Frankenstein: Chapter 13

The color-coded bars in this section make it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart. For instance, indicates that all six themes apply to that part of the summary.

Summary Analysis Themes

When a dark and beautiful “Arabian” woman named Safie arrives at the cottage, the family’s mood, and Felix’s in particular, brightens. Safie does not speak the family’s language, and Felix teaches her from a history book. As she learns, so does the monster, which is disgusted that a race as noble as mankind is also capable of such evil.

The notion that a “noble and godlike” species like man can also be “evil” disgusts the monster and leaves it with a feeling of loathing. The gaining of language and the knowledge it offers can be seen as a loss of innocence.

As he learns about society and humans, the monster realizes that it has no society of its own. It is a monster, doomed to be always without family or people. It wishes it had never gotten this knowledge about society, which makes it so miserable.

A key turning point for the monster. In realizing humanity’s shallowness, he also realizes his own sorry fate as an outcast, a monster.