(...) He approached; his countenance
bespoke bitter anguish, combined with disdain and malignity, while its unearthly
ugliness rendered it almost too horrible for human eyes. But I scarcely observed
this; rage and hatred had at first deprived me of utterance, and I recovered only
to overwhelm him with words expressive of furious detestation and contempt.
"Devil,"
I exclaimed, "do you dare approach me? and do not you fear the fierce vengeance
of my arm wreaked on your miserable head? Begone,
vile
insect! or rather, stay, that 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!"
"I expected this reception," said
the daemon. "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.
You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards
me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you will comply
with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will
glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the
blood
of your remaining friends."
"Abhorred monster! fiend that thou art! the tortures
of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes. Wretched devil! you reproach
me with your creation; come on, then, that I may extinguish the spark which I
so negligently bestowed." My rage was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled
by all the feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another.
He
easily eluded me, and said--
"Be calm! I entreat you to hear me, before you
give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I not suffered enough that you
seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish,
is dear to me, and I will defend it. Remember, thou hast made me more powerful
than thyself; my height is superior to thine; my joints more supple. But I will
not be tempted to set myself in opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will
be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king, if thou wilt also perform
thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every
other, and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and
affection, is most due. Remember, that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam;
but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere
I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and
good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."
"Begone!
I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies.
Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall."
"How
can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy
creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein:
I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably
alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures,
who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers
are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only
do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge.
(...)"
Aus "Frankenstein oder Der moderne Prometheus" von Mary Shelley.