August 26th, 17—.
Dear Margaret,
You have read this strange and scary story. Does your blood feel cold with horror? My blood feels cold now too. Sometimes Victor Frankenstein was in great pain and could not continue his story. At other times, his voice was broken and sad. His beautiful eyes were sometimes angry and sometimes full of deep sorrow. Sometimes Victor Frankenstein stayed calm and told me horrible things with a quiet voice. Then, he would suddenly become very angry at the monster.
Victor Frankenstein’s story is logical and sounds true. He showed me the letters from Felix and Safie. Also, we saw the monster from our ship. Now I know that such a monster really exists. I am very surprised. I tried to ask Victor Frankenstein how he made the monster. But Victor Frankenstein did not want to tell me his secret.
"Are you crazy, my friend?" Victor Frankenstein asked. "Do you want to create an enemy for the world? Listen to my sad story. Do not seek the same problems."
Victor Frankenstein saw that I wrote notes about his life. He asked to see my notes. Then Victor Frankenstein fixed the notes and added more details. He especially added more words to the conversations with the monster. Victor Frankenstein wanted the story to be perfect for the future.
One week has passed. I have listened to the strangest story in the world. I care about Victor Frankenstein very much because he has gentle manners. I want to help him, but he is very miserable. He has no hope. Victor Frankenstein will only find peace when he dies. He believes that his dead friends visit him in his dreams. This belief makes him feel better.
We talk about many things, not just his life. Victor Frankenstein knows a lot about books and literature. He speaks very well. When Victor Frankenstein tells a sad story, I cry. He was a great man in the past. Now he is broken, but he is still noble.
"When I was young," Victor Frankenstein said, "I wanted to do great things. I thought I was a special person. I did not want to waste my life being sad. I created a living man. I was not like other people. But now my hopes are gone. I feel like I am in an eternal hell. I had a big ambition (a strong desire to be successful or powerful). Now I have fallen and I will never rise again."
I do not want to lose Victor Frankenstein. I wanted a friend for a long time. Now I have found a friend on this wild sea. But I think I will lose him soon. I want Victor Frankenstein to love life again, but he says no.
"Thank you, Captain Walton," Victor Frankenstein said. "You are kind to a miserable man. But no one can replace my dead friends. Clerval and Elizabeth were my friends since I was a child. They knew me best. No new friend can be the same. My friends are dead. I only stay alive to destroy the monster. After the monster is dead, I can die too."
September 2nd.
My dear sister Margaret,
I am writing to you from a dangerous place. I do not know if I will see England again. There are mountains of ice all around the ship. We cannot escape. The ice might crush the ship at any moment. My sailors look at me for help, but I cannot help them. I am very afraid. It is terrible because my men are in danger because of me.
What will you do, Margaret? You will not hear about my death. You will wait for me for many years. You will feel despair and hope. This is more terrible to me than my own death. But you have a husband and children. I hope you will be happy.
Victor Frankenstein feels sorry for me. He tries to give me hope. He tells me that other sailors escaped this sea in the past. Victor Frankenstein speaks to the sailors too. When he speaks, the sailors feel brave. They stop feeling despair for a short time. But then they feel afraid again. I am afraid the sailors will mutiny (rebel against their leader).
September 5th.
Something very important happened today. We are still surrounded by ice. It is very cold. Some of my sailors have already died. Victor Frankenstein is becoming very weak. He is very sick.
This morning, I sat with Victor Frankenstein. He was very tired. Suddenly, six sailors came into the room. Their leader spoke to me. He said the sailors were very afraid. They wanted me to promise something. If the ice breaks, we must go south. They did not want to continue the journey north.
I did not know what to say. I did not want to go home yet. But I did not want to be unfair to the men. Suddenly, Victor Frankenstein sat up. His eyes were bright and his face was red. He looked at the sailors.
"What do you want?" Victor Frankenstein asked. "Why do you want to leave? You said this was a great journey. It is a great journey because it is dangerous. You must be brave and fight death. If you go home now, people will call you cowards. They will say you were afraid of the cold. Do not return with shame. Be like heroes. The ice cannot stop you if you are strong."
Victor Frankenstein spoke with a very powerful voice. The sailors were surprised. They looked at each other and did not answer. I told the sailors to go and think about it. I told them I would not go north if they really wanted to go south. But I hoped their courage would return. The sailors left the room. Victor Frankenstein fell back on his bed. He was very tired.
September 7th.
I decided to return to England. I do not want the ship to be destroyed. My hopes are gone. I am very disappointed.
September 12th.
I am returning to England now. I have lost my hope for glory. I have also lost my friend. On September 9th, the ice began to move. It sounded like thunder. Victor Frankenstein was very sick and stayed in his bed. On September 11th, the path to the south was open. The sailors shouted with joy. Victor Frankenstein woke up and asked about the noise.
"They are happy because we are going back to England," I said.
"Are you really going back?" Victor Frankenstein asked.
"Yes," I said. "I must go back."
"You can go back," Victor Frankenstein said. "But I will not. I must follow the monster. The spirits will give me strength."
Victor Frankenstein tried to get out of bed. But he was too weak. He fell and fainted. Later, he opened his eyes. He could not breathe well. The doctor said Victor Frankenstein had only a few hours to live.
I sat by the bed and watched Victor Frankenstein. He spoke with a very weak voice. Victor Frankenstein said he was right to want revenge. He said he was right not to make a second monster. The first monster was too evil. Victor Frankenstein said his duty was to protect people.
"The monster must die," Victor Frankenstein said. "I failed to kill him. I asked you to kill him, Walton. But now you are going to England. You will not find him there. I am dying now. This is my only happy hour. I see my dead friends again. Goodbye, Walton! Be happy and stay calm. Do not have too much ambition."
Victor Frankenstein became very quiet. He pressed my hand and his eyes closed. He died with a gentle smile on his face. Margaret, I am very sad. My friend is dead.
Suddenly, I heard a sound. It was midnight. I heard a voice in the room where Victor Frankenstein’s body lay. I must go and see what it is. Good night, Margaret.
Margaret, a wonderful thing happened! I went into the room. I saw a giant monster over Victor Frankenstein’s body. The monster was very big and ugly. He had long hair. His skin was like a mummy (a dead body kept in cloth for a long time). The monster saw me and ran to the window. His face was very horrible. I shut my eyes. I told the monster to stay.
The monster looked at Victor Frankenstein’s body. He seemed very angry and sad.
"Victor Frankenstein is also my victim!" the monster cried. "I killed him. Oh, Frankenstein! I am so sorry. Please forgive me. But he is cold. He cannot answer me."
I felt a little bit of pity for the monster. But then I remembered my friend. I told the monster that he was wrong to feel sorry now.
"Your repentance (feeling sorry for doing something bad) is too late," I said. "If you felt sorry before, Victor Frankenstein would be alive."
"Do you think I was happy?" the monster asked. "I felt a lot of pain. I felt guilty when I killed people. My heart wanted love and friends. But I was miserable. When I saw Victor Frankenstein was happy, I felt jealous. I wanted revenge. I killed his friends. I was the slave of my anger. Now it is finished. Victor Frankenstein is my last victim."
I felt a little bit of pity again. But then I looked at my dead friend. I told the monster he was a bad devil. I said he only felt sorry because he could not hurt Victor Frankenstein anymore.
"No, it is not like that," the monster said. "I do not want pity. I am okay with being alone. Once, I had dreams of being good. I wanted people to love me. But now I am worse than an animal. I have done many bad crimes. I am a wretch. I killed innocent people. I destroyed my creator. I hate myself more than you hate me."
The monster looked at his hands. He looked very sad.
"Do not be afraid," the monster said. "I will not hurt anyone again. My work is finished. I will leave this ship on my ice raft. I will go to the far North. I will build a big fire. I will jump into the fire and die. I will not feel pain anymore. I will not see the sun or the stars. I will find rest in death."
The monster looked at the body of Victor Frankenstein one last time.
"Goodbye, Frankenstein!" the monster cried. "You wanted to kill me so I would not hurt people. Now I will kill myself. My pain is greater than yours. My guilt will never stop until I die."
The monster jumped out of the window onto the ice. The waves carried him away. He disappeared into the dark night.