Summary
Summary Notes of Chapter 8 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
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Summary Notes of Chapter 8 of Frankenstein. Includes summary of events, key sections of analysis and links to The Handmaid's Tale.
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Frankenstein Part 1 Chapter 8Summary
The Frankenstein family must sit and watch the trial of Justine Moritz for the murder of William. Victor describes how
terrible he views the criminal justice system, and criticizes the unfairness of the trial. Meanwhile, he is constantly aw
his responsibility for Justine’s position, as well as the death of his own brother. During the trial, Justine attempts to a
courageous in the knowledge of her innocence, however lots of circumstantial evidence is given against her and, with
of her friends willing to speak, she must vouch for herself. However, it is Elizabeth who steps forward and speaks so
prove Justine’s good character, despite this no difference is made; the opinion of the court is very much set against J
The next morning, Victor finds the devastating news that Justine has been condemned to death, having professed gu
under the pressure of her confessor, who threatened and manipulated her. She is very thankful to both Elizabeth and
and simply accepts the peace that she believes death will bring her- she is the second victim of Victor’s actions.
Themes – highlight themes and add a quote for each that are
present.
Social status/class
Loneliness and Isolation
Violence
Language and Power
Playing God
Relationships and family
Treatment of women
Science
Mankind and nature
Victims
Warnings
Quotes
Social status/class- Justine is clearly mistreated under the
government’s criminal justice system , which may well be due
to her low class and lack of wealth and nobility within society.
In explaining her untrue confession, Justine explains how her
confessor ‘has besieged me; he threatened and menaced, until I
almost began to think I was the monster that he said I was’. The
use of verbs ‘besieged’, ‘threatened’ and ‘menaced’ adds to the
portrayal of the confessor as unnecessarily aggressive, cruel
and manipulative which is especially immoral under a criminal
justice system which strives for fairness. Equally, Justine’s
metaphorical reference to herself as a ‘monster’ reintroduces
this theme of what it takes for a human to become a monster.
There is the question of whether Frankenstein himself is the
true monster, not the creature he created. (What does it take
to make monsters from men?).
Women- As Justine stands her trial, Victor describes her
positively ‘confident in innocence’ which adds to the strength of
her character. However, this is undermined by his description
of her as ‘exquisitely beautiful’; he inappropriately focuses on
the aesthetics of Justine’s appearance, even as she is standing
trial- women are defined primarily by their appearance, such as
that a woman might appear as kind if she is beautiful ‘kindness
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