Quote Analysis

After visiting Justine in prison, Victor contrasts her calm acceptance of death with his own inner torment. He reflects that Justine feels less anguish than he does, because she is innocent while he bears the true guilt.

The metaphor of the 'never-dying worm' alludes to Isaiah's description of hell ('their worm dieth not'), but Victor relocates damnation from the afterlife into his present body—'alive in my bosom.' This internalized hell is 'never-dying,' trapping Victor in perpetual present-tense suffering that, notably, still does nothing to help Justine, revealing how his self-punishment becomes a self-indulgent alternative to material action.

Use this to argue that Victor's psychological torment functions as a substitute for ethical responsibility—by framing himself as 'the true murderer' already in hell, he performs a self-condemnation that paradoxically lets him off the hook, since he's already punished himself more than any court could.