After visiting the charnel house, Elizabeth realizes, “Victor had left, possessed by the need to defeat death, and without me here to temper his obsessions, he had descended to hellish depths. I had driven Victor to this madness. I would repair it in any way necessary” (this page). Has she driven Victor to “this madness”? Why does Elizabeth feel as though she must always save and protect Victor? Why does she feel she must be the one to fix the problems he creates or encounters?
In the flashback when Madame Frankenstein is on her death bed, she tells Elizabeth that she “can never leave….You have to stay here, with Victor….Victor…is…your…responsibility” (this page). Why does Victor’s mother insist that Elizabeth is responsible for Victor? Is he really her responsibility? Should this responsibility also fall on Judge Frankenstein? What about Victor himself?
Mary is the first to wonder why Elizabeth searches for Victor and tries so hard to protect him. When she questions whether Elizabeth loves him, Elizabeth responds that “He is my entire life….And my only hope of a future” (this page). Do you agree with Elizabeth’s statement? What might happen to her future if she does not continue to protect him? Is she doing this out of love?
As Elizabeth searches again for Victor and the monster, she notes that Victor “thought he was protecting me, but he was the one in need of protection” (this page). Do you agree with her statement? Why does Elizabeth feel Victor needs her protection? Why does she feel that she doesn’t need protection?
When Elizabeth realizes what Victor has done on the island for the monster, she decides to take action, saying, “I did not care if it threatened my life, or even if it killed me. Victor would disagree, but my safety was not worth this steepest of costs” (this page). What is the cost that Elizabeth is referring to? She has always prioritized her safety; why is taking action now more important to her than safety?
Elizabeth excuses Victor’s crimes, noting they were “pride and ambition, stepping beyond the boundaries God set for the world.” She then claims that the monster “was punishing him enough” for these crimes. Do you agree with her assessment? She poses the question “How did one punish those [crimes]?” (this page). What do you think would be an appropriate punishment?
As Elizabeth confronts Victor, he claims, “You made it clear from the start you did not care what I did so long as you did not have to know the specifics. It was our agreement” (this page). Did Elizabeth agree to this, and if so, when? Do you agree with Victor’s statement, given prior events and Elizabeth’s role in them?
Near the end of the text, Mary shares with Elizabeth that “Not being blameless is not the same as being guilty” (this page). What does this statement mean? How does it pertain to Elizabeth? To Victor?