Frankenstein: The Climax (?)

At the conclusion of the story Frankenstein, I became disappointed at the lack of a solid climax. With some difficulty, I strove to come up with where the climax of the story was and came up with a few possibilities. The climax may have occurred at Victor's destruction of the female monster, Elizabeth's death, and Victor's promise to live in order to take revenge.

I felt that the obliteration of the female monster by Victor's hands was a contender in the contest for the climax of the story. My main reasoning for this is that it is the only act of violence read as it happened. Victor described the event as, "trembling with passion, [I] tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged. The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew" (Pg 115). Since it was so emotionally charged and the events that followed afterward were not entirely predictable, I felt that it satisfied the peak of intensity.

Elizabeth's murder by the monster may also be considered the high point of the story. Knowing that the monster wished to expose Victor to the same loneliness and despair that he felt, it was foreseeable that Elizabeth would be a prime target to meet this end. At destroying the monster's desired mate, he swore to be there at Victor's wedding. Victor puts so much emphasis while he tells his story on this threat, I believe he repeated it more than three times, and laments before telling it, "Great God!if for one instant I had thought what might be the hellish intention of my fiendish adversary, I would rather have banished myself for ever from my native country, and wandered a friendless outcast over the earth..." (Pg 132). This excessive build up to the event is why I consider the event to be a climax.

The other situation I feel is climax worthy is when Victor finds himself at the tomb of his departed family, friend and wife. Victor says, "I swear to pursue the daemon, who caused this misery, until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict...." (Pg. 140). For me, this was a great relief. I was disappointed in how he and the monster were regarding how their lives were not worth living and that they would rather die. The declaration of Victor saying that he would live, despite it being for the sole purpose of destroying the monster, was a nice and well overdue twist. Also I liked how it foreshadowed an impending meeting between Victor and the monster in an exciting end.