the guardian angel of my life
This seemingly strange shift in Victor's autobiography, without parallel
in the account of his early education in the first edition, may be
intended by Mary Shelley in her
emendations to prepare us for, and make a
logical link to, Victor's mental state just before he is rescued by Walton
and his crew. In the last chapter of his narration (3.7.4) he accounts himself under the special
protection of guiding spirits who guide his vengeance against the Creature.
Coming as it does at the end of this chapter on his formative influence,
this strong commitment to a guiding destiny testifies to a belief system
through which Victor filters his entire existence, thus in effect
rewriting it. Where a reader might wish to observe in Victor's behavior a
normal adolescent lethargy or an understandable lack of assurance about
the future course of his preparation for adulthood, Victor sees the hand
of Providence.
