Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
In this section, Victor seemingly faces the first concrete consequences of his creation. Although the identity of William's murderer is technically unknown, the various theories of guilt create situational irony that compounds Victor's remorse for his creation.
Victor's father, Alphonse, revealed William's murder to Victor almost immediately after Victor had recovered from his illness following the creation. Additionally, Elizabeth wrongfully assumed guilt for the murder on the grounds that the necklace she had given William appeared to be the motive for the murder: "Oh, God! I have murdered my darling child!" (Shelley, 47). Few would ever expect that someone so caring as Elizabeth would even be suspected of indirectly causing her cousin's murder. Nevertheless, the reader soon finds that most expected that Justine, the dedicated servant, did in fact directly murder William.
Almost immediately, Victor accuses his creation of the murder. Therefore, the reader is conditioned to believe that the ironies befalling his family are his doing. Even though Victor commenced his creation with the intention of eliminating death, it has only brought misery. Assuming that the creature murdered William, Victor allowed for the death of his brother, the depression and guilt of his cousin, and the probable execution of his faithful servant.
So far, it seems that Shelley warns the reader again that death is inevitable, and any effort to resist inevitably brings death.
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