Chapter XIX

Victor and Henry settle in London for several months. Henry seeks fellowship with scholars and dreams of aiding European trade in India, while Victor consults natural philosophers solely to gather knowledge for creating a mate for the Creature. Victor’s grief and guilt isolate him; society pains him, and only Henry’s presence offers brief relief.

In February they plan a northern tour prompted by a Scottish acquaintance’s invitation to Perth. They leave London in late March, visiting Windsor and Oxford, where historical reflections briefly lift Victor’s spirit before despair returns. They proceed through Matlock and the northern lakes; Henry thrives amid new friendships and landscapes, while Victor’s anxiety about the Creature’s potential revenge on his family grows.

Victor’s fears intensify; delayed letters from Elizabeth or Alphonse torment him, and he imagines the fiend stalking them. After a dispirited visit to Edinburgh, Victor asks to tour Scotland alone, seeking solitude to finish his task. Henry, reluctant, agrees and asks Victor to write often.

Victor travels through the Highlands and chooses a remote Orkney island for his laboratory. Among a handful of impoverished inhabitants, he secures a dilapidated hut and begins work. The bleak setting suits his purpose, but the process disgusts him; without the former frenzy of discovery, he toils in cold blood, alternating between avoidance and obsessive labor.

As the work advances, Victor grows increasingly restless and fearful of encountering the Creature. He clings to the hope of completing the female but is haunted by forebodings, working on in solitude while dreading the moment the Creature will arrive to claim his promised companion.