"Cursed,
cursed
creator!
Why
did
I live? Why,
in
that
instant,
did
I
not
extinguish
the
spark
of
existence
which
you
had
so
wantonly bestowed? I
know
not;
despair
had
not
yet
taken
possession
of
me; my feelings
were
those
of
rage
and
revenge. I
could
with
pleasure
have
destroyed
the
cottage
and
its
inhabitants
and
have
glutted
myself
with
their
shrieks
and
misery. "When
night
came I
quitted
my
retreat
and
wandered
in
the
wood;
and
now,
no
longer
restrained
by
the
fear
of
discovery, I gave
vent
to
my
anguish
in
fearful howlings. I
was
like
a wild
beast
that
had
broken
the
toils,
destroying
the
objects
that
obstructed
me
and
ranging
through
the
wood
with
a stag-like swiftness. Oh!
What
a
miserable
night
I passed!
The
cold stars shone
in
mockery,
and
the
bare
trees
waved
their
branches
above
me;
now
and
then
the
sweet
voice
of
a
bird
burst
forth
amidst
the
universal
stillness. All, save I,
were
at
rest
or
in
enjoyment; I,
like
the
arch-fiend, bore a
hell
within
me,
and
finding
myself
unsympathized with,
wished
to
tear
up
the
trees,
spread
havoc
and
destruction
around
me,
and
then
to
have
sat
down
and
enjoyed
the
ruin. "But
this
was
a
luxury
of
sensation
that
could
not
endure; I became
fatigued
with
excess
of
bodily exertion
and
sank
on
the
damp
grass
in
the
sick
impotence
of
despair.
There
was
none
among
the
myriads
of
men
that
existed
who
would
pity
or
assist me;
and
should
I feel
kindness
towards
my enemies? No;
from
that
moment
I
declared
everlasting
war
against
the
species,
and
more
than
all, against
him
who
had
formed
me
and
sent
me
forth
to
this
insupportable
misery. "The
sun
rose; I
heard
the
voices
of
men
and
knew
that
it
was
impossible
to
return
to
my
retreat
during
that
day. Accordingly I hid
myself
in
some
thick
underwood,
determining
to
devote
the
ensuing
hours
to
reflection
on
my situation. "The
pleasant
sunshine
and
the
pure
air
of
day
restored
me
to
some
degree
of
tranquillity;
and
when
I
considered
what
had
passed
at
the
cottage, I
could
not
help
believing
that
I had been
too
hasty
in
my conclusions. I had certainly
acted
imprudently.
It
was
apparent
that
my
conversation
had interested
the
father
in
my behalf,
and
I
was
a fool
in
having
exposed
my
person
to
the
horror
of
his
children. I
ought
to
have
familiarized
the
old
De
Lacey
to
me,
and
by
degrees
to
have
discovered
myself
to
the
rest
of
his
family,
when
they
should
have
been
prepared
for
my approach.
But
I
did
not
believe
my
errors
to
be
irretrievable,
and
after
much
consideration
I resolved
to
return
to
the
cottage,
seek
the
old
man,
and
by
my
representations
win
him
to
my party. "These
thoughts
calmed
me,
and
in
the
afternoon
I sank
into
a
profound
sleep;
but
the
fever
of
my blood
did
not
allow
me
to
be
visited
by
peaceful dreams.
The
horrible
scene
of
the
preceding
day
was
forever acting
before
my eyes;
the
females
were
flying
and
the
enraged
Felix
tearing
me
from
his
father's feet. I
awoke
exhausted,
and
finding
that
it
was
already
night, I crept
forth
from
my hiding-place,
and
went
in
search
of
food. "When my
hunger
was
appeased, I
directed
my
steps
towards
the
well-known
path
that
conducted
to
the
cottage.
All
there
was
at
peace. I crept
into
my hovel
and
remained
in
silent
expectation
of
the
accustomed
hour
when
the
family
arose.
That
hour
passed,
the
sun
mounted high
in
the
heavens,
but
the
cottagers
did
not
appear. I
trembled
violently,
apprehending
some
dreadful misfortune.
The
inside
of
the
cottage
was
dark,
and
I
heard
no
motion; I cannot
describe
the
agony
of
this
suspense. "Presently
two
countrymen
passed
by,
but
pausing
near
the
cottage,
they
entered
into
conversation,
using
violent
gesticulations;
but
I
did
not
understand
what
they
said,
as
they
spoke
the
language
of
the
country,
which
differed
from
that
of
my protectors.
Soon
after, however,
Felix
approached
with
another
man; I
was
surprised,
as
I
knew
that
he
had
not
quitted
the
cottage
that
morning,
and
waited
anxiously
to
discover
from
his
discourse
the
meaning
of
these
unusual appearances. "'Do
you
consider,' said
his
companion
to
him, 'that
you
will
be
obliged
to
pay
three
months'
rent
and
to
lose
the
produce
of
your
garden? I
do
not
wish
to
take
any
unfair
advantage,
and
I
beg
therefore
that
you
will
take
some
days
to
consider
of
your
determination.' "'It
is
utterly
useless,' replied Felix; 'we
can
never
again
inhabit
your
cottage.
The
life
of
my father
is
in
the
greatest danger,
owing
to
the
dreadful
circumstance
that
I
have
related. My
wife
and
my
sister
will
never
recover
from
their
horror. I
entreat
you
not
to
reason
with
me
any
more.
Take
possession
of
your
tenement
and
let
me
fly
from
this
place.' "Felix
trembled
violently
as
he
said this.
He
and
his
companion
entered
the
cottage,
in
which
they
remained
for
a
few
minutes,
and
then
departed. I
never
saw
any
of
the
family
of
De
Lacey more. "I
continued
for
the
remainder
of
the
day
in
my hovel
in
a
state
of
utter
and
stupid
despair. My
protectors
had
departed
and
had
broken
the
only
link
that
held
me
to
the
world.
For
the
first
time
the
feelings
of
revenge
and
hatred
filled
my bosom,
and
I
did
not
strive
to
control them,
but
allowing
myself
to
be
borne
away
by
the
stream, I bent my
mind
towards
injury
and
death.
When
I
thought
of
my friends,
of
the
mild
voice
of
De
Lacey,
the
gentle
eyes
of
Agatha,
and
the
exquisite
beauty
of
the
Arabian,
these
thoughts
vanished
and
a
gush
of
tears
somewhat
soothed
me.
But
again
when
I
reflected
that
they
had
spurned
and
deserted
me,
anger
returned, a
rage
of
anger,
and
unable
to
injure
anything
human, I
turned
my
fury
towards
inanimate
objects.
As
night
advanced I
placed
a
variety
of
combustibles
around
the
cottage,
and
after
having
destroyed
every
vestige
of
cultivation
in
the
garden, I
waited
with
forced
impatience
until
the
moon had sunk
to
commence
my operations. "As
the
night
advanced, a
fierce
wind arose
from
the
woods
and
quickly
dispersed
the
clouds
that
had
loitered
in
the
heavens;
the
blast
tore
along
like
a
mighty
avalanche
and
produced a
kind
of
insanity
in
my spirits
that
burst
all
bounds
of
reason
and
reflection. I
lighted
the
dry
branch
of
a tree
and
danced
with
fury
around
the
devoted cottage, my
eyes
still
fixed
on
the
western
horizon,
the
edge
of
which
the
moon nearly touched. A
part
of
its
orb
was
at
length
hid,
and
I
waved
my brand;
it
sank,
and
with
a
loud
scream
I
fired
the
straw,
and
heath,
and
bushes,
which
I had collected.
The
wind
fanned
the
fire,
and
the
cottage
was
quickly
enveloped
by
the
flames,
which
clung
to
it
and
licked
it
with
their
forked
and
destroying
tongues. "As
soon
as
I
was
convinced
that
no
assistance
could
save
any
part
of
the
habitation, I
quitted
the
scene
and
sought
for
refuge
in
the
woods. "And now,
with
the
world
before
me,
whither
should
I
bend
my steps? I resolved
to
fly
far
from
the
scene
of
my misfortunes;
but
to
me,
hated
and
despised,
every
country
must
be
equally horrible.
At
length
the
thought
of
you
crossed
my mind. I learned
from
your
papers
that
you
were
my father, my creator;
and
to
whom
could
I
apply
with
more
fitness
than
to
him
who
had
given
me
life?
Among
the
lessons
that
Felix
had bestowed
upon
Safie,
geography
had
not
been omitted; I had learned
from
these
the
relative
situations
of
the
different
countries
of
the
earth.
You
had
mentioned
Geneva
as
the
name
of
your
native
town,
and
towards
this
place
I resolved
to
proceed. "But
how
was
I
to
direct
myself? I
knew
that
I
must
travel
in
a southwesterly
direction
to
reach my destination,
but
the
sun
was
my
only
guide. I
did
not
know
the
names
of
the
towns
that
I
was
to
pass through,
nor
could
I
ask
information
from
a single
human
being;
but
I
did
not
despair.
From
you
only
could
I
hope
for
succour, although
towards
you
I felt
no
sentiment
but
that
of
hatred. Unfeeling,
heartless
creator!
You
had endowed
me
with
perceptions
and
passions
and
then
cast
me
abroad
an
object
for
the
scorn
and
horror
of
mankind.
But
on
you
only
had I
any
claim
for
pity
and
redress,
and
from
you
I determined
to
seek
that
justice
which
I
vainly
attempted
to
gain
from
any
other
being
that
wore
the
human
form. "My travels
were
long
and
the
sufferings I
endured
intense.
It
was
late
in
autumn
when
I
quitted
the
district
where
I had
so
long
resided. I travelled
only
at
night, fearful
of
encountering
the
visage
of
a
human
being.
Nature
decayed
around
me,
and
the
sun
became heatless;
rain
and
snow
poured
around
me;
mighty
rivers
were
frozen;
the
surface
of
the
earth
was
hard
and
chill,
and
bare,
and
I found
no
shelter. Oh, earth!
How
often
did
I imprecate
curses
on
the
cause
of
my being!
The
mildness
of
my
nature
had fled,
and
all
within
me
was
turned
to
gall
and
bitterness.
The
nearer
I approached
to
your
habitation,
the
more
deeply
did
I feel
the
spirit
of
revenge
enkindled
in
my heart.
Snow
fell,
and
the
waters
were
hardened,
but
I rested not. A
few
incidents
now
and
then
directed
me,
and
I possessed a
map
of
the
country;
but
I
often
wandered
wide
from
my path.
The
agony
of
my feelings allowed
me
no
respite;
no
incident
occurred
from
which
my
rage
and
misery
could
not
extract
its
food;
but
a
circumstance
that
happened
when
I
arrived
on
the
confines
of
Switzerland,
when
the
sun
had
recovered
its
warmth
and
the
earth
again
began
to
look
green, confirmed
in
an
especial
manner
the
bitterness
and
horror
of
my feelings. "I generally rested
during
the
day
and
travelled
only
when
I
was
secured
by
night
from
the
view
of
man.
One
morning, however,
finding
that
my
path
lay
through
a
deep
wood, I
ventured
to
continue
my
journey
after
the
sun
had risen;
the
day,
which
was
one
of
the
first
of
spring, cheered
even
me
by
the
loveliness
of
its
sunshine
and
the
balminess
of
the
air. I felt
emotions
of
gentleness
and
pleasure,
that
had
long
appeared
dead,
revive
within
me.
Half
surprised
by
the
novelty
of
these
sensations, I allowed
myself
to
be
borne
away
by
them,
and
forgetting
my
solitude
and
deformity,
dared
to
be
happy.
Soft
tears
again
bedewed my cheeks,
and
I
even
raised
my
humid
eyes
with
thankfulness
towards
the
blessed sun,
which
bestowed
such
joy
upon
me. "I
continued
to
wind
among
the
paths
of
the
wood,
until
I came
to
its
boundary,
which
was
skirted
by
a
deep
and
rapid
river,
into
which
many
of
the
trees bent
their
branches,
now
budding
with
the
fresh
spring.
Here
I paused,
not
exactly knowing
what
path
to
pursue,
when
I
heard
the
sound
of
voices,
that
induced
me
to
conceal
myself
under
the
shade
of
a cypress. I
was
scarcely
hid
when
a
young
girl
came running
towards
the
spot
where
I
was
concealed, laughing,
as
if
she
ran
from
someone
in
sport.
She
continued
her
course
along
the
precipitous
sides
of
the
river,
when
suddenly
her
foot
slipped,
and
she
fell
into
the
rapid
stream. I
rushed
from
my hiding-place
and
with
extreme
labour,
from
the
force
of
the
current, saved
her
and
dragged
her
to
shore.
She
was
senseless,
and
I
endeavoured
by
every
means
in
my power
to
restore
animation,
when
I
was
suddenly interrupted
by
the
approach
of
a rustic,
who
was
probably
the
person
from
whom
she
had playfully fled.
On
seeing
me,
he
darted
towards
me,
and
tearing
the
girl
from
my arms, hastened
towards
the
deeper
parts
of
the
wood. I
followed
speedily, I
hardly
knew
why;
but
when
the
man
saw
me
draw
near,
he
aimed
a gun,
which
he
carried,
at
my
body
and
fired. I sank
to
the
ground,
and
my injurer,
with
increased swiftness,
escaped
into
the
wood. "This
was
then
the
reward
of
my benevolence! I had saved a
human
being
from
destruction,
and
as
a
recompense
I
now
writhed
under
the
miserable
pain
of
a
wound
which
shattered
the
flesh
and
bone.
The
feelings
of
kindness
and
gentleness
which
I had
entertained
but
a
few
moments
before
gave
place
to
hellish
rage
and
gnashing
of
teeth.
Inflamed
by
pain, I
vowed
eternal
hatred
and
vengeance
to
all
mankind.
But
the
agony
of
my
wound
overcame me; my
pulses
paused,
and
I fainted. "For
some
weeks
I led a
miserable
life
in
the
woods,
endeavouring
to
cure
the
wound
which
I had received.
The
ball
had
entered
my shoulder,
and
I
knew
not
whether
it
had
remained
there
or
passed
through;
at
any
rate
I had
no
means
of
extracting
it. My sufferings
were
augmented
also
by
the
oppressive
sense
of
the
injustice
and
ingratitude
of
their
infliction. My
daily
vows
rose
for
revenge—a
deep
and
deadly
revenge,
such
as
would
alone
compensate
for
the
outrages
and
anguish
I had endured. "After
some
weeks
my
wound
healed,
and
I
continued
my journey.
The
labours
I
endured
were
no
longer
to
be
alleviated
by
the
bright
sun
or
gentle
breezes
of
spring;
all
joy
was
but
a
mockery
which
insulted
my desolate
state
and
made
me
feel
more
painfully
that
I
was
not
made
for
the
enjoyment
of
pleasure. "But my
toils
now
drew
near
a close,
and
in
two
months
from
this
time I reached
the
environs
of
Geneva. "It
was
evening
when
I arrived,
and
I retired
to
a hiding-place
among
the
fields
that
surround
it
to
meditate
in
what
manner
I
should
apply
to
you. I
was
oppressed
by
fatigue
and
hunger
and
far
too
unhappy
to
enjoy
the
gentle
breezes
of
evening
or
the
prospect
of
the
sun
setting
behind
the
stupendous
mountains
of
Jura. "At
this
time a slight
sleep
relieved
me
from
the
pain
of
reflection,
which
was
disturbed
by
the
approach
of
a beautiful child,
who
came running
into
the
recess I had chosen,
with
all
the
sportiveness
of
infancy. Suddenly,
as
I gazed
on
him,
an
idea
seized
me
that
this
little
creature
was
unprejudiced
and
had
lived
too
short
a time
to
have
imbibed
a
horror
of
deformity. If, therefore, I
could
seize
him
and
educate
him
as
my
companion
and
friend, I
should
not
be
so
desolate
in
this
peopled
earth. "Urged
by
this
impulse, I
seized
on
the
boy
as
he
passed
and
drew
him
towards
me.
As
soon
as
he
beheld my form,
he
placed
his
hands
before
his
eyes
and
uttered
a shrill scream; I
drew
his
hand
forcibly
from
his
face
and
said, 'Child,
what
is
the
meaning
of
this? I
do
not
intend
to
hurt you;
listen
to
me.' "He struggled violently. 'Let
me
go,'
he
cried; 'monster!
Ugly
wretch!
You
wish
to
eat
me
and
tear
me
to
pieces.
You
are
an
ogre.
Let
me
go,
or
I
will
tell
my papa.' "'Boy,
you
will
never
see
your
father again;
you
must
come
with
me.' "'Hideous monster!
Let
me
go. My
papa
is
a syndic—he
is
M. Frankenstein—he
will
punish
you.
You
dare
not
keep
me.' "'Frankenstein!
you
belong
then
to
my enemy—to
him
towards
whom
I
have
sworn
eternal
revenge;
you
shall
be
my
first
victim.' "The
child
still
struggled
and
loaded
me
with
epithets
which
carried
despair
to
my heart; I
grasped
his
throat
to
silence him,
and
in
a
moment
he
lay
dead
at
my feet. "I gazed
on
my victim,
and
my
heart
swelled
with
exultation
and
hellish
triumph; clapping my hands, I exclaimed, 'I
too
can
create
desolation; my
enemy
is
not
invulnerable;
this
death
will
carry
despair
to
him,
and
a
thousand
other
miseries
shall
torment
and
destroy
him.' "As I fixed my
eyes
on
the
child, I
saw
something
glittering
on
his
breast. I
took
it;
it
was
a
portrait
of
a
most
lovely
woman.
In
spite
of
my malignity,
it
softened
and
attracted
me.
For
a
few
moments
I gazed
with
delight
on
her
dark eyes,
fringed
by
deep
lashes,
and
her
lovely
lips;
but
presently my
rage
returned; I
remembered
that
I
was
forever deprived
of
the
delights
that
such
beautiful
creatures
could
bestow
and
that
she
whose
resemblance
I
contemplated
would,
in
regarding
me,
have
changed
that
air
of
divine
benignity
to
one
expressive
of
disgust
and
affright. "Can
you
wonder
that
such
thoughts
transported
me
with
rage? I
only
wonder
that
at
that
moment,
instead
of
venting
my
sensations
in
exclamations
and
agony, I
did
not
rush
among
mankind
and
perish
in
the
attempt
to
destroy
them. "While I
was
overcome
by
these
feelings, I left
the
spot
where
I had committed
the
murder,
and
seeking
a
more
secluded hiding-place, I
entered
a
barn
which
had
appeared
to
me
to
be
empty. A
woman
was
sleeping
on
some
straw;
she
was
young,
not
indeed
so
beautiful
as
her
whose
portrait
I held,
but
of
an
agreeable
aspect
and
blooming
in
the
loveliness
of
youth
and
health. Here, I thought,
is
one
of
those
whose
joy-imparting
smiles
are
bestowed
on
all
but
me.
And
then
I bent
over
her
and
whispered, 'Awake, fairest, thy
lover
is
near—he
who
would
give
his
life
but
to
obtain
one
look
of
affection
from
thine
eyes; my beloved, awake!' "The
sleeper
stirred; a thrill
of
terror
ran
through
me.
Should
she
indeed
awake,
and
see
me,
and
curse
me,
and
denounce
the
murderer?
Thus
would
she
assuredly
act
if
her
darkened
eyes
opened
and
she
beheld me.
The
thought
was
madness;
it
stirred
the
fiend
within
me—not I,
but
she,
shall
suffer;
the
murder
I
have
committed
because
I
am
forever
robbed
of
all
that
she
could
give
me,
she
shall
atone.
The
crime
had
its
source
in
her;
be
hers
the
punishment!
Thanks
to
the
lessons
of
Felix
and
the
sanguinary
laws
of
man, I had learned
now
to
work
mischief. I bent
over
her
and
placed
the
portrait
securely
in
one
of
the
folds
of
her
dress.
She
moved
again,
and
I fled. "For
some
days
I
haunted
the
spot
where
these
scenes
had taken place, sometimes
wishing
to
see
you, sometimes resolved
to
quit
the
world
and
its
miseries
forever.
At
length
I
wandered
towards
these
mountains,
and
have
ranged
through
their
immense
recesses,
consumed
by
a
burning
passion
which
you
alone
can
gratify.
We
may
not
part
until
you
have
promised
to
comply
with
my requisition. I
am
alone
and
miserable;
man
will
not
associate
with
me;
but
one
as
deformed
and
horrible
as
myself
would
not
deny
herself
to
me. My
companion
must
be
of
the
same
species
and
have
the
same
defects.
This
being
you
must
create."