profound' then reveals how self-dramatizing his narration has become: he presents his obsession as if it were tragic depth rather than evasion of responsibility.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Victor's metaphors of disease and external affliction are a rhetorical strategy to avoid acknowledging his own choices—he describes consequences as if they happened to him, not because of him.