Frankenstein · Chapter
Chapter XXIV explained
Victor Frankenstein finishes his tale, warns Walton against the Creature's eloquence, and dies aboard the ship.
What happens
Victor Frankenstein finishes his tale, warns Walton against the Creature's eloquence, and dies aboard the ship. Walton writes to Margaret of his sorrow and witnesses the Creature mourning over Victor's body before departing into the Arctic darkness.
Themes in this chapter
Revenge and Destruction
Victor's final obsession with destroying the Creature and the Creature's own remorse highlight the destructive cycle of vengeance.
Ambition and Pride
Victor warns Walton against ambition, reflecting on his own downfall caused by overreaching scientific pride.
Isolation and Loneliness
Both Victor and the Creature face ultimate isolation—Victor in death, the Creature in his solitary departure into the Arctic.
Characters to notice
- Victor Frankenstein
Victor dies aboard Walton's ship after completing his narrative, warning Walton against ambition and the Creature's persuasive words.
- The Creature
The Creature appears over Victor's coffin, expresses remorse and despair, then leaps onto an ice-raft and disappears into the Arctic.
- Robert Walton
Walton records Victor's final words, witnesses the Creature's farewell, and writes to Margaret of his sorrow and the scene's horror.
- Margaret Saville
Walton addresses his letters to Margaret, sharing the conclusion of Victor's story and the Creature's final appearance.
Key passages
“He is eloquent and persuasive; and once his words had even power over my heart: but trust him not.”
Victor warns Walton that the Creature can speak convincingly and has swayed him before, but he should not be trusted.
Victor cautions Walton against the Creature's manipulative eloquence.
“I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed.”
Victor admits his own ambitions were destroyed, but acknowledges that someone else might achieve what he failed to do.
Victor's final words to Walton reflect his conflicted view on ambition.
“That is also my victim! ... in his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close!”
The Creature declares that Victor's death is his final crime, completing his chain of misery.
The Creature acknowledges Victor as his last victim, expressing remorse.
“I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct.”
The Creature looks forward to death as an end to his suffering and remorse.
The Creature's farewell speech expresses his desire for oblivion.