I saw an insurmountable barrier placed between me and my fellow men; this barrier was sealed with the blood of William and Justine, and to reflect on the events connected with those names filled my soul with anguish.
Chapter 19 · Victor Frankenstein
Context
Victor reflects on how the deaths of William and Justine have isolated him from other people during his time in London, even as he mingles in intellectual circles.
Analysis
Victor imagines an 'insurmountable barrier' built and 'sealed' by others' blood, as if their deaths constructed a wall he now passively encounters. The passive construction ('was sealed') erases his agency: the barrier appears ready-made rather than built by his own silence at Justine's trial. This gap between what Victor admits (feeling separated) and what he won't admit (that he separated himself) marks a clear instance of unreliable self-narration.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Victor narrates his guilt as a physical barrier imposed on him, not a moral failure he chose—his metaphors consistently recast his decisions as things that happened to him, revealing how he rewrites his own story.