The being finished speaking and fixed1 his looks upon me in the expectation of a reply. But I was bewildered, perplexed2, and unable to arrange my ideas sufficiently3 to understand the full extent of his proposition. He continued,
“You must create a female for me with whom I can live in the interchange of those sympathies necessary for my being. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede.”
The latter part of his tale had kindled4 anew in me the anger that had died away while he narrated5 his peaceful life among the cottagers, and as he said this I could no longer suppress the rage that burned within me.
“I do refuse it,” I replied; “and no torture shall ever extort6 a consent from me. You may render me the most miserable7 of men, but you shall never make me base in my own eyes. Shall I create another like yourself, whose joint8 wickedness might desolate9 the world. Begone! I have answered you; you may torture me, but I will never consent.”
“You are in the wrong,” replied the fiend; “and instead of threatening, I am content to reason with you. I am malicious10 because I am miserable. Am I not shunned11 and hated by all mankind? You, my creator, would tear me to pieces and triumph; remember that, and tell me why I should pity man more than he pities me? You would not call it murder if you could precipitate12 me into one of those ice-rifts and destroy my frame, the work of your own hands. Shall I respect man when he condemns13 me? Let him live with me in the interchange of kindness, and instead of injury I would bestow14 every benefit upon him with tears of gratitude15 at his acceptance. But that cannot be; the human senses are insurmountable barriers to our union. Yet mine shall not be the submission16 of abject17 slavery. I will revenge my injuries; if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear, and chiefly towards you my archenemy, because my creator, do I swear inextinguishable hatred18. Have a care; I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall curse the hour of your birth.”
A fiendish rage animated19 him as he said this; his face was wrinkled into contortions20 too horrible for human eyes to behold21; but presently he calmed himself and proceeded —
“I intended to reason. This passion is detrimental22 to me, for you do not reflect that YOU are the cause of its excess. If any being felt emotions of benevolence23 towards me, I should return them a hundred and a hundredfold; for that one creature’s sake I would make peace with the whole kind! But I now indulge in dreams of bliss24 that cannot be realized. What I ask of you is reasonable and moderate; I demand a creature of another sex, but as hideous25 as myself; the gratification is small, but it is all that I can receive, and it shall content me. It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another. Our lives will not be happy, but they will be harmless and free from the misery26 I now feel. Oh! My creator, make me happy; let me feel gratitude towards you for one benefit! Let me see that I excite the sympathy of some existing thing; do not deny me my request!”
I was moved. I shuddered27 when I thought of the possible consequences of my consent, but I felt that there was some justice in his argument. His tale and the feelings he now expressed proved him to be a creature of fine sensations, and did I not as his maker28 owe him all the portion of happiness that it was in my power to bestow? He saw my change of feeling and continued,
“If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again; I will go to the vast wilds of South America. My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut29 my appetite; acorns30 and berries afford me sufficient nourishment31. My companion will be of the same nature as myself and will be content with the same fare. We shall make our bed of dried leaves; the sun will shine on us as on man and will ripen32 our food. The picture I present to you is peaceful and human, and you must feel that you could deny it only in the wantonness of power and cruelty. Pitiless as you have been towards me, I now see compassion33 in your eyes; let me seize the favourable34 moment and persuade you to promise what I so ardently35 desire.”
“You propose,” replied I, “to fly from the habitations of man, to dwell in those wilds where the beasts of the field will be your only companions. How can you, who long for the love and sympathy of man, persevere36 in this exile? You will return and again seek their kindness, and you will meet with their detestation; your evil passions will be renewed, and you will then have a companion to aid you in the task of destruction. This may not be; cease to argue the point, for I cannot consent.”
“How inconstant are your feelings! But a moment ago you were moved by my representations, and why do you again harden yourself to my complaints? I swear to you, by the earth which I inhabit, and by you that made me, that with the companion you bestow I will quit the neighbourhood of man and dwell, as it may chance, in the most savage37 of places. My evil passions will have fled, for I shall meet with sympathy! My life will flow quietly away, and in my dying moments I shall not curse my maker.”
His words had a strange effect upon me. I compassionated38 him and sometimes felt a wish to console him, but when I looked upon him, when I saw the filthy39 mass that moved and talked, my heart sickened and my feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred. I tried to stifle40 these sensations; I thought that as I could not sympathize with him, I had no right to withhold41 from him the small portion of happiness which was yet in my power to bestow.
“You swear,” I said, “to be harmless; but have you not already shown a degree of malice42 that should reasonably make me distrust you? May not even this be a feint that will increase your triumph by affording a wider scope for your revenge?”
“How is this? I must not be trifled with, and I demand an answer. If I have no ties and no affections, hatred and vice43 must be my portion; the love of another will destroy the cause of my crimes, and I shall become a thing of whose existence everyone will be ignorant. My vices44 are the children of a forced solitude45 that I abhor46, and my virtues47 will necessarily arise when I live in communion with an equal. I shall feel the affections of a sensitive being and became linked to the chain of existence and events from which I am now excluded.”
I paused some time to reflect on all he had related and the various arguments which he had employed. I thought of the promise of virtues which he had displayed on the opening of his existence and the subsequent blight48 of all kindly49 feeling by the loathing50 and scorn which his protectors had manifested towards him. His power and threats were not omitted in my calculations; a creature who could exist in the ice caves of the glaciers51 and hide himself from pursuit among the ridges52 of inaccessible53 precipices54 was a being possessing faculties55 it would be vain to cope with. After a long pause of reflection I concluded that the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request. Turning to him, therefore, I said,
“I consent to your demand, on your solemn oath to quit Europe forever, and every other place in the neighbourhood of man, as soon as I shall deliver into your hands a female who will accompany you in your exile.”
“I swear,” he cried, “by the sun, and by the blue sky of heaven, and by the fire of love that burns my heart, that if you grant my prayer, while they exist you shall never behold me again. Depart to your home and commence your labours; I shall watch their progress with unutterable anxiety; and fear not but that when you are ready I shall appear.”
Saying this, he suddenly quitted me, fearful, perhaps, of any change in my sentiments. I saw him descend56 the mountain with greater speed than the flight of an eagle, and quickly lost among the undulations of the sea of ice.
His tale had occupied the whole day, and the sun was upon the verge57 of the horizon when he departed. I knew that I ought to hasten my descent towards the valley, as I should soon be encompassed58 in darkness; but my heart was heavy, and my steps slow. The labour of winding59 among the little paths of the mountain and fixing my feet firmly as I advanced perplexed me, occupied as I was by the emotions which the occurrences of the day had produced. Night was far advanced when I came to the halfway60 resting-place and seated myself beside the fountain. The stars shone at intervals61 as the clouds passed from over them; the dark pines rose before me, and every here and there a broken tree lay on the ground; it was a scene of wonderful solemnity and stirred strange thoughts within me. I wept bitterly, and clasping my hands in agony, I exclaimed, “Oh! Stars and clouds and winds, ye are all about to mock me; if ye really pity me, crush sensation and memory; let me become as nought62; but if not, depart, depart, and leave me in darkness.”
These were wild and miserable thoughts, but I cannot describe to you how the eternal twinkling of the stars weighed upon me and how I listened to every blast of wind as if it were a dull ugly siroc on its way to consume me.
Morning dawned before I arrived at the village of Chamounix; I took no rest, but returned immediately to Geneva. Even in my own heart I could give no expression to my sensations — they weighed on me with a mountain’s weight and their excess destroyed my agony beneath them. Thus I returned home, and entering the house, presented myself to the family. My haggard and wild appearance awoke intense alarm, but I answered no question, scarcely did I speak. I felt as if I were placed under a ban — as if I had no right to claim their sympathies — as if never more might I enjoy companionship with them. Yet even thus I loved them to adoration63; and to save them, I resolved to dedicate myself to my most abhorred64 task. The prospect65 of such an occupation made every other circumstance of existence pass before me like a dream, and that thought only had to me the reality of life.
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1
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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narrated
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| v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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extort
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| v.勒索，敲诈，强要 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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precipitate
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| adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物 | |
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condemns
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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abject
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| adj.极可怜的，卑屈的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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detrimental
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| adj.损害的，造成伤害的 | |
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benevolence
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| n.慈悲，捐助 | |
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bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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maker
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| n.制造者，制造商 | |
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glut
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| n.存货过多，供过于求；v.狼吞虎咽 | |
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acorns
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| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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nourishment
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| n.食物，营养品；营养情况 | |
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ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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persevere
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| v.坚持，坚忍，不屈不挠 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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compassionated
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| v.同情（compassionate的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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withhold
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| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
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42
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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44
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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45
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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46
abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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47
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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48
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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49
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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50
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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51
glaciers
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| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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52
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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56
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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encompassed
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| v.围绕( encompass的过去式和过去分词 )；包围；包含；包括 | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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62
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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adoration
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| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
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64
abhorred
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| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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