Frankenstein Blog 3

Victor discovers that Justine has been killed for murdering William, Victor's brother. Victor enters a deep depression that he doesn't think he will get out of: "The blood flowed freely in my veins, but a weight of despair and remorse pressed on my heart, which nothing could remove." I think he is saying that he may still be actually living, but he's not living in the sense of being happy and enjoying himself. Victor's father realizes he is upset and tries to make him feel better. They travel to Belrive and there Victor encounters the monster: "I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had created." Victor yells at the monster refers to it as "devil". It's ironic that Victor wants nothing to do with the monster now that he finished it and put so much time into it and now he's afraid of his creation. The monster convinces Victor to come with him to a hut on the mountain, where the monster tells his story. To be honest I'm surprised the monster didn't harm Victor after the way Victor yelled at him. The monster doesn't even seem to be a monster except for his appearance, and seems to make a sort of peace offering when he asks Victor to listen to his story. This just makes Victor look like an ass and I think he realizes it.
The monster tells about his struggles to Victor, especially when he first awakens: "It was dark when i awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened, as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate." Even though the monster is a monster, he was still scared of first entering the world, just like a human. The monster encounters a family, and realizes he is sad and lonely: "Night quickly shut in; but, to my extreme wonder, I found that the cottagers had a means of prolonging light by the use of tapers, and was delighted to find that the setting of the sun did not put an end to the pleasure I experienced in watching my human neighbors." The monster even begins to develop feelings and is saddened by the fact that the people weren't always happy: "They were not entirely happy. The young man and his companion often went apart, and appeared to weep. I saw no cause for their unhappiness; but I was deeply affected by it."
It seems like this "monster" isn't a monster at all. He seems compassionate for people and has no intention of hurting them. Victor thinks that just because his creation is physically terrifying doesn't mean he is harmful. I think that this was the point Shelley was trying to make: People are people no matter what they look like and that they shouldn't be judged on their appearance. The monster is scary but has way more affection than his creator will ever have. Victor loses his brother and mother and thinks his life is pointless and feels sorry for himself but the monster has no family and he probably never will and doesn't seem affected by it.