Chapter II PhD
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CHAPTER II
FRANKENSTEIN
THE SECULAR CREATOR
'Ah! Cornelius Agrippa! My dear Victor, do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash.'
(FRANKENSTEIN, P. 26)
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The hero's name, in this chapter, brings to the reader's mind visions of horror, terror and the world of the supernatural. On the other hand, the author's name leads to a trust worthy literary name that belongs to outstanding literary figures. While, the theme and its implications are main components of our target, Faustian, subject.
Frankenstein is a name usually acquainted with a monstrous shape that resembles the shape of a human being, yet it is huge, ugly, deformed and full of stitches. In fact, the name is not that of the monster; it is the family name of the young Dr. Victor Lavenza Frankenstein, the 'creator' of the monstrous figure. As long as our main subject discussion is the Faustian theme and its implications, and as the word 'creator' has been just mentioned, therefore we are facing the first Omni feature in the Faustian ambition, the act of Creation.
Omni power requires a lot of Omni ingredients; thus Creation occupies the highest rank of Godly qualities. As previously demonstrated, attaining Godly qualities is a main goal of Faustian Heroes. Thus, the task of this chapter is to clarify the hero's desires and prove their Faustian level of interpretation in addition to revealing the clear resemblance between Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Dr. Johan Faustus, plus, emphasising on the first corner of the Faustian triangle, which is that of creation.
Some fruitful results could spring out of a brief review of the novel, its genre, the author, the surrounding and the circumstances. The author, to begin with, is the daughter of two famous intellectual figures, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, where the former was an advocate of women rights and the later was an advocate of the "radical revolution in politics and life style"(www.watershed.com FAQ1). The mother had an adventurous romantic life that resulted in a girl called Fanny, and her life ended while giving birth to young Mary, the author to be. Fanny, Mary's stepsister, faced a lot of misfortunes and committed suicide while Mary was nineteen years old. Four years before the death of her stepsister, Mary met the young married Percy Bysshe Shelley and eloped with him after two more years. During the same year of Fanny's suicidal death, Mary and Percy Shelly where hosted by the Lord Byron in his villa "Diodati on Lake Leman near Geneva" (Same source). Mentioning that Harriet, Percy's wife committed suicide too could aid in resuming that Mary Shelly had a unique experience of her own; viewing and judging two suicidal acts and reflecting on them in her classic work to come.
I busied myself to think of a story, -- a story to rival those which had excited us to this task. One which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature, and awaken thrilling horror -- one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart. If I did not accomplish these things, my ghost story would be unworthy of its name. (Same source, p. viii-ix)
Quoting what Mary thought the story must do; 'would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature' we can easily notice the kind of fear she means. Man's nature, although complicated, yet it could be simplified in the balance between good and evil and as evil is that dark and mysterious entity innate within our nature, Mary Shelly's work, from its starting point, was fated to address our innate fears. The outcome of Mary's intentions was a famous classic that haunted the minds of a large number of people and has been connected with the creation of a monster whenever mentioned.
The novel passed through phases of existence; it, first, started as an idea surrounded with what was previously mentioned, second, its first edition appeared in 1818 with the editing aid of Percy Shelley and third was the master edition of 1831. It is not easy to classify the novel as Gothic, Romantic, or a work of science fiction. Yet, it is a blend of all. As Mary states how everything began she says:
I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world. His success would terrify the artist; he would rush away from his odious handywork, horror-stricken. (e-text of Frankenstein, p. x).
Therefore, the hero of the novel, like Faustus, is a student of wicked arts, and what is he doing? He is trying to mock the Creator, in other words he is trying his own hands at creation. Thereby, the novel started as an idea that transcends the human limitations and excels in seeking for Omni potentials especially that of Creation. In Watershed online, the Frankenstein FAQ section 4:
If Frankenstein is a subtle critique of the excesses in Romanticism, it is equally a critique on all ideologies of inflation whether scientific, religious or philosophical. From her own experience Mary Shelly speaks with credibility to whatever exalts human pride over nature's limitation. (Watershed Online)
Exalting human pride and trespassing nature limitations is a core in the Faustian trend, and, in this novel, it is Mary Shelly's aim and her hero's soul target. Mary started writing her novel just in time, as she says, "it was the offspring of happy days, when death and grief were but words, which found no true echo in my heart."(Introduction to Frankenstein by Marry Shelley, p. xii)
The novel starts with a series of letters between captain R. Walton to his sister Mrs. Saville in England informing her about his sailing adventures and relating to her the incident of finding Doctor Victor Frankenstein in a half-dead state. After the saved doctor started to recover he decided to tell the captain his story and, on his turn, the captain, is transforming the story to his sister. Yet before going through the terrible account of doctor Victor Frankenstein, the captain and his men were talking about a large human figure that they saw moving during the previous night, this ordinary talk attracted the doctor who asked about "the route which the demon, as he called him, had pursued." (Frankenstein, p. 13). Here is the first utterance describing doctor Victor's creation as a 'demon'. In his own introduction to his story he says,
I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes. I had determined at one time that the memory of these evils should die with me, but you have won me to alter my determination. You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been. (Frankenstein, p. 17)
This introduction resembles the beginning of all Faustian works; we know from the introductory scenes that the hero is doomed and that he has done something unbelievably evil. It was the chorus, in Marlow's Doctor Faustus, that gave us the introduction, while it is the doctor himself who gave it in Shelley's version of the story. Furthermore, doctor Victor confesses for the first time, that will be repeated more than once through the course of the novel, that all started due to his search for 'knowledge and wisdom'; that kind of knowledge that is beyond human achievement. He, also confesses that this seek has resulted in a serpent; with, off course the implications of the word 'serpent' as connected to the word 'devil', that stung him. He continues as if he is an echo of the chorus inviting the audience to witness the predetermined life of Doctor Faustus, " listen to my history, and you will perceive bow irrevocably it is determined." (Frankenstein, p. 17).
What is more telling is yet to come; Victor Frankenstein directly states the same Faustian desire using almost the same words rephrased to suit a novel more than an enacted speech;
My temper was sometimes violent, and my passions vehement; but by some law in my temperature they were turned not towards childish pursuits but to an eager desire to learn, …. I confess that neither the structure of languages, nor the code of governments, nor the politics of various states possessed attractions for me. It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world. (Frankenstein, p. 24).
Like Faustus who was seeking eternal knowledge, doctor Victor is seeking the gates of the supernatural, the metaphysical, and the secrets of the world.
As Faustus tended towards magic, searching for its teachers and aiming at its promising secrets, doctor Victor Frankenstein tended to a similar branch of knowledge under the supervision of an encouraging scholar he clearly describes;
I was left to struggle with a child's blindness, added to a student's thirst for knowledge. Under the guidance of my new preceptors I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life; but the latter soon obtained my undivided attention. (Frankenstein, p. 27).
Doctor Victor's search for knowledge has developed to a clearer prospect directed towards the 'elixir of life'. Nevertheless, he does not stop after this confession; he reinforces it and proves his direct connection to the Faustian tradition:
The raising of ghosts or devils was a promise liberally accorded by my favourite authors, the fulfillment of which I most eagerly sought; and if my incantations were always unsuccessful, I attributed the failure rather to my own inexperience and mistake than to want of skill or fidelity in my instructors. (Frankenstein, p. 27).
Thus, doctor Frankenstein frankly admits that he 'eagerly sought' an extra-ordinary power, rather devilish, and that his failures are due to his 'inexperience', or, in other words, he was in seek of Omni power but, still, he lacked knowledge. "I ardently desired the acquisition of knowledge" (Frankenstein, p. 31).
Within Victor's narration, he introduces us to his old man, his father, who disapproved his tendencies and considered his efforts to be spent in vain. Yet, Victor turned his back towards his father's opinion and went on with his search:
Chance -- or rather the evil influence, the Angel of Destruction, which asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment I turned my reluctant steps from my father's door -- led me first to M. Krempe, professor of natural philosophy. (Frankenstein, p. 32).
The words used by doctor Victor Frankenstein to state his thoughts, desires and reflections, seem to be rephrasing of the original Faustian expressions and words. In addition, doctor Frankenstein seems to share the same theological attitudes as any Faustian hero:
I do not ever remember to have trembled at a tale of superstition or to have feared the apparition of a spirit. Darkness had no effect upon my fancy, and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life, which, from being the seat of beauty and strength, had become food for the worm. (Frankenstein, p. 38).
Doctor Victor fears no ghosts, or spirits, seeks knowledge, is tempted to raise devils and regards a churchyard as a place similar to a cold graveyard. What else does he need to be a modern version of Doctor Faustus? Now it is time to obtain the said to be the greatest Omni power, the power of Creation. By reaching this state, doctor Frankenstein will achieve his deal with the devil and the countdown towards damnation starts.
After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter. (Frankenstein, p. 38).
It was not enough for the young doctor to discover the 'cause of generation and life', it was only that Omni gate of 'bestowing animation upon lifeless matter'; Creation. Not only Creation, but also, further, the creation of man:
I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organization; but my imagination was too much exalted by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man. (Frankenstein, p. 39).
The temptation was unavoidable and its borders did not provide an obstacle to the young doctor's ambitions.
Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should fist break through, … A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. …, I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time …. renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption. (Frankenstein, p. 40).
The previous words are certainly not that of an ambitious doctor, rather, they are the words of an ambitious Faustian figure, an Omni power seeker, someone who dares to challenge human nature and aspire the power of Creation. His ambition has transformed to a desire to achieve a God-like reputation among humans, a sense of ownership, authority and a desire for worship and gratitude. In fact, doctor Victor Frankenstein is a copy of the Faustian myth that is aspiring for the ultimate power of Creation. Knowing that he is attempting the forbidden, his psychological state is highly disturbed and he is extremely nervous as he says; " Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime." (Frankenstein, p. 42).
The creation of the monster was a terrible experience to the young doctor; his fear was so great that it drove him out of his lab,
I took refuge in the courtyard …, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life. (Frankenstein, p. 44).
Doctor Frankenstein faced a terrible situation that "No mortal could support the horror of that countenance" (Frankenstein, p. 44). He faced the devil, a demonic figure 'corpse', that was formed and gathered throughout long hard nights of work and bestowed life upon his orders. It is clear that the whole experience had been a series of mental developments that are typically Faustian. Doctor Victor started with an eagerness for knowledge, moved towards a desire to raise demons and give life to lifeless matter, further, tended towards an action that may enable him to be worshiped by the forth-coming generation resulting from his new immortal powers. "Victor Frankenstein becomes intoxicated with the possibilities of modern science. He is so inflated and consumed with the knowledge of how to animate a human creature that he does not consider the morality or even the aesthetics" (www.watershed.com - FAQ4).
Like any Faustian hero, doctor Victor discovers what he already knows; that he has gone beyond the limits and aimed at forbidden gates, he says,
I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. (Frankenstein, p. 43).
Doctor Victor, like doctor Faustus, was not interested in money and wealth, he was interested in the specific Omni quality of Creation; "Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery," (Frankenstein, p. 27).
The outcome of doctor Victor's creation was not just a monster in a deformed human frame, but, it was a real devil; Doctor Faustus has called for Mephistopheles and he got him. This is attested through a series of terrible events that followed the creation of the monster. After doctor Frankenstein left his lab, he met his dearest friend Clerval who accompanied him back to his workplace to find out, for doctor Victor's surprise, that the monster has disappeared. The presence of Clerval was the only refuge for Frankenstein's forthcoming physical and psychological problems. In Frankenstein vs. Science Fiction, An Attempt to Compromise, Clerval is considered the old man, resembling the one in Marlow's Doctor Faustus because of his romantic nature and his tendency towards the past more than towards modernism and rebellious thought.
At this point in the novel, doctor Victor suffers physically as if he has committed a crime or a murder to prove a theory as Raskolnikov in the famous Crime and Punishment. However it was a crime of the contrary act, it was not depriving life it was, rather bestowing it. His laughs and looks were described by Clervel, "he saw a wildness in my eyes for which he could not account, and my loud, unrestrained, heartless laughter frightened and astonished him." (Frankenstein, p.47). After a long period of illness, doctor Victor hears the terrible news of murdering his child brother William and manages to return to his country and share these sad moments with his family. His feelings on his way home were, " The picture appeared a vast and dim scene of evil, and I foresaw obscurely that I was destined to become the most wretched of human beings." (Frankenstein, p. 60) On arriving he faces two incidents, one was seeing and knowing that his created monster appears to be in the same country and, second, is that who is suspected as a murderer is the most innocent Justine Moritz whom he knows quite well and is sure she may never commit such a horrible act, in addition to her proved feelings of love and care for young William. Now is the time where doctor Victor will start to pay for his Omni ambitions.
Incidents followed and Justine died during her trial, and thus, Victor Frankenstein lost two dear ones, "Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts". (Frankenstein, p. 74). Therefore, the doctor repeats his confession and interprets that what he faces is due to his unsacred art. "Sleep fled from my eyes; I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description horrible, and more, much more (I persuaded myself) was yet behind." (Frankenstein, p. 74). At this specific moment, Doctor Victor could not have imagined how close to the truth his words were.
Similar to the Faustian hero and his dilemma between the good and bad Angels, Frankenstein is swaying in the same thick air. He is tempted towards salvation and any act of atonement, however,
Thus not the tenderness of friendship, nor the beauty of earth, nor of heaven, could redeem my soul from woe; the very accents of love were ineffectual. I was encompassed by a cloud which no beneficial influence could penetrate. (Frankenstein, p. 78).
Victor is damned for eternity and he realizes this fact. He asked for immortality and he reached the dark side of it. At the moment of his realization, incidents move to the first confrontation between him and his creation. Victor's words to be directed to the monster are a clear example of doctor Victor's pride and his personal feeling of being a real creator:
Devil,
I exclaimed,
do you dare approach me? And do not you fear the fierce vengeance of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to dust! And, oh! That I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered! (Frankenstein, p. 83).
The Faustian Victor speaks as if he is a real god threatening the monster to return him to dust, although he was not created out of dust, and aspiring to raise his two loved corpses of Justine and William. Mary Shelley keeps on giving us the main Faustian frame that reinforces our interpretations.
The monster, in his meeting with his creator, decides to talk about what he faced and to ask his creator for a favour:
I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, …. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous. (Frankenstein, p.84)
It seems that Victor's creation has turned to be an eloquent devilish entity. The words presented give a clear comparison between Victor and a god-like entity on the one hand, on the other is the monster as compared to a fallen angel, a devil. Believing the fact that he is the creator he resolves, "I felt what the duties of a creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness." (Frankenstein, p. 86).
The monster starts an eloquent discussion with his creator relating his experiences and how he was faced with terrible reactions due to his deformed shape and the lack of understanding and language that he suffers. He lived as a wild animal yet an intelligent being who is trying to learn and overcome his deformity. The devilish monster, too, started his journey of knowledge acquisition, however, in its primitive form. Developing in his learning campaign he reaches a higher state:
I obtained a cursory knowledge of history and a view of the several empires at present existing in the world; it gave me an insight into the manners, governments, and religions of the different nations of the earth. … of the wars and wonderful virtue of the early Romans -- of their subsequent degenerating -- of the decline of that mighty empire, of chivalry, Christianity, and kings. (Frankenstein, p. 102).
When the monster moves to the description of his state and what he feels about himself, Mary Shelley's reader realizes the fatality of doctor Victor's mistake in trying to mimic a Godly quality. The monster explains that he found nothing similar between himself and any other originally created being. He suffered deformity, poverty, loneliness, however, he had the power to endure weather changes and the lack of nutrition and other physical comforts
And what was I? Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant,…; I bore the extremes of heat and cold with less injury to my frame; my stature far exceeded theirs. When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned? (Frankenstein, p. 103).
The creature is a total failure that holds contradictory qualities that deprives him from belonging to neither beast nor man. He is the outcome of an unholy attempt to imitate the Omni act of Creation. The creature, himself, provides his creator with the secular fact he missed in his seek of knowledge, "sorrow only increased with knowledge." (Frankenstein, p. 103).
In any Faustian composition, the audience must know that the result of what the hero was seeking is total failure and damnation. What was previously stated builds upon this idea until its time that Mary Shelley allowed the monster to give this full conclusion to the reader:
Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy, and prosperous, guarded by, the especial care of his Creator; … I was wretched, helpless, and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me. (Frankenstein, p. 112).
The monster admits his devilish nature and his creator's sin. He curses his creator, 'Accursed creator' and what is an accursed creator but a human being who has dared to trespass one of the portals of heaven?
Following his story, the monster declares his request, after his long and painful experience, he asks his creator for a mate; a female mate of his kind and as deformed as him so that they can share life and exclude themselves from the world of humans. He describes his feelings the moment he thought of a mate,
But it was all a dream; no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was alone. I remembered Adam's supplication to his Creator. But where was mine? He had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him. (Frankenstein, p. 113).
Through his recollection of events, the monster admitted the murder of William and how he made a setup for Justine when he accidentally saw her asleep, he did not know her but she belonged to the same race that caused his creation and abused his existence. The monster's journey was to find his creator and on knowing that young William is related to Frankenstein he exclaimed, "Frankenstein! You belong then to my enemy -- to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim." (Frankenstein, p. 124). While, when meeting Justine he felt " The crime had its source in her; be hers the punishment! Thanks to … the sanguinary laws of man, I had learned now to work mischief." (Frankenstein, p. 125). Finally, he gives Victor his request or rather, his order:
You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede. (Frankenstein, p. 126).
The monster had a devilish logic of his own, after his long conversation with his creator he followed with threatening him the deprivation of all those who are close to him. Now, it was the time when doctor Frankenstein faces his moments of choice for the second time, the first was to go on for the sake of knowledge and Omni potentials and, the second, is to proceed out of fear of revenge.
It was, indeed, a filthy process in which I was engaged. 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. (Frankenstein, p. 145).
The monster's threats have acted on Victor's disturbed soul, he felt that the monster will deprive him his life on his wedding day and will destroy all those who are dear to him unless he creates a monstrous female. Victor's in deep realization of the crime to be repeated comes near the end of his new creation,
Even if they [The Monster and his future Mate] were to leave Europe and inhabit the deserts of the new world, yet one of the first results of those sympathies for which the demon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth …. Had I right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? I had before been moved by the sophisms of the being I had created; I had been struck senseless by his fiendish threats; but now, for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest. (Frankenstein, p. 146-147).
What started as an aspiration and longing for knowledge, Omni power, Creation and reaching a state that deserves gratitude and worship, ended as a selfish attempt that deserves eternal curse and damnation. Astonishingly, Mary Shelley blends the theme of Creation with a unique transformation that goes with the Faustian development and its capability of sheltering revenge seekers. After doctor Frankenstein realized the depth of his crime and the consequences of his sinful aspiration for the power of Creation, he decides to stop his attempt at creating a female monster. Then, and after the monster's discovery of doctor Victor's decision, both the monster and his creator seek revenge. The monster will devote himself to ruin doctor Frankenstein and his beloved ones, and doctor Victor will devote himself to destroy what he had once longed to create.
You can blast my other passions, but revenge remains -- revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food! I may die, but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery. (Frankenstein, p. 148-149).
Doctor Victor Frankenstein's ego and inner desire to achieve a God-like rank haunts him even when his dear friend Clerval is cruelly murdered by the devilish monster, his words to his father when asked about the reason he blames himself, proves a lot of points:
the sun and the heavens, who have viewed my operations, can hear witness of my truth. I am the assassin of those most innocent victims;… A thousand times would I have shed my own blood, drop by drop, to have saved their lives; but I could not, my father, indeed I could not sacrifice the whole human race. (Frankenstein, p. 166).
Doctor Frankenstein, although knows he caused the death of innocent people by the creation he achieved, yet, he still sees in himself the image of Christ, God an Omni entity that is supposed to sacrifice the whole human race shedding his own blood. His apology proves that he knows his Faustian crime and suffers its consequences, however still feeling his superiority that, unfortunately, is a feeble kind of superiority that instead of bringing benefit, achieving balance or even keeping the status quo, it brings destruction, pain, and decay. His Faustian despair is clear when he states that " the apple was already eaten, and the angel's arm bared to drive me from all hope." (Frankenstein, p. 169). Time has passed and there is no way back, Victor Frankenstein is eternally punished and there is nothing to redeem him. It is not the creature released that damns doctor Frankenstein, it is the act of creation itself, it is the attempt to take the place of God and claim his rights, not knowing that the duties of creation and the capabilities linked to it are far beyond human reach. The only thing that kept Frankenstein from fading into a grave was his desire to re-conquer and destroy his creation, "revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my adversary in being." (Frankenstein, p. 181). Doctor Victor phrases an oath that summarizes his final state and decision,
By the sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades that wander near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear; and by thee, O Night, and the spirits that preside over thee, to pursue the demon who caused this misery, until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. (Frankenstein, p. 181).
Victor is seeking either his or the monsters death and he clearly calls for the supernatural powers to aid him in his new and final mission:
And I call on you, spirits of the dead, and on you, wandering ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my work. Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me. (Frankenstein, p. 182).
Thus, it was first pride, then despair; in other words, it was the Faustian dilemma that is never resolved. The whole scenery reflected his state and echoed his destined damnation:
I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud and fiendish laugh. It rang on my ears long and heavily; the mountains re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell surrounded me with mockery and laughter. (Frankenstein, p. 182).
Victor now is a hopeless vengeful figure, " Scoffing devil! Again do I vow vengeance; again do I devote thee, miserable fiend, to torture and death. Never will I give up my search until he or I perish." (Frankenstein, p. 184). Further, he accurately describes his crime and proves his belonging to the Faustian genre:
All my speculations and hopes are as nothing, and like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in an eternal hell. My imagination was vivid, yet my powers of analysis and application were intense; by the union of these qualities I conceived the idea and executed the creation of a man. (Frankenstein, p. 190).
The actions develop in a dramatic sequence. The monster kills doctor Victor's wife and follows him till his final death. The monster declares, " The completion of my demoniacal design became an insatiable passion. And now it is ended; there is my last victim!". The uniqueness of the creature and its creator, more, the Faustian results and consequences of knowledge, have resulted in massive destructive outcomes; the monster's last words echo it all and prepare us for the lonely revenge seekers:
When I run over the frightful catalogue of my sins, I cannot believe that I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness. But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone. (Frankenstein, p 200).