The Monster threatens Victor: "I will be with you on your wedding night!" Victor automatically assumes that the Monster is going to kill him, not another of his loved ones. The Monster doesn't want to kill Victor because...
...he cannot bring himself to kill his Creator
...he wants to make Victor suffer
...he wants to teach Victor a lesson, so that maybe he will change his mind...they are the same person (Maybe there is no monster; maybe they are one and the same)
*Research question: Are Victor and the Monster one and the same person?
The biggest argument against this is the question of why Victor would want to kill his friends and family. But perhaps Victor is sheerly self-destructive; maybe he is trying to get rid of these people before they can hurt him. He wants to make sure that he will not be as hurt as he was by his mother's death.
so if they are the same person, who does the term "the wretch" refer to?
-on page 119, Victor calls himself a "miserable wretch" as he and Clerval begin their journey
-on page 131, the Monster threatens Victor for destroying the female creation: "I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you" Clearly, Victor feels as wretched as the Monster does.
-After Victor is thrown into prison, he describes himself as "wretched" and "a wretch" several times. His despondency is encompassed in the repetition of the word "wretch," and he is once again relating himself to the only other wretch in the story--the Monster.
-When Victor and his father are returning to Geneva, Victor confesses: Human beings, their feelings and passions, would indeed be degraded if such a wretch as I felt pride" (145). Victor fancies himself to be a wretch and a murderer--something his father clearly does not believe. He says that he killed Justine; the Monster is enacting his wishes (in accordance with the idea that they are the same person).
Even if they are not the same person, they are definitely in a mirroring relationship. Is Victor inflecting wretchedness upon himself? If he can't be the best, perhaps he wants to be the worst. (like Satan's fall). Why would Victor want to live so wretchedly? Perhaps it is part of his belief that others can hurt him, and he is trying to protect himself from such suffering.
-After Victor is thrown into prison, he describes himself as "wretched" and "a wretch" several times. His despondency is encompassed in the repetition of the word "wretch," and he is once again relating himself to the only other wretch in the story--the Monster.
-When Victor and his father are returning to Geneva, Victor confesses: Human beings, their feelings and passions, would indeed be degraded if such a wretch as I felt pride" (145). Victor fancies himself to be a wretch and a murderer--something his father clearly does not believe. He says that he killed Justine; the Monster is enacting his wishes (in accordance with the idea that they are the same person).
Even if they are not the same person, they are definitely in a mirroring relationship. Is Victor inflecting wretchedness upon himself? If he can't be the best, perhaps he wants to be the worst. (like Satan's fall). Why would Victor want to live so wretchedly? Perhaps it is part of his belief that others can hurt him, and he is trying to protect himself from such suffering.
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