During my first experiment, a kind of enthusiastic frenzy had blinded me to the horror of my employment; my mind was intently fixed on the consummation of my labour, and my eyes were shut to the horror of my proceedings. But now I went to it in cold blood, and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands.
Chapter 19 · Victor Frankenstein
Context
Victor contrasts his earlier experience creating the first creature, which he did in a state of passionate obsession, with his current work on the mate, which he approaches with full awareness of its horror.
Analysis
'Enthusiastic frenzy' versus 'cold blood' sets up a before-and-after structure in which Victor's blindness has been replaced by clarity—but this clarity makes the work worse, not better. The phrase 'my eyes were shut' admits that his earlier ignorance was wilful, a refusal to see what he was doing, while 'cold blood' implies he now acts with full knowledge and no justifying passion. This creates a paradox: he was more innocent when blind, more guilty now that he sees, yet he continues anyway.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Victor's confession of acting 'in cold blood' is more damning than his earlier obsession—it proves he is capable of seeing his work as wrong and doing it anyway, which removes the excuse of passion or ignorance he relied on before.