Frankenstein - 2(1)

yellow, wrinkled face.
A few minutes later, I saw him climbing up the side of the mountain. The Monster
was faster and stronger than any man. I knew that I could not catch him.
I created a Monster. And the Monster murdered my brother. How could I tell my
father? I could not tell him the truth. He would not believe me.
My mind was full of terror. But I could not tell anyone my terrible secret. I went on
to Geneva with a sad heart.
4. Home Again
I was home again at last. But how unhappy I was! My father looked like an old
man. Elizabeth’s face was thin and sad.
Elizabeth showed me a picture of my mother. It was a small painting in a gold
frame.
“Look, Victor,” Elizabeth said. “William died because of this picture. He was
wearing it on a gold chain on the day he died. He wore the picture round his neck. The
picture is very valuable. That is why the murderer took it. William was killed because
of this picture.”
“Then you know who the murderer is?” I cried. “You have seen him!”
“Him?” my father asked in surprise. “No, Victor, the murderer is a woman. She is
the young girl who looked after William. We thought she was a good girl, but she
killed our dear boy.”
“What do you mean?” I asked him. “I know the murderer. I have seen him.”
“How can you know the murderer?” Elizabeth asked me. “You have just come back
to Geneva, Victor. No, we found this picture in the young girl’s hand. We know she
killed William. She is in prison now.”
“She is not guilty,” I cried. “I must talk to someone. I must tell what I know. I must
go to the prison at once.”
“You are too late,” my father said. “She is going to die. She will be shot at 10
o’clock this morning.”
“I must see her,” I cried. “I know the truth. Someone must listen to me.”
I took a horse and rode as fast as I could to the prison. There were many people
standing outside the prison gates.
I jumped down from my horse. At that moment, the clock struck 10. A large crowd
of people shouted, “She is dead. She is dead.”
I turned away and my eyes were full of tears. Two people died—first my brother
and now this young girl. They died because of me. I was a murderer now.
I returned to the house sadly. But I did not want to stay with my father and
Elizabeth. I was afraid to tell them the truth. I knew the Monster murdered William.
And I created the Monster. I could not live at home with my terrible secret.
Perhaps I could forget everything in the beautiful mountains. I packed my bag and
went into the mountains. It was the middle of summer but the weather was bad. In the
high mountains, the wind blew strongly. The rain fell and the air was cold. But I did
not care. I went up, higher and higher.
I came to the highest mountain and I went on climbing. The path was very steep,
1
but I walked slowly on. It was midday when I reached the top. The sun shone on the
ice and snow. For the first time after William’s death, I began to feel happy.
Suddenly I saw something big coming to me. It was walking quickly over the ice.
Was it a man? It was moving too quickly. It came nearer and nearer. A feeling of
terror came into my heart. I stood up. It was the Monster.
“Stop!” I cried. “Don’t come near me! Why are you living when my brother is
dead? I must destroy you before you murder again.”
“You created me,” the Monster answered. “If I kill, you are guilty. But do not hate
me. I do not want to kill. If you help me, I can live happily.”
“Why should I help you?” I shouted.
“Because you made me,” the Monster said. “And remember, I am bigger and
stronger than you. I can kill you easily. No one will find you here.”
I was not afraid. I wanted to kill the Monster. I moved near to the Monster. He
spoke again.
“Stop,” he said. “You must listen to my story. When you gave me life, I was not
evil. But you made me ugly. Because of that, all living things hate me. So I hate you,
my maker.”
“Tell me your story quickly,” I said.
5. The Monster’s Story

“I remember the fire,” the Monster said. “I remember running away from it. I ran
and ran through the city. It was dark and no one saw me. I did not know who I was. I
did not know where I was going. Many days passed.”
“How did you live?” I asked him “What did you eat?”
“Sometimes I ate fruit from trees,” the Monster answered. “Sometimes I took food
from houses. The first time I did this, a man saw me. I shall never forget the fear in
his eyes. I could not understand it. I wanted to be friends with him. I smiled at him,
but he ran away. A few days later, I came to a small pool of water. When I bent down
to drink, I saw my own face. How terrible it was! How different from other people’s
faces! I saw my yellow, wrinkled skin. I saw my yellow eyes and thin black lips. Now
I knew why people ran away from me. From that moment, I hated myself. And I hated
you, Victor Frankenstein.”
“How do you know my name?” I asked.
“The lab was on fire,” the Monster answered. “I picked up your over coat to protect
myself from the fire. I used it to cover myself. Later, I found a book in the pocket with
your name in it. I said to myself:”Everyone with that name would die. I was looking
everywhere for your Frankenstein people.
“I walked on for many days,” the Monster went on. “At last, I came to a beautiful
mountain village. At the end of the village, there was a little house. I hid myself and
watched the house. Three people lived there—an old man, a young man and a girl.
“They were poor, but very happy. Why? Because they loved each other. I watched
them for a few days.
“The old man never moved from the house. The young people worked hard all day.
Then they came back with food or firewood.
2
“In the evenings, they all sat together. I watched them through a small hole in the
wall. The house was full of books. The old man was blind. He could not see. The
young girl read aloud from the books to the old man. I listened too. I learnt many,
many things.
“One day, I watched the young people go out. I knew they would be away all day. I
knocked at the door. The old man opened it and I went in. I knew that he could not see
me.
“I am a stranger here.” I said to the old man. “A terrible fire made my face ugly.
People are afraid of me. But I must talk to someone. Can I talk to you?”
“The old man smiled and told me to sit down. I began to talk and we soon became
friends. The old man was very clever.
“He became my teacher. His house was my school. I wanted to be part of his
family. But I always left the house before the young people returned.
“Then, one day, I stayed late. The young girl came into the house and saw me. She
screamed and I ran to the door of the house. The girl was so afraid and she fell to the
ground. I bent over to help her. At that moment, her brother came running up. He saw
me and shot at me with his gun. I cried out in pain and ran away down the mountain.
“My mind was full of anger. I hated everyone in the world – men, women and
children. But most of all, I hated you, Victor Frankenstein. You made me ugly. You
made me a Monster. Everyone is afraid of me.”
The unhappy Monster looked around him.
“And so I had to leave that little house in that beautiful mountain village,” he went
on. “I came at last to these mountains. But their beauty did not please me. I went on
until I was near the city of Geneva. I was lonely and tired. Would I ever find a friend?
“One day, I saw a little child. He was running about happily and singing to himself.
There was no one near us. I had an idea. I would make this child my friend. He would
not be afraid of me. We would live happily together.
“I took the child by the arm. But when he saw my face, he screamed and screamed.
“Let me go,” he cried. “Let me go. I will tell my father.”
“No, you must come with me!”
“But my father is an important man. His name is Frankenstein. He will put you in
prison if you hurt me.”
“Frankenstein! It was the name of the people I wanted to kill. I put my hands round
the child’s neck. Soon he stopped moving. He was dead and I killed him.
“Then I saw the picture round his neck. I took it from his neck and held it in my
hand. The woman in the picture was smiling. But no woman would smile at me. I
hurried away from the dead child. I saw a young woman asleep under a tree. I put the
picture in her hand. People would think she killed the child. She would die, too.
“This is my story, Victor Frankenstein,” the Monster said. “What can you say to me
now?”
6. The Monster’s Wish

“What can I say?” I repeated. “My evil wrongdoing has brought terror and
unhappiness to the world. I created you. Now I must find a way to destroy you.”
3

Frankenstein - 2(1)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Frankenstein - 2(1)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Frankenstein - 2(1)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

yellow, wrinkled face.

5. The Monster’s Story

6. The Monster’s Wish

You might also like