Gothicism
Frankenstein's monster
Wants to experience life
"Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it." (Ch. 10, pg. 99)
Darkness/Grief
“The child still struggled and loaded me with epithets which carried despair to my heart; I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet." (Ch.16, pg. 144)
This is how the death of William is described. The monster kills William to hurt and exact revenge on Victor for its creation and all of its pain and suffering.
"It was on a dreary night of November... drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky." (Ch. 5, pg. 59)
Victor says this after he creates the monster and runs outside in the rain in horror. The weather matches the gothic mood.
Extreme Landscapes
"Your summits are clear; the sky and lake are blue and placid. Is this to prognosticate peace, or to mock at my unhappiness?" (ch. 7, pg. 75)
The description suggests its very good weather which contrasts Victor's mood of sadness and despair.
"... the icy wall of the glacier overhung me; a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial Nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of some vast fragment, the thunder sound of the avalanche or the cracking, reverberated along the mountains, ..." (ch. 10, pg. 93)
Victor Frankenstein
Thirst for knowledge leads to his biggest regret
"My tale was not to one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar." (Ch. 7, pg. 80)
"I was capable of a more intense application ans was more deeply smitten with the thirst of knowledge." (Ch. 2, pg. 36)
Death, Darkness
" I shunned the face of man; all sound of joy or complacency was torture to me; solitude was my only consolation—deep, dark, deathlike solitude." (Ch. 9, pg. 85)
Victor is now feeling immensely guilty for the death of Justine and William and nothing brings him joy anymore.
"Ye weep, unhappy ones, but these are not your last tears! Again shall you raise the funeral wail, and the sound of your lamentations shall again and again be heard!” (Ch. 8, pg. 83)
Justine dies because of the false accusation that she killed William. Victor believes its the monster that killed William and this quote tells us that more will die becaause of the monster.
"I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever." (Ch. 9, pg. 91)
This shows how Victor contemplated suicide after the death of Justine and William and the grief and suffering that followed.
Desire to murder the monster
"Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me which nothing could extinguish." (Ch.8, pg. 82)
This shows how much hatred Victor has for the monster and how he blames himself for the murders. This blame further fuels his rage to kill the monster.
"" You reproach me with your creation, come on, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed.”
My rage was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled by all the feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another. "
(Ch. 10, pg. 96)
The monster wanted to reason with Victor but Victor's rage didn't allow him to think and he attacked the monster. This shows the rage that was bottled up in him which he let all out when he saw the monster.
Extreme Weather
"The storm appeared to approach rapidly, ... It advanced; the heavens were clouded, and I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops, but its violence quickly increased... the darkness and storm increased every minute, and the thunder burst with a terrific crash over my head." (Ch.7, pg. 68-69)
This storm is what Victor encounters on his way back home to Geneva after hearing the news of William's death. He sees the monster from a flash of lightning and instantly knows it was the one who killed William.
