The cup of life was poisoned for ever, and although the sun shone upon me, as upon the happy and gay of heart, I saw around me nothing but a dense and frightful darkness, penetrated by no light but the glimmer of two eyes that glared upon me.
Chapter 21 · Victor Frankenstein
Context
Freed from prison but traveling home with his father, Victor reflects that freedom means nothing to him because his entire experience of life has been poisoned.
Analysis
The metaphor of the 'cup of life' being 'poisoned' transforms existence into something Victor has been forced to drink, but the image also recalls the cup he himself prepared when he created the creature. The contrast between external brightness ('the sun shone upon me') and Victor's internal darkness is structured as a concession—'although the sun shone'—that isolates him from the world others inhabit. The 'glimmer of two eyes' specifies the creature without naming it, reducing the creature to a pair of watching eyes, an image of surveillance and judgment.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Victor's metaphors inadvertently indict him—the 'cup of life' he claims was poisoned is one he mixed himself, and his feeling of being watched reflects guilt, not persecution.