Frankenstein: Chapters 8–12

by Mary Shelley
In this groundbreaking novel, Dr. Victor Frankenstein works feverishly to bring an inanimate creature to life — but when he finally succeeds, he is horrified by what he has unleashed. Read the full text here.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Letter 1–Chapter 2, Chapters 3–7, Chapters 8–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–24
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ignominious
    deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
    Justine also was a girl of merit and possessed qualities which promised to render her life happy; now all was to be obliterated in an ignominious grave, and I the cause!
  2. exculpate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
    A thousand times rather would I have confessed myself guilty of the crime ascribed to Justine, but I was absent when it was committed, and such a declaration would have been considered as the ravings of a madman and would not have exculpated her who suffered through me.
  3. execrate
    curse or declare to be evil or anathema
    Yet she appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble, although gazed on and execrated by thousands, for all the kindness which her beauty might otherwise have excited was obliterated in the minds of the spectators by the imagination of the enormity she was supposed to have committed.
  4. timorous
    shy and fearful by nature
    Several witnesses were called who had known her for many years, and they spoke well of her; but fear and hatred of the crime of which they supposed her guilty rendered them timorous and unwilling to come forward.
  5. absolution
    the act of being formally forgiven
    I confessed, that I might obtain absolution; but now that falsehood lies heavier at my heart than all my other sins. The God of heaven forgive me!
  6. obdurate
    stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
    He threatened excommunication and hell fire in my last moments if I continued obdurate.
  7. perdition
    the place or state in which one suffers eternal punishment
    Dear lady, I had none to support me; all looked on me as a wretch doomed to ignominy and perdition.
  8. ephemeral
    lasting a very short time
    It was during an access of this kind that I suddenly left my home, and bending my steps towards the near Alpine valleys, sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, sorrows.
  9. clemency
    leniency and compassion shown toward offenders
    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.
  10. assuage
    provide physical relief, as from pain
    Food, however, became scarce, and I often spent the whole day searching in vain for a few acorns to assuage the pangs of hunger.
  11. purloin
    make off with belongings of others
    I had first, however, provided for my sustenance for that day by a loaf of coarse bread, which I purloined, and a cup with which I could drink more conveniently than from my hand of the pure water which flowed by my retreat.
  12. viand
    a choice or delicious dish
    They possessed a delightful house (for such it was in my eyes) and every luxury; they had a fire to warm them when chill and delicious viands when hungry; they were dressed in excellent clothes; and, still more, they enjoyed one another’s company and speech, interchanging each day looks of affection and kindness.
  13. exhortation
    a communication intended to urge or persuade to take action
    Agatha listened with respect, her eyes sometimes filled with tears, which she endeavoured to wipe away unperceived; but I generally found that her countenance and tone were more cheerful after having listened to the exhortations of her father.
  14. mortification
    strong feelings of embarrassment
    At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.
    The Latin verb "mortificare" means "cause death" so mortification is a feeling of embarrassment that is so strong that you wish you were dead. Despondence is a stronger feeling, in which you wish to die because everything seems so hopeless. Both nouns emphasize that the creature is capable of human feelings; they also show how upset he is that his monstrous appearance would not allow others to believe his nature can be good.
  15. arbiter
    someone with the power to settle matters at will
    I looked upon them as superior beings who would be the arbiters of my future destiny.
Created on Thu Jan 08 13:41:21 EST 2015 (updated Mon Jul 07 18:09:15 EDT 2025)

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