Chapters 21 to 24 and Walton's last letters — AQA GCSE English Literature 8702
AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702
Chapters 21 to 24 and Walton's last letters
The plot, part by part
What you need to know
Clerval's murder and Victor's imprisonment in Ireland, the wedding night and Elizabeth's death, the pursuit into the Arctic,
Victor's death on Walton's ship, and the creature's last words to Walton.
Key quotations: 'Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life?', 'The cup of life was poisoned for ever', 'the apple was already eaten', 'a shrill and dreadful scream', 'She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down', 'A grin was on the face of the monster', 'Great God! why did I not then expire!', 'I am satisfied: miserable wretch! you have determined to live, and I am satisfied', 'My reign is not yet over', 'Oh! be men, or be more than men', 'That is also my victim!', 'I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly', 'He was soon borne away by the waves, and lost in darkness and distance'.
Structure: the return to Walton's letters, Walton's choice to turn back, and the ending left open as the creature vanishes into the dark.
How Victor's self-absorption leads him to misread the threat, and how creator and creature swap the roles of hunter and hunted.
