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I spent the following day roaming through the valley. I stood
beside the sources of the Arveiron, which take their rise in a
glacier, that with slow pace is advancing down from the summit
of the hills, to barricade the valley. The abrupt sides of
vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier
overhung me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and
the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of
imperial Nature was broken only by the brawling waves, or the
fall of some vast fragment, the thunder sound of the avalanche,
or the cracking reverberated along the mountains of the
accumulated ice, which, through the silent working of immutable
laws, was ever and anon rent and torn, as if it had been but a
plaything in their hands. These sublime and magnificent scenes
afforded me the greatest consolation that I was capable of
receiving. They elevated me from all littleness of feeling;
and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and
tranquillised it. In some degree, also, they diverted my mind
from the thoughts over which it had brooded for the last month.
I retired to rest at night; my slumbers, as it were, waited on
and ministered to by the assemblance of grand shapes which I
had contemplated during the day. They congregated round me;
the unstained snowy mountain-top, the glittering pinnacle, the
pine woods, and ragged bare ravine; the eagle, soaring amidst
the clouds--they all gathered round me, and bade me be at peace.
Where had they fled when the next morning I awoke? All of
soul-inspiriting fled with sleep, and dark melancholy clouded
every thought. The rain was pouring in torrents, and thick
mists hid the summits of the mountains, so that I even saw not
the faces of those mighty friends. Still I would penetrate
their misty veil, and seek them in their cloudy retreats. What
were rain and storm to me? My mule was brought to the door, and
I resolved to ascend to the summit of Montanvert. I remembered
the effect that the view of the tremendous and ever-moving
glacier had produced upon my mind when I first saw it. It had
then filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the
soul, and allowed it to soar from the obscure world to light
and joy. The sight of the awful and majestic in nature had
indeed always the effect of solemnising my mind, and causing me
to forget the passing cares of life. I determined to go
without a guide, for I was well acquainted with the path, and
the presence of another would destroy the solitary grandeur of
the scene.
The ascent is precipitous, but the path is cut into continual
and short windings, which enable you to surmount the
perpendicularity of the mountain. It is a scene terrifically
desolate. In a thousand spots the traces of the winter
avalanche may be perceived, where trees lie broken and strewed
on the ground; some entirely destroyed, others bent, leaning
upon the jutting rocks of the mountain, or transversely upon
other trees. The path, as you ascend higher, is intersected by
ravines of snow, down which stones continually roll from
above; one of them is particularly dangerous, as the slightest
sound, such as even speaking in a loud voice, produces a
concussion of air sufficient to draw destruction upon the head
of the speaker. The pines are not tall or luxuriant, but they
are sombre, and add an air of severity to the scene. I looked
on the valley beneath; vast mists were rising from the rivers
which ran through it, and curling in thick wreaths around the
opposite mountains, whose summits were hid in the uniform
clouds, while rain poured from the dark sky, and added to the
melancholy impression I received from the objects around me.
Alas! why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those
apparent in the brute; it only renders them more necessary
beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and
desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every
wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may
convey to us.
"We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep.
We rise; one wandering thought pollutes the day.
We feel, conceive, or reason; laugh or weep,
Embrace fond woe, or cast our cares away;
It is the same: for, be it joy or sorrow,
The path of its departure still is free.
Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow.
Nought may endure but mutability!"
It was nearly noon when I arrived at the top of the ascent.
For some time I sat upon the rock that overlooks the sea of ice.
A mist covered both that and the surrounding mountains.
Presently a breeze dissipated the cloud, and I descended upon
the glacier. The surface is very uneven, rising like the waves
of a troubled sea, descending low, and interspersed by rifts
that sink deep. The field of ice is almost a league in width,
but I spent nearly two hours in crossing it. The opposite
mountain is a bare perpendicular rock. From the side where I
now stood Montanvert was exactly opposite, at the distance of
a league; and above it rose Mont Blanc, in awful majesty.
I remained in a recess of the rock, gazing on this wonderful and
stupendous scene. The sea, or rather the vast river of ice,
wound among its dependent mountains, whose aerial summits hung
over its recesses. Their icy and glittering peaks shone in the
sunlight over the clouds. My heart, which was before
sorrowful, now swelled with something like joy; I exclaimed--
"Wandering spirits, if indeed ye wander, and do not
rest in your narrow beds, allow me this faint happiness, or
take me, as your companion, away from the joys of life."
As I said this, I suddenly beheld the figure of a man, at some
distance, advancing towards me with superhuman speed. He bounded
over the crevices in the ice, among which I had walked
with caution; his stature, also, as he approached, seemed to
exceed that of man. I was troubled: a mist came over my eyes,
and I felt a faintness seize me; but I was quickly restored by
the cold gale of the mountains. I perceived, as the shape came
nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch
whom I had created. I trembled with rage and horror, resolving
to wait his approach, and then close with him in mortal combat.
He approached; his countenance bespoke bitter anguish, combined
with disdain and malignity, while its unearthly ugliness
rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But I scarcely
observed this; rage and hatred had at first deprived me of
utterance, and I recovered only to overwhelm him with words
expressive of furious detestation and contempt.
"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!"
"I expected this reception," said the daemon. "All men hate
the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable
beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn
me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only
dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to
kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty
towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of
mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave
them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of
death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends."
"Abhorred monster! fiend that thou art! the tortures of hell
are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched devil! you
reproach me with your creation; come on, then, that I may
extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed." My rage
was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled by all the
feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another.
He easily eluded me, and said--
"Be calm! I entreat you to hear me, before you give vent to
your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough
that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may
only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will
defend it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful than
thyself; my height is superior to thine; my joints more supple.
But I will not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee.
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,
the which thou owest me. 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."
"Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community
between you and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our
strength in a fight, in which one must fall."
"How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a
favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and
compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul
glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably
alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from
your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me.
The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge.
I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only
do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man
does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder
to me than your fellow-beings. If the multitude of mankind
knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm
themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who
abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am
miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness. Yet it is in
your power to recompense me, and deliver them from an evil
which it only remains for you to make so great that not only
you and your family, but thousands of others, shall be
swallowed up in the whirlwinds of its rage. Let your
compassion be moved, and do not disdain me. Listen to my tale:
when you have heard that, abandon or commiserate me, as you
shall judge that I deserve. But hear me. The guilty are
allowed, by human laws, bloody as they are, to speak in their
own defence before they are condemned. Listen to me,
Frankenstein. You accuse me of murder; and yet you would, with
a satisfied conscience, destroy your own creature. Oh, praise
the eternal justice of man! Yet I ask you not to spare me:
listen to me; and then, if you can, and if you will, destroy
the work of your hands."
"Why do you call to my remembrance," I rejoined,
"circumstances, of which I shudder to reflect, that I have been
the miserable origin and author? Cursed be the day, abhorred
devil, in which you first saw light! Cursed (although I curse
myself) be the hands that formed you! You have made me
wretched beyond expression. You have left me no power to
consider whether I am just to you or not. Begone! relieve me
from the sight of your detested form."
"Thus I relieve thee, my creator, "he said, and placed his
hated hands before my eyes, which I flung from me with
violence; "thus I take from thee a sight which you abhor.
Still thou canst listen to me, and grant me thy compassion.
By the virtues that I once possessed, I demand this from you.
Hear my tale; it is long and strange, and the temperature of
this place is not fitting to your fine sensations; come to the
hut upon the mountain. The sun is yet high in the heavens;
before it descends to hide itself behind yon snowy precipices,
and illuminate another world, you will have heard my story, and
can decide. On you it rests whether I quit for ever the
neighbourhood of man, and lead a hapless life, or become the
scourge of your fellow-creatures, and the author of your own
speedy ruin."
As he said this, he led the way across the ice: I followed.
My heart was full, and I did not answer him; but, as I proceeded,
I weighed the various arguments that he had used, and
determined at least to listen to his tale. I was partly urged
by curiosity, and compassion confirmed my resolution. I had
hitherto supposed him to be the murderer of my brother, and I
eagerly sought a confirmation or denial of this opinion.
For the first time, also, 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. These motives urged me
to comply with his demand. We crossed the ice, therefore, and
ascended the opposite rock. The air was cold, and the rain
again began to descend: we entered the hut, the fiend with an
air of exultation, I with a heavy heart and depressed spirits.
But I consented to listen; and, seating myself by the fire
which my odious companion had lighted, he thus began his tale.
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