Why . . . so wantonly bestowed
This is the third time this phrasing has been heard in the volume. The
first is at its very beginning where Victor confesses that he "ardently
wished to extinguish that life which [he] had so thoughtlessly bestowed"
(2.1.2). The second occurence takes
place during the encounter on the Mer de
Glace, where under the intensity of the experience Victor adds to his
weight of guilt, vowing to "extinguish the spark that I so negligently
bestowed" (2.2.4). The Creature thus
taunts Victor with his own words and desires, but stresses the character
of the negligence involved: his life, he asserts, has been "wantonly
bestowed," which returns him to his earlier line of attack: "How dare you
sport thus with life?" (2.2.4).
