Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

One “dreary night of November,” Frankenstein completes his work on the creature. When its “dull yellow eye” opens (42), Frankenstein is terrified and disgusted by its appearance. He laments that he “had worked so hard” to create a being who fills him with “breathless horror” (42). He flees to his bedroom but is unable to sleep. When he finally does, he dreams of his mother’s corpse. When he awakens, he sees the creature standing in his room. The creature smiles, attempts to speak, and reaches out, but Frankenstein flees outside to the courtyard.

Frankenstein spends the night outside. In the morning, he walks the streets fearful that he will encounter the creature. As he passes an inn, he is delighted to see Henry Clerval, who just arrived in town. Clerval tells Frankenstein that his father consented to Clerval attending the university. He also notices Frankenstein’s “thin and pale” appearance (45). Frankenstein affirms that he has been “deeply engaged in one occupation” but assures him that he is “at length free” (45).

Frankenstein is anxious that the creature is still in his apartment. As they reach his building, he asks Clerval to wait downstairs while he checks his rooms.