Frankenstein

Frankenstein Quote Analysis

I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged.

Chapter 20 · Victor Frankenstein

Quote Type: NarrationDifficulty: ★★☆Quotability: ★★★☆☆

Theme

Responsibility and Consequences

Character

Victor Frankenstein

Setting

Scotland

Context

Seeing the creature watch him, Victor destroys the half-finished female body he has been constructing.

Analysis

Victor describes tearing apart the body as a response to 'a sensation of madness,' medicalizing his choice as if it were involuntary. The phrase 'the thing on which I was engaged' refuses to name what he destroys—not 'the creature,' not 'her body,' just 'the thing'—a verbal erasure that strips the act of its violence. By calling his deliberate destruction mad, Victor evades accountability for a calculated decision.

Essay Tip

Support a thesis that Victor uses passive or clinical language to hide agency—he calls destroying the female a 'sensation of madness' and names her body only as 'the thing,' making a violent choice sound like something that happened to him.

Related Key Moment

Scene #9 · Chapter 20

Victor Destroys the Female Creature While Being Watched

Victor sits in his laboratory at twilight, reflecting on the potential consequences of creating a female creature. He realizes she might be…

Related Prompts

Scene Analysis
In the scene where Victor destroys the female creature while being watched, sitting in his laboratory at twilight and contemplating the potential consequences of his work, Shelley depicts Victor's second crucial decision regarding creation. Analyze how this moment develops the theme of responsibility and consequences, particularly the impossible moral calculus Victor faces. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Argument for this quote:
This quote captures the precise moment of destruction within the scene, where Victor's 'sensation of madness' and violent action ('tore to pieces') dramatize the impossible moral calculus—the physical destruction of his work represents his attempt to prevent future catastrophe while simultaneously breaking his promise and ensuring present vengeance.