Procrastination severely bothers Victor. I found it interesting that Victor claimed he had to go to England in order to create a second monster. He made it while he was in Ingolstadt. I think he went there to forget about his pact but it couldn’t help. He every now and then remember his promise. The sooner he made the creature, the sooner his chains would break. Victor soon concluded it couldn’t work, for the female could have different intentions than the original spawn, perhaps they could have even made a “devil race”. I believe Victor procrastinates because every time he wasn’t working and not thinking about the monster he received a sense of peace. He desired that peace so much that he wouldn’t give in to the monsters demands and would rather die than give the horrible wretch a sensation of belonging, that of which he didn’t deserve because of his obscurity and uniqueness.

Victor and the monster have some similar characteristics and different aspects. The monster has never been loved by anyone or anything. Victor, however, was loved by Elizabeth and his family. He maintained a strong friendship with Henry and fitted in to society with other humans. The monster made a valiant effort to make a friendship with others, but humans have been shown to judge too quickly. No chance was given for the monster in his defense. Regarding similarities, they both have and will suffer. Both are nemesis sworn by revenge and hate. Victor hates this work of which he has embarked on. The monster felt a sense of hope for the creation of another, but the monster was hesitant of his promise. For all the pain the monster suffered after his creation, does he return to Victor later when the monster murders those close to him.

Upon the creation of the monster, Victor had a responsibility for taking care of it. He should have 1) killed it 2) care for it. Victor did neither, he simply ran away from it, almost like a young child running away from a problem he didn't want to face. Later Victor had a responsibility to at least help the monster within society. The monster only ever wanted to love and be loved but it could never be. Victor made a promise and created a responsibility to make a mate for the monster which he also failed to complete. What led to the deaths of Elizabeth and Henry was a series of poor choices within responsibility. Victor neglected his task at first and only partially made it, only to destroy it because of hate.

Victor decides to create a second monster in order to dissolve the ties with him and his original generation. I don’t think this was an act of selfishness because Victor consented to give the monster peace. Victor understood the hate the monster felt and was sorrowful. Originally, I think Victor felt obligated to help the monster since he was the only one in the entire world who knew and understood his existence. Near the end when Victor destroys the second creature (unbeknownst to Victor) I think that was a complete act of unselfishness. Victor stopped the possibility of a “demon race” from spawning by what he did and saving people from the duo’s wrath against humanity.

After Victor spoke with the monster he reluctantly accepted to making a mate for the monster. Victor feels remorseful towards the monster because of the treatment to him by society. Victor leaves for Geneva and meets with his father. He asks him to get married to Elizabeth but he puts that off for a vacation (which seems like procrastination to his father). When Henry and Victor arrive to England they tour around it and really enjoy the landscape however Victor is constantly being reminded of his pact with the monster. After about a year of not working on it he gets started, only to destroy it in a fit of anger, believing that making a mate with create a spawn of a demon race. Since he procrastinated, his enjoyment of England was at a lesser degree than what it could have been.

In the Birthmark, the scientist loved his wife, but he loved science more. He had studied science for a long time and decided to get married. He couldn't accept her birthmark though. He wanted to get it off and the only way he thought possible was through science. He loved science for its master-key like form, unlocking door after door. He couldn't break away from science because it was him. He believed everything could be solved through its use. In the end his chooses the science over his wife, show a stronger affection for proving that his science was perfect, despite its repercussions on others.

The wife in the story appears very respectful. She loves her husband and he (in a way) loves her back. I would say that during this time it was read, a woman should not obey and please their husbands at all costs. During the time this was written, society believed that a woman was meant to please their husband at all costs. I also found it interesting because there is a parallel identity between this story and The Castle of Otranto. When Georgiana dies she cries for her husband not to be sad by rejecting "the best the earth could offer". In Castle of Otranto Matilda is killed by her father and Manfred says, "I took thee for Isabella. Oh, canst thou forgive the blindness of my rage?" and Matilda responds saying she can and will.

In the Birthmark nature is challenged. The scientist wishes to break the laws of nature by creating potions that can make one live forever or actually preform alchemy. The scientist pushed against the wall of nature, winning and losing. He succeed in removing the birthmark, which is what he cared about. Much more over her life. And, as the reader we see him lose, he loses his beautiful and nearly perfect wife. This story can relate to Frankenstein in that science can unlock so many answers but sometimes when a scientist pushes his desire for more he might find something he doesn't like. In the end of the Birthmark we see the scientist achieved in his quest, but we don't know what happened later. In Frankenstein Victor is so enticed by his work that only when he sees what monster he created does he reproach his work, cursing this monster he made. later when he believes that the creature killed his youngest brother it only makes him more angry and sad that he worked so hard for only making a catastrophe.

Marriage plays a big role in this story. Together the scientist and the beautiful woman are happy. Its not until a short while after the marriage does the scientist realize the mark which begins to become irksome to him. He soon obsesses over removing, even dreaming that to get it out he must dig directly to her heart (which is a foreshadow to her death). They both see that men don't carry about the mark and that some would even kiss it but she doesn't care about them. She cares about what her husband thinks and only which to please him because of their bond by love. In the end when she is about to drink the potion she knows the risks, and in a defiance to life, she risks it all to make her husband happy, who in the end is, despite the melancholy death of the wife to the reader. All the scientist sees is that his potion worked and he succeed in removing the birthmark.

A theme that I find very evident is that of perfection. It is very very hard, perhaps impossible, to reach perfection in nature. The big theme in the story is that to achieve perfection means something will be taken or lost. In this case the wife died in the Scientist's pursuit in removing the mole or mark. What I really found to be interesting was that when she died she rose like an angel. Somewhere in the story is said she was perfect in every way except for the birthmark. Once the birthmark was removed perfection was achieved, but at the same time, she lost her life. When the author wrote she rose like an angel it is because the birthmark, her only flaw, had been removed thus rendering her perfect, like an angel.