14 - Chapter 16. Frankenstein by Mary W. Shelley.

14 - Chapter 16. Frankenstein by Mary W. Shelley.  
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, Gothic horror novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley that was first published in 1818. The epistolary story follows a scientific genius who brings to life a terrifying monster that torments its creator. It is considered one of the first science-fiction novels. An international sensation, the story has been adapted hundreds of times in different media and has influenced pop culture at large.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is a LibriVox recording. For more information, please visit
LibriVox dot blogsom dot com. This reading by Gordon mackenzie
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Chapter sixteen. Cursed, Cursed Creator, Why

(00:21):
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,

(00:42):
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 angeryish in fearful howlings. I was

(01:03):
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

(01:25):
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

(01:46):
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 excites of bodily exertion, and sank on the damp
grass in the sick impotence of despair. There was none

(02:07):
among the myriads of men that existed who would pity
or assist me. And should I feel kindness towards my enemies.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
No.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
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,

(02:39):
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 tranquility, and when I considered what had
passed at the cottage, I could not help believing that

(02:59):
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

(03:20):
to the rest of his family, when they should have
been prepared for my approach. But I did not believe
my heirs to be irretrievable, and after much consideration, I
resolved to return to the cottage, seek the old man,
and buy my representations win him to my party. These
thoughts calmed me, and in the afternoon I sank into

(03:41):
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 fees. I awoke, exhausted, and

(04:04):
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.

(04:28):
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

(04:53):
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

(05:16):
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

(05:40):
your cottage. The life of my father is in the
greatest danger owing to the dreadful circumstances 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 byviolently as he said this. He

(06:02):
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

(06:22):
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

(06:42):
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,

(07:03):
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,

(07:25):
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 cloud
that had loitered in the heavens. The blast tore along
like a mighty avalanche, and produced a kind of insanity

(07:45):
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 Hurray horizon, my brand it sank, and
with a loud scream I fired the straw and heath

(08:08):
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

(08:29):
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

(08:50):
equally horrible. At length, the thought of you crossed my mind.
I learned from your papers that you, or 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

(09:13):
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

(09:34):
in a southwesterly direction to reach my destination, but the
son 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 succor. Although towards you I felt no sentiment

(09:55):
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

(10:18):
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 traveled only at night, fearful of encountering the visage

(10:39):
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 o earth.

(11:00):
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 your habitation, the more deeply did I
feel the spirit of revenge enkindled in my heart. Snow

(11:24):
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

(11:48):
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 traveled only when I was secured
by night from the view of man. One morning, however,

(12:10):
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.

(12:34):
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

(12:58):
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 butting with the
fresh spring. Here I paused, not exactly knowing what path

(13:19):
to pursue, when I heard the sound of voices, then
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 some one in sport. She continued her
course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly

(13:41):
her foot slipped and she fell into the rapid stream.
I rushed from my hiding place, and with extreme labor
from the force of the current, saved her and dragged
her to shore. She was senseless, and I endeavored by
every means in my power to restore animation the deeper
parts of the woods. I followed speedily. I hardly knew why.

(14:03):
But when the man saw me drew 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.

(14:26):
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.

(14:51):
For some weeks, I led a miserable life in the woods,
endeavoring to cure the wound which I had received. The
ball had entered my 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

(15:13):
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 labors

(15:33):
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

(15:55):
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

(16:16):
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

(16:38):
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,

(17:00):
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 shoe.
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

(17:22):
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.

Speaker 2 (17:34):
My papa is a syndic. He is Monsieur 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

(17:54):
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.

(18:19):
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.

Speaker 1 (18:35):
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 dark lashes, and her lovely lips. But
presently my rage returned. I remembered that I was forever

(18:57):
deprived of the delights that such beautif 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,

(19:20):
instead of venting my sensations and 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

(19:45):
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

(20:07):
lover is near. He 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

(20:31):
her darkened eyes opened and she beheld me. The thought
was madness, it stirred from 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

(20:55):
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

(21:20):
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

(21:43):
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 her to me. My companion must be of the

(22:03):
same species and have the same defects. This being you
must create. End Chapter sixteen.