Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Chapter 1
5694 words | Chapter 1
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Title: Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus
Author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Release date: November 23, 2012 [eBook #41445]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Original publication: United Kingdom: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, 1818
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS ***
[Transcriber’s Note: This text was produced from a photo-reprint of the
1818 edition.]
FRANKENSTEIN;
OR,
THE MODERN PROMETHEUS.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
London:
_PRINTED FOR_
LACKINGTON, HUGHES, HARDING, MAVOR, & JONES,
FINSBURY SQUARE.
1818.
* * * * *
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?——
Paradise Lost.
* * * * *
_TO_
WILLIAM GODWIN,
_AUTHOR OF POLITICAL JUSTICE, CALEB WILLIAMS, &c._
THESE VOLUMES
_Are respectfully inscribed_
BY
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The event on which this fiction is founded has been supposed, by Dr.
Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not of
impossible occurrence. I shall not be supposed as according the remotest
degree of serious faith to such an imagination; yet, in assuming it as
the basis of a work of fancy, I have not considered myself as merely
weaving a series of supernatural terrors. The event on which the
interest of the story depends is exempt from the disadvantages of a mere
tale of spectres or enchantment. It was recommended by the novelty of
the situations which it developes; and, however impossible as a physical
fact, affords a point of view to the imagination for the delineating of
human passions more comprehensive and commanding than any which the
ordinary relations of existing events can yield.
I have thus endeavoured to preserve the truth of the elementary
principles of human nature, while I have not scrupled to innovate
upon their combinations. The _Iliad_, the tragic poetry of
Greece,—Shakespeare, in the _Tempest_ and _Midsummer Night’s
Dream_,—and most especially Milton, in _Paradise Lost_, conform to this
rule; and the most humble novelist, who seeks to confer or receive
amusement from his labours, may, without presumption, apply to prose
fiction a licence, or rather a rule, from the adoption of which so many
exquisite combinations of human feeling have resulted in the highest
specimens of poetry.
The circumstance on which my story rests was suggested in casual
conversation. It was commenced, partly as a source of amusement, and
partly as an expedient for exercising any untried resources of mind.
Other motives were mingled with these, as the work proceeded. I am by no
means indifferent to the manner in which whatever moral tendencies exist
in the sentiments or characters it contains shall affect the reader; yet
my chief concern in this respect has been limited to the avoiding of the
enervating effects of the novels of the present day, and to the
exhibitions of the amiableness of domestic affection, and the excellence
of universal virtue. The opinions which naturally spring from the
character and situation of the hero are by no means to be conceived as
existing always in my own conviction; nor is any inference justly to be
drawn from the following pages as prejudicing any philosophical doctrine
of whatever kind.
It is a subject also of additional interest to the author, that this
story was begun in the majestic region where the scene is principally
laid, and in society which cannot cease to be regretted. I passed the
summer of 1816 in the environs of Geneva. The season was cold and rainy,
and in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire, and
occasionally amused ourselves with some German stories of ghosts, which
happened to fall into our hands. These tales excited in us a playful
desire of imitation. Two other friends (a tale from the pen of one of
whom would be far more acceptable to the public than any thing I can
ever hope to produce) and myself agreed to write each a story, founded
on some supernatural occurrence.
The weather, however, suddenly became serene; and my two friends left me
on a journey among the Alps, and lost, in the magnificent scenes which
they present, all memory of their ghostly visions. The following tale is
the only one which has been completed.
FRANKENSTEIN;
OR, THE
_MODERN PROMETHEUS._
LETTER I.
_To Mrs._ SAVILLE, _England_.
St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17—.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the
commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil
forebodings. I arrived here yesterday; and my first task is to assure my
dear sister of my welfare, and increasing confidence in the success of
my undertaking.
I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of
Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which
braces my nerves, and fills me with delight. Do you understand this
feeling? This breeze, which has travelled from the regions towards which
I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes. Inspirited by
this wind of promise, my day dreams become more fervent and vivid. I try
in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and
desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of
beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible; its
broad disk just skirting the horizon, and diffusing a perpetual
splendour. There—for with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust
in preceding navigators—there snow and frost are banished; and, sailing
over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in
beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable globe. Its
productions and features may be without example, as the phænomena of the
heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes. What
may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover
the wondrous power which attracts the needle; and may regulate a
thousand celestial observations, that require only this voyage to render
their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever. I shall satiate my
ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before
visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man.
These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of
danger or death, and to induce me to commence this laborious voyage with
the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat, with his holiday
mates, on an expedition of discovery up his native river. But, supposing
all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable
benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation, by
discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which
at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret
of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an
undertaking such as mine.
These reflections have dispelled the agitation with which I began my
letter, and I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to
heaven; for nothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a
steady purpose,—a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.
This expedition has been the favourite dream of my early years. I have
read with ardour the accounts of the various voyages which have been
made in the prospect of arriving at the North Pacific Ocean through the
seas which surround the pole. You may remember, that a history of all
the voyages made for purposes of discovery composed the whole of our
good uncle Thomas’s library. My education was neglected, yet I was
passionately fond of reading. These volumes were my study day and night,
and my familiarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as
a child, on learning that my father’s dying injunction had forbidden my
uncle to allow me to embark in a sea-faring life.
These visions faded when I perused, for the first time, those poets
whose effusions entranced my soul, and lifted it to heaven. I also
became a poet, and for one year lived in a Paradise of my own creation;
I imagined that I also might obtain a niche in the temple where the
names of Homer and Shakespeare are consecrated. You are well acquainted
with my failure, and how heavily I bore the disappointment. But just at
that time I inherited the fortune of my cousin, and my thoughts were
turned into the channel of their earlier bent.
Six years have passed since I resolved on my present undertaking. I can,
even now, remember the hour from which I dedicated myself to this great
enterprise. I commenced by inuring my body to hardship. I accompanied
the whale-fishers on several expeditions to the North Sea; I voluntarily
endured cold, famine, thirst, and want of sleep; I often worked harder
than the common sailors during the day, and devoted my nights to the
study of mathematics, the theory of medicine, and those branches of
physical science from which a naval adventurer might derive the greatest
practical advantage. Twice I actually hired myself as an under-mate in
a Greenland whaler, and acquitted myself to admiration. I must own I
felt a little proud, when my captain offered me the second dignity in
the vessel, and entreated me to remain with the greatest earnestness; so
valuable did he consider my services.
And now, dear Margaret, do I not deserve to accomplish some great
purpose. My life might have been passed in ease and luxury; but I
preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path. Oh,
that some encouraging voice would answer in the affirmative! My courage
and my resolution is firm; but my hopes fluctuate, and my spirits are
often depressed. I am about to proceed on a long and difficult voyage;
the emergencies of which will demand all my fortitude: I am required not
only to raise the spirits of others, but sometimes to sustain my own,
when their’s are failing.
This is the most favourable period for travelling in Russia. They fly
quickly over the snow in their sledges; the motion is pleasant, and, in
my opinion, far more agreeable than that of an English stage-coach. The
cold is not excessive, if you are wrapt in furs, a dress which I have
already adopted; for there is a great difference between walking the
deck and remaining seated motionless for hours, when no exercise
prevents the blood from actually freezing in your veins. I have no
ambition to lose my life on the post-road between St. Petersburgh and
Archangel.
I shall depart for the latter town in a fortnight or three weeks; and my
intention is to hire a ship there, which can easily be done by paying
the insurance for the owner, and to engage as many sailors as I think
necessary among those who are accustomed to the whale-fishing. I do not
intend to sail until the month of June: and when shall I return? Ah,
dear sister, how can I answer this question? If I succeed, many, many
months, perhaps years, will pass before you and I may meet. If I fail,
you will see me again soon, or never.
Farewell, my dear, excellent, Margaret. Heaven shower down blessings on
you, and save me, that I may again and again testify my gratitude for
all your love and kindness.
Your affectionate brother,
R. WALTON.
LETTER II.
_To Mrs._ SAVILLE, _England_.
Archangel, 28th March, 17—.
How slowly the time passes here, encompassed as I am by frost and snow;
yet a second step is taken towards my enterprise. I have hired a vessel,
and am occupied in collecting my sailors; those whom I have already
engaged appear to be men on whom I can depend, and are certainly
possessed of dauntless courage.
But I have one want which I have never yet been able to satisfy; and the
absence of the object of which I now feel as a most severe evil. I have
no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success,
there will be none to participate my joy; if I am assailed by
disappointment, no one will endeavour to sustain me in dejection. I
shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is a poor medium
for the communication of feeling. I desire the company of a man who
could sympathize with me; whose eyes would reply to mine. You may deem
me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of a friend. I
have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a cultivated as
well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to approve
or amend my plans. How would such a friend repair the faults of your
poor brother! I am too ardent in execution, and too impatient of
difficulties. But it is a still greater evil to me that I am
self-educated: for the first fourteen years of my life I ran wild on a
common, and read nothing but our uncle Thomas’s books of voyages. At
that age I became acquainted with the celebrated poets of our own
country; but it was only when it had ceased to be in my power to derive
its most important benefits from such a conviction, that I perceived the
necessity of becoming acquainted with more languages than that of my
native country. Now I am twenty-eight, and am in reality more illiterate
than many school-boys of fifteen. It is true that I have thought more,
and that my day dreams are more extended and magnificent; but they want
(as the painters call it) _keeping_; and I greatly need a friend who
would have sense enough not to despise me as romantic, and affection
enough for me to endeavour to regulate my mind.
Well, these are useless complaints; I shall certainly find no friend on
the wide ocean, nor even here in Archangel, among merchants and seamen.
Yet some feelings, unallied to the dross of human nature, beat even in
these rugged bosoms. My lieutenant, for instance, is a man of wonderful
courage and enterprise; he is madly desirous of glory. He is an
Englishman, and in the midst of national and professional prejudices,
unsoftened by cultivation, retains some of the noblest endowments of
humanity. I first became acquainted with him on board a whale vessel:
finding that he was unemployed in this city, I easily engaged him to
assist in my enterprise.
The master is a person of an excellent disposition, and is remarkable in
the ship for his gentleness, and the mildness of his discipline. He is,
indeed, of so amiable a nature, that he will not hunt (a favourite, and
almost the only amusement here), because he cannot endure to spill
blood. He is, moreover, heroically generous. Some years ago he loved a
young Russian lady, of moderate fortune; and having amassed a
considerable sum in prize-money, the father of the girl consented to the
match. He saw his mistress once before the destined ceremony; but she
was bathed in tears, and, throwing herself at his feet, entreated him to
spare her, confessing at the same time that she loved another, but that
he was poor, and that her father would never consent to the union. My
generous friend reassured the suppliant, and on being informed of the
name of her lover instantly abandoned his pursuit. He had already bought
a farm with his money, on which he had designed to pass the remainder of
his life; but he bestowed the whole on his rival, together with the
remains of his prize-money to purchase stock, and then himself solicited
the young woman’s father to consent to her marriage with her lover. But
the old man decidedly refused, thinking himself bound in honour to my
friend; who, when he found the father inexorable, quitted his country,
nor returned until he heard that his former mistress was married
according to her inclinations. “What a noble fellow!” you will exclaim.
He is so; but then he has passed all his life on board a vessel, and has
scarcely an idea beyond the rope and the shroud.
But do not suppose that, because I complain a little, or because I can
conceive a consolation for my toils which I may never know, that I am
wavering in my resolutions. Those are as fixed as fate; and my voyage is
only now delayed until the weather shall permit my embarkation. The
winter has been dreadfully severe; but the spring promises well, and it
is considered as a remarkably early season; so that, perhaps, I may sail
sooner than I expected. I shall do nothing rashly; you know me
sufficiently to confide in my prudence and considerateness whenever the
safety of others is committed to my care.
I cannot describe to you my sensations on the near prospect of my
undertaking. It is impossible to communicate to you a conception of the
trembling sensation, half pleasurable and half fearful, with which I am
preparing to depart. I am going to unexplored regions, to “the land of
mist and snow;” but I shall kill no albatross, therefore do not be
alarmed for my safety.
Shall I meet you again, after having traversed immense seas, and
returned by the most southern cape of Africa or America? I dare not
expect such success, yet I cannot bear to look on the reverse of the
picture. Continue to write to me by every opportunity: I may receive
your letters (though the chance is very doubtful) on some occasions when
I need them most to support my spirits. I love you very tenderly.
Remember me with affection, should you never hear from me again.
Your affectionate brother,
ROBERT WALTON.
LETTER III.
_To Mrs._ SAVILLE, _England_.
July 7th, 17—.
MY DEAR SISTER,
I write a few lines in haste, to say that I am safe, and well advanced
on my voyage. This letter will reach England by a merchant-man now on
its homeward voyage from Archangel; more fortunate than I, who may not
see my native land, perhaps, for many years. I am, however, in good
spirits: my men are bold, and apparently firm of purpose; nor do the
floating sheets of ice that continually pass us, indicating the dangers
of the region towards which we are advancing, appear to dismay them. We
have already reached a very high latitude; but it is the height of
summer, and although not so warm as in England, the southern gales,
which blow us speedily towards those shores which I so ardently desire
to attain, breathe a degree of renovating warmth which I had not
expected.
No incidents have hitherto befallen us, that would make a figure in a
letter. One or two stiff gales, and the breaking of a mast, are
accidents which experienced navigators scarcely remember to record; and
I shall be well content, if nothing worse happen to us during our
voyage.
Adieu, my dear Margaret. Be assured, that for my own sake, as well as
your’s, I will not rashly encounter danger. I will be cool, persevering,
and prudent.
Remember me to all my English friends.
Most affectionately yours,
R. W.
LETTER IV.
_To Mrs._ SAVILLE, _England_.
August 5th, 17—.
So strange an accident has happened to us, that I cannot forbear
recording it, although it is very probable that you will see me before
these papers can come into your possession.
Last Monday (July 31st), we were nearly surrounded by ice, which closed
in the ship on all sides, scarcely leaving her the sea room in which she
floated. Our situation was somewhat dangerous, especially as we were
compassed round by a very thick fog. We accordingly lay to, hoping that
some change would take place in the atmosphere and weather.
About two o’clock the mist cleared away, and we beheld, stretched out in
every direction, vast and irregular plains of ice, which seemed to have
no end. Some of my comrades groaned, and my own mind began to grow
watchful with anxious thoughts, when a strange sight suddenly attracted
our attention, and diverted our solicitude from our own situation. We
perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sledge and drawn by dogs, pass on
towards the north, at the distance of half a mile: a being which had the
shape of a man, but apparently of gigantic stature, sat in the sledge,
and guided the dogs. We watched the rapid progress of the traveller
with our telescopes, until he was lost among the distant inequalities of
the ice.
This appearance excited our unqualified wonder. We were, as we believed,
many hundred miles from any land; but this apparition seemed to denote
that it was not, in reality, so distant as we had supposed. Shut in,
however, by ice, it was impossible to follow his track, which we had
observed with the greatest attention.
About two hours after this occurrence, we heard the ground sea; and
before night the ice broke, and freed our ship. We, however, lay to
until the morning, fearing to encounter in the dark those large loose
masses which float about after the breaking up of the ice. I profited of
this time to rest for a few hours.
In the morning, however, as soon as it was light, I went upon deck, and
found all the sailors busy on one side of the vessel, apparently talking
to some one in the sea. It was, in fact, a sledge, like that we had seen
before, which had drifted towards us in the night, on a large fragment
of ice. Only one dog remained alive; but there was a human being within
it, whom the sailors were persuading to enter the vessel. He was not, as
the other traveller seemed to be, a savage inhabitant of some
undiscovered island, but an European. When I appeared on deck, the
master said, “Here is our captain, and he will not allow you to perish
on the open sea.”
On perceiving me, the stranger addressed me in English, although with a
foreign accent. “Before I come on board your vessel,” said he, “will you
have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?”
You may conceive my astonishment on hearing such a question addressed to
me from a man on the brink of destruction, and to whom I should have
supposed that my vessel would have been a resource which he would not
have exchanged for the most precious wealth the earth can afford. I
replied, however, that we were on a voyage of discovery towards the
northern pole.
Upon hearing this he appeared satisfied, and consented to come on board.
Good God! Margaret, if you had seen the man who thus capitulated for his
safety, your surprise would have been boundless. His limbs were nearly
frozen, and his body dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering. I
never saw a man in so wretched a condition. We attempted to carry him
into the cabin; but as soon as he had quitted the fresh air, he fainted.
We accordingly brought him back to the deck, and restored him to
animation by rubbing him with brandy, and forcing him to swallow a small
quantity. As soon as he shewed signs of life, we wrapped him up in
blankets, and placed him near the chimney of the kitchen-stove. By slow
degrees he recovered, and ate a little soup, which restored him
wonderfully.
Two days passed in this manner before he was able to speak; and I often
feared that his sufferings had deprived him of understanding. When he
had in some measure recovered, I removed him to my own cabin, and
attended on him as much as my duty would permit. I never saw a more
interesting creature: his eyes have generally an expression of wildness,
and even madness; but there are moments when, if any one performs an act
of kindness towards him, or does him any the most trifling service, his
whole countenance is lighted up, as it were, with a beam of benevolence
and sweetness that I never saw equalled. But he is generally melancholy
and despairing; and sometimes he gnashes his teeth, as if impatient of
the weight of woes that oppresses him.
When my guest was a little recovered, I had great trouble to keep off
the men, who wished to ask him a thousand questions; but I would not
allow him to be tormented by their idle curiosity, in a state of body
and mind whose restoration evidently depended upon entire repose. Once,
however, the lieutenant asked, Why he had come so far upon the ice in so
strange a vehicle?
His countenance instantly assumed an aspect of the deepest gloom; and he
replied, “To seek one who fled from me.”
“And did the man whom you pursued travel in the same fashion?”
“Yes.”
“Then I fancy we have seen him; for, the day before we picked you up, we
saw some dogs drawing a sledge, with a man in it, across the ice.”
This aroused the stranger’s attention; and he asked a multitude of
questions concerning the route which the dæmon, as he called him, had
pursued. Soon after, when he was alone with me, he said, “I have,
doubtless, excited your curiosity, as well as that of these good people;
but you are too considerate to make inquiries.”
“Certainly; it would indeed be very impertinent and inhuman in me to
trouble you with any inquisitiveness of mine.”
“And yet you rescued me from a strange and perilous situation; you have
benevolently restored me to life.”
Soon after this he inquired, if I thought that the breaking up of the
ice had destroyed the other sledge? I replied, that I could not answer
with any degree of certainty; for the ice had not broken until near
midnight, and the traveller might have arrived at a place of safety
before that time; but of this I could not judge.
From this time the stranger seemed very eager to be upon deck, to watch
for the sledge which had before appeared; but I have persuaded him to
remain in the cabin, for he is far too weak to sustain the rawness of
the atmosphere. But I have promised that some one should watch for him,
and give him instant notice if any new object should appear in sight.
Such is my journal of what relates to this strange occurrence up to the
present day. The stranger has gradually improved in health, but is very
silent, and appears uneasy when any one except myself enters his cabin.
Yet his manners are so conciliating and gentle, that the sailors are all
interested in him, although they have had very little communication with
him. For my own part, I begin to love him as a brother; and his constant
and deep grief fills me with sympathy and compassion. He must have been
a noble creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so
attractive and amiable.
I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I should find no
friend on the wide ocean; yet I have found a man who, before his spirit
had been broken by misery, I should have been happy to have possessed as
the brother of my heart.
I shall continue my journal concerning the stranger at intervals, should
I have any fresh incidents to record.
* * * * *
August 13th, 17—.
My affection for my guest increases every day. He excites at once my
admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree. How can I see so noble
a creature destroyed by misery without feeling the most poignant grief?
He is so gentle, yet so wise; his mind is so cultivated; and when he
speaks, although his words are culled with the choicest art, yet they
flow with rapidity and unparalleled eloquence.
He is now much recovered from his illness, and is continually on the
deck, apparently watching for the sledge that preceded his own. Yet,
although unhappy, he is not so utterly occupied by his own misery, but
that he interests himself deeply in the employments of others. He has
asked me many questions concerning my design; and I have related my
little history frankly to him. He appeared pleased with the confidence,
and suggested several alterations in my plan, which I shall find
exceedingly useful. There is no pedantry in his manner; but all he does
appears to spring solely from the interest he instinctively takes in the
welfare of those who surround him. He is often overcome by gloom, and
then he sits by himself, and tries to overcome all that is sullen or
unsocial in his humour. These paroxysms pass from him like a cloud from
before the sun, though his dejection never leaves him. I have
endeavoured to win his confidence; and I trust that I have succeeded.
One day I mentioned to him the desire I had always felt of finding a
friend who might sympathize with me, and direct me by his counsel. I
said, I did not belong to that class of men who are offended by advice.
“I am self-educated, and perhaps I hardly rely sufficiently upon my own
powers. I wish therefore that my companion should be wiser and more
experienced than myself, to confirm and support me; nor have I believed
it impossible to find a true friend.”
“I agree with you,” replied the stranger, “in believing that friendship
is not only a desirable, but a possible acquisition. I once had a
friend, the most noble of human creatures, and am entitled, therefore,
to judge respecting friendship. You have hope, and the world before you,
and have no cause for despair. But I——I have lost every thing, and
cannot begin life anew.”
As he said this, his countenance became expressive of a calm settled
grief, that touched me to the heart. But he was silent, and presently
retired to his cabin.
Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does
the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight
afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of
elevating his soul from earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may
suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet when he has
retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit, that has a
halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.
Will you laugh at the enthusiasm I express concerning this divine
wanderer? If you do, you must have certainly lost that simplicity which
was once your characteristic charm. Yet, if you will, smile at the
warmth of my expressions, while I find every day new causes for
repeating them.
* * * * *
August 19th, 17—.
Yesterday the stranger said to me, “You may easily perceive, Captain
Walton, that I have suffered great and unparalleled misfortunes. I had
determined, once, 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. I do
not know that the relation of my misfortunes will be useful to you, yet,
if you are inclined, listen to my tale. I believe that the strange
incidents connected with it will afford a view of nature, which may
enlarge your faculties and understanding. You will hear of powers and
occurrences, such as you have been accustomed to believe impossible: but
I do not doubt that my tale conveys in its series internal evidence of
the truth of the events of which it is composed.”
You may easily conceive that I was much gratified by the offered
communication; yet I could not endure that he should renew his grief by
a recital of his misfortunes. I felt the greatest eagerness to hear the
promised narrative, partly from curiosity, and partly from a strong
desire to ameliorate his fate, if it were in my power. I expressed these
feelings in my answer.
“I thank you,” he replied, “for your sympathy, but it is useless; my
fate is nearly fulfilled. I wait but for one event, and then I shall
repose in peace. I understand your feeling,” continued he, perceiving
that I wished to interrupt him; “but you are mistaken, my friend, if
thus you will allow me to name you; nothing can alter my destiny: listen
to my history, and you will perceive how irrevocably it is determined.”
He then told me, that he would commence his narrative the next day when
I should be at leisure. This promise drew from me the warmest thanks. I
have resolved every night, when I am not engaged, to record, as nearly
as possible in his own words, what he has related during the day. If I
should be engaged, I will at least make notes. This manuscript will
doubtless afford you the greatest pleasure: but to me, who know him, and
who hear it from his own lips, with what interest and sympathy shall I
read it in some future day!
FRANKENSTEIN;
OR,
THE MODERN PROMETHEUS.
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