“Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
— Frankenstein (1818)
The creature's warning to Victor. Shelley gives the monster a voice of terrifying clarity — the one who has nothing to lose is the most dangerous of all.
Author Quotes
Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley.
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”
— Frankenstein (1818)
Victor's observation after the creature's birth. Shelley identifies the psychological cost of transformation — even desired change devastates the unprepared mind.
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”
— Frankenstein (1818)
The creature's stubborn attachment to existence despite its torment. Shelley channels the paradox: life is pain, and yet we cling to it.
“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe.”
— Frankenstein (1818)
The creature's plea. Shelley makes the monster's emotional range exceed that of his creator — he is capable of both infinite tenderness and infinite fury, needing only connection to choose the former.