Storytime for Grownups
Host: Faith Moore
Episode: Frankenstein: Chapters 15–16
Date: October 9, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Storytime for Grownups, Faith Moore continues her warm, interactive reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, covering chapters 15 and 16. Faith combines a cozy audiobook-style narration with insightful literary commentary, helping listeners love and understand classic literature. This episode explores the Creature’s rapid intellectual development, deepening loneliness, his attempt to befriend the De Lacey family, and the heartbreaking sequence of betrayals that ultimately drive him toward revenge.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Community Announcements & Recap (01:00–11:00)

• Faith expresses gratitude for the podcast community and excitement for the upcoming “Tea Time” event—a monthly voice chat for members to discuss the book and literary life (01:02–03:58).
• She recaps the story so far: the Creature’s education through observation, the De Lacey family’s backstory, and the parallel between Felix’s selflessness and Victor Frankenstein’s failure to help Justine (03:58–08:56).
• Faith reads thoughtful listener letters that highlight moral contrasts between Felix and Victor, and the underlying lesson of empathy in Frankenstein (06:10–08:10).

“Victor could have and should have done more… It’s interesting how Victor assumed the creature is an awful murderer. But in this chapter… you actually get the sense that the creature… would have been a good creature if someone had properly guided him.”
— Nathan Black’s letter, read at [06:10]

• Faith notes some backstories, such as that of Safie, are complex or arguably extraneous, but serve to make the Creature’s education plausible within the narrative (08:10–10:57).

The Creature’s Intellectual and Emotional Growth (11:00–17:19)

• Faith highlights the Creature's accelerated development: from learning language and history by observing the cottagers, to acquiring a “cursory knowledge of history,” and ultimately questioning his place in the human world.
• She discusses the theme of isolation and the Creature’s acute awareness of his lack of family and community.
• The Creature’s existential crisis is foregrounded, with poignant readings:

“But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses.”
— The Creature (13:10)

• Faith explores the book’s core questions: What makes someone a monster? Is it how they’re made and how they look, or how they feel and act? She emphasizes how knowledge brings pain to the Creature but also affirms his essential humanity and longing for connection.

Moral Development & Growing Despair (17:19–18:37)

• The Creature is depicted as deeply moral, aspiring to virtue and horrified by the concept of murder:

“To be a great and virtuous man appeared the highest honor that could befall a sensitive being. To be base and vicious… appeared the lowest degradation…”
— The Creature, quoted by Faith [17:19]

• Faith raises the looming question: How does this yearning being become capable of murder?

Close Reading: Chapters 15–16

The Power of Literature (19:03–27:50)

• The Creature discovers Paradise Lost, Plutarch’s Lives, and The Sorrows of Werther ([20:06–24:28]), which shape his world view:

  • Werther inspires him with longing and despair.
  • Plutarch gives him aspirations toward virtue.
  • Paradise Lost leads him to identify both with Adam (as a created being, abandoned) and with Satan (as an outcast):

“Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition, for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me.”
— The Creature (24:28)

• He also finds Victor’s journal and is devastated by his creator’s disgust, deepening his feelings of abandonment (26:00–27:50).

The Attempt to Connect & Catastrophic Rejection (28:12–39:20)

• The Creature, now convinced he can speak and present himself, decides to approach the blind old man, hoping the absence of sight removes the barrier of his monstrous appearance ([32:41–39:05]).
• The moment is heart-wrenching; the blind De Lacey welcomes him warmly until the rest of the family return, reacting with horror and violence.
• Memorable moment:

“From your lips first have I heard the voice of kindness directed towards me. I shall be forever grateful…”
— The Creature, to De Lacey (38:13)

• Felix violently drives the Creature away. Faith stresses the tragedy: the Creature is rejected not for his actions, but for his appearance.

Turn Toward Revenge & Violence (39:20–61:58)

• The Creature is consumed by rage, despair, and a growing sense of “everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me” ([42:18]).
• The De Laceys flee, abandoning their home. The Creature, in anguish and vengeance, burns their cottage ([44:19–47:00]).
• His journey takes him toward Geneva, seeking Victor as his only possible source of justice—even as hatred takes root.
• The final straw comes when, after rescuing a drowning girl, he is shot by her companion ([52:31–54:00]), reinforcing his belief that humanity will never accept him.
• The transformation is complete when the Creature encounters William, Victor’s younger brother, hoping for innocent friendship, but is met with terror:

“As soon as he beheld my form, he placed his hands before his eyes and uttered a shrill scream… ‘Monster! Ugly wretch! You wish to eat me and tear me to pieces. You are an ogre...’”
— William Frankenstein (57:07)

• In a moment of anguish and rage, the Creature kills William and frames Justine with a locket, marking his transition from benign outcast to vengeful antagonist ([57:31–60:34]).
• The chapter closes with the Creature confronting Victor, demanding a companion of his own kind:

“Man will not associate with me. But one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me. My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.”
— The Creature (61:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s what we’ve been talking about all along, right? He was made unnaturally. He has no parents, no one to teach him… No one to give him… a sense that he is loved and wanted and valued.”
  — Faith Moore (13:10)
• “He wishes he’d never learned to be human. He wishes he could go back to just being a bundle of sensation. But what he doesn’t wish is that he was dead.”
  — Faith Moore (14:00)
• “From your lips first have I heard the voice of kindness directed towards me.”
  — The Creature, quoting [38:13]
• “At that instant the cottage door was opened… Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me?... Felix darted forward and with supernatural force tore me from his father... He dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick.”
  — Creature’s narrative of his rejection ([39:20])
• “From that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me and sent me forth to this insupportable misery.”
  — The Creature ([42:18])
• “You belong then to my enemy… You shall be my first victim.”
  — The Creature, before killing William (57:31)
• “My companion must be of the same species and have the same defects. This being you must create.”
  — The Creature’s demand (61:40)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:00–04:00: Community, podcast announcement, and upcoming event
• 04:00–11:00: Recap of previous chapters and listener letters
• 11:00–17:19: The Creature’s growing knowledge, isolation, and morality
• 19:03–27:50: Discovery of books, self-reflection, and reading Victor’s journal
• 32:41–39:20: Attempted connection with De Lacey family; violent rejection
• 39:20–44:19: The Creature’s rage and destruction of the cottage
• 52:29–54:00: Rescue of a drowning girl, and being shot
• 56:35–61:58: Encounter with William; murder and subsequent framing of Justine; demand for a mate

Final Thoughts

Faith’s narration and commentary provide warmth, empathy, and accessibility, drawing out Frankenstein’s complexities for modern readers. These chapters mark the Creature’s profound internal journey from innocence and hope to despair, rage, and vengeance—a shift underscored by his encounters with both literature and humankind. Faith’s literary notes allow listeners to reflect on themes of empathy, justice, and monstrosity, all while reveling in Shelley’s original prose.

Want to join the conversation? Faith encourages listener emails and community engagement at faithkmoore.com.