Chapter 20 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein presents the pivotal destruction scene. Victor realizes creating a female would doom humanity and tears her to pieces while the creature watches. The creature returns with his famous threat: "I will be with you on your wedding night." Victor disposes of the remains at sea but is blown to Ireland where he's arrested for murder. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 19 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein follows Victor and Clerval through England. They explore London, Windsor, Oxford, Matlock, and the Cumberland lakes. Clerval delights in beauty while Victor carries his burden. Victor finally abandons Clerval at Perth and isolates himself on the desolate Orkney Islands to begin creating the female creature in cold blood. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 18 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein follows Victor's reluctant journey to England. Unable to begin creating the female creature, he delays until his father proposes marriage to Elizabeth. Victor travels to England with Henry Clerval, touring the Rhine, London, and Oxford before isolating himself on a desolate Orkney island to begin his terrible work. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 17 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein presents the creature's demand for a female companion. Through eloquent reasoning and passionate appeals, the creature convinces Victor to create a mate. "I am malicious because I am miserable," he argues, promising peaceful exile if granted companionship. Victor reluctantly consents to his most abhorred task. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 16 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein chronicles the creature's transformation. Rejected by the De Laceys, he burns their cottage and journeys to Geneva. He saves a drowning girl only to be shot. He encounters William Frankenstein and commits murder, framing Justine. Society created the monster it feared. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 15 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein brings both intellectual awakening and heartbreaking rejection. The creature discovers Paradise Lost and Victor's journal, learning the horrible truth of his origin. Then he approaches the De Lacey family with hope - only to face violent rejection that destroys his innocence forever. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 14 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein reveals the De Lacey family's tragic history. From wealth in Paris to exile in Germany, their story of noble sacrifice and unjust punishment mirrors themes of alienation that the creature knows too well. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 13 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein brings Safie to the cottage. As Felix teaches her language and culture, the creature receives his own education about human history, civilization, and society - deepening his understanding and his tragedy. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.

Chapter 12 of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein continues the creature's education. Hidden beside a cottage, he observes the De Lacey family and learns language, emotion, and what it means to be human - even as he realizes he can never be accepted. Read from the 1818 public domain edition.