Thursday, December 6, 2012

How did Elizabeth die in Frankenstein?

Elizabeth, the beloved friend and, later, fiancee of Victor Frankenstein, is murdered by the creature Victor has made. The creature threatens Victor that he will be with him "on [his] wedding night," so Victor fears early on that Elizabeth will not be safe with him and tries to dissuade her from marrying him. However, Elizabeth will not be dissuaded, insisting that she loves him, and of course, he cannot tell her the truth. Unfortunately, in chapter 23, we see the outcome of this.
Elizabeth retires alone into a room just when Victor is beginning to think the threat has passed. He then hears her scream terribly and rushes in to see what has happened. He finds her dead, having been apparently thrown across the bed. Victor is so surprised that he faints. When he wakes, Elizabeth has been rearranged into a sleeping posture, but there is a mark on her neck indicating the grasp of the "fiend"—Victor's creation. Victor then sees the creature grinning at him through the window. He attempts to shoot at it but misses.

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