Storytime for Grownups – Frankenstein: Chapters 9-10

Host: Faith Moore
Date: September 29, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Faith Moore reads and analyzes Chapters 9 and 10 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. She intersperses her narration with thoughtful commentary, focusing on Victor Frankenstein’s guilt, the fallout from Justine’s execution, and the highly anticipated first confrontation between Victor and his Creature in the Alps. Faith also responds to diverse listener comments about Victor’s moral culpability, openly shares her own anti-Victor position, and discusses the melodramatic tone that colors much of the narrative. The episode is designed to make classic literature relevant and enjoyable, blending immersive reading with accessible literary analysis.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on Justine’s Execution and Victor’s Culpability (03:46–14:50)

• Listener Comments Debate Victor’s Character:

  • Rachel (04:38): Is torn between pity and frustration: “I don't know whether to pity him or be infuriated with him.”
  • Sarah (05:12): Strongly condemns Victor’s inaction as “impotent, selfish.”
  • Emma (05:39): Suggests Victor’s guilt redeems him, noting he is not a textbook narcissist.

• Host’s Perspective (06:42–14:51):

  • Faith aligns herself with the anti-Victor camp, stating:

    “Victor has revealed himself in these last couple of chapters…to be a total narcissist.” (08:09)

  • She critiques Victor’s self-pity, especially where he claims his suffering is greater than Justine’s:

    “The tortures of the accused did not equal mine.” (08:24 – quote from the text)

  • Points out Victor’s lack of responsibility for the Creature after its creation:

    “He takes no responsibility for neglecting the creature. He only takes responsibility for making it.” (11:00)

  • Observes the literary device of having a potentially unlikable narrator, challenging listeners to consider the reliability and likability of Victor (12:57).

2. The Aftermath of Tragedy: Grief, Solitude, and Melodrama (14:51–17:44)

• Victor is overwhelmed by guilt, Elizabeth is despondent, and both are wracked by the consequences of Justine’s execution.

• Victor’s foreshadowing and sense of melodrama are highlighted:

  “The first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts.” (15:20, Victor)

• Faith notes the over-the-top, melodramatic language of the book, exemplified by Elizabeth’s speech and emotional extremes:

  “You, my playfellow, my companion, my sister—perish on the scaffold? No, no. I never could survive so horrible a misfortune.” (15:57, quoting Elizabeth)

  • Faith: “Nobody talks like that, right? So it's kind of silly. If you want it to be.” (15:57)

3. Chapter-by-Chapter Reading and Commentary

Chapter 9: Victor’s Despair and Isolation (18:14–28:15)

• Victor, consumed by remorse, describes his inability to find solace after Justine’s execution.

  “I wandered like an evil spirit, for I had committed deeds of mischief beyond description, horrible and more, much more, I persuaded myself, was yet behind.” (19:03, Victor)

• His father tries to counsel him out of grief, but Victor’s sense of guilt is too all-consuming (19:43).
• Victor contemplates suicide but resists for the sake of Elizabeth and his family (23:00).
• Elizabeth reflects on the darkness that has entered her worldview:

  “Before, I looked upon the accounts of vice and injustice that I read in books…as tales of ancient days or imaginary evils…But now, misery has come home, and men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other’s blood.” (25:13-25:48, Elizabeth)

• Victor seeks solace and escape in the natural world, traveling into the Alps, describing the landscape with a blend of anguish and appreciation for its power and grandeur (28:14).

Chapter 10: The Sublimity of Nature & Confrontation on the Glacier (28:15–52:14)

• Victor continues ascending into the Alpine wilderness, attempting to find relief in the beauty and terror of nature:

  “It is a scene terrifically desolate…The path, as you ascend higher, is intersected by ravines of snow…One of them is particularly dangerous, as the slightest sound…produces a concussion of air sufficient to draw destruction.” (32:23, narration & commentary)

• Victor contemplates the mutability of human sorrow, wishing for the ignorant peace of animals.
• On the glacier at Montanvert, Victor first spots the Creature approaching him:

  “I suddenly beheld the figure of a man at some distance, advancing towards me with superhuman speed.” (40:25, narration)

• The confrontation is charged, and both express their bitterness:
  • Victor (41:37): “Devil! … Do you dare approach me? ... I may trample you to dust, and, oh, that I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence, restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered.”
  • Creature (43:00): “All men hate the wretched. How then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things? Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound…by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.”
• The Creature demands to be heard, giving his justification:

  “I was benevolent and good. Misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” (45:15, Creature)

• Victor nearly attacks the Creature, but the Creature insists on telling his side of the story:

  “Let your compassion be moved, and do not disdain me. … Listen to my tale…The guilty are allowed by human laws…to speak in their own defense before they are condemned. Listen to me, Frankenstein.” (44:55–47:15, Creature)

• Victor reluctantly agrees, moved by a mixture of curiosity, guilt, and a dawning sense of responsibility:

  “For the first time also, I felt what the duties of a Creator towards his creature were, and that I ought to render him happy before I complained of his wickedness.” (50:05, narration)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Victor's Self-Pity:

  “The tortures of the accused did not equal mine.” (08:24, Victor, quoted by Faith)

• Faith’s Anti-Victor Stand:

  “Victor has revealed himself…to be a total narcissist.” (08:09, Faith)

• Elizabeth on the Loss of Innocence:

  “Before, I looked upon the accounts of vice and injustice…as tales of ancient days…But now, misery has come home, and men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other's blood.” (25:13–25:48, Elizabeth, read by Faith)

• The Creature’s Plea:

  “I was benevolent and good. Misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.” (45:15, Creature)

• Nature as Solace and Sublimity:

  “These sublime and magnificent scenes…elevated me from all littleness of feeling, and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillized it.” (31:45, Victor, recited by Faith)

Important Timestamps

• Listener Comments & Victor Discussion: 03:46–14:51
• Melodrama & Narrative Tone: 15:38–17:44
• Story Reading Starts (Ch. 9): 18:08
• Elizabeth’s Despair: 25:13–27:09
• Victor’s Journey in the Alps: 28:14–32:23
• Victor Sees the Creature: 40:25
• Initial Confrontation Quotes: 41:37–43:10
• Creature’s Argument for Compassion: 44:48–45:15
• Victor Agrees to Listen: 50:05–50:54

Tone and Style

Throughout, Faith’s narration is warm, conversational, and slightly playful, even when delving into dark or melodramatic passages. She injects humor regarding the book’s melodrama, provides easy-to-understand explanations of language and context, and encourages listeners to form and share their own opinions, regardless of whether they differ from hers.

Next Episode Preview

Faith hints at upcoming plans for the podcast’s future books and urges listeners to write in with thoughts, especially opinions that diverge from her anti-Victor stance. She encourages ongoing dialogue in the show’s online community, the Drawing Room.

Summary prepared by Storytime for Grownups Podcast Summarizer – for those seeking insight and discussion without having to listen in real time!