I beheld a countenance of angelic beauty
We have no comparable description of Elizabeth Lavenza from Victor, whose
appreciation of her virtues overshadows the few physical details he gives
of her upon his return to his family at the end of Chapter 6 of the first volume. In the
unself-conscious innocence of the Creature, in contrast, not only do we
realize that he
has a nuanced appreciation for the beautiful, but we also comprehend that
strong romantic desire -- not a subject in which Victor seems particularly
adept -- is an aspect of his makeup, perhaps to be considered normal for a
human being, but in the Creature's circumstances deeply problematical.
Mary Shelley's delicate handling of the Creature's awakening to desire is
an index of the complexity with which she endows his character.
