The creature finished speaking and stared at me, waiting for my answer.
I was completely overwhelmed. His story had left me confused, and I could barely organize my thoughts well enough to understand what he was asking of me.
He continued.
“You must create a woman for me. I need someone who can share my life, someone who can understand me and return the feelings I have to offer. Only you can make this possible, and I have the right to demand it from you. You cannot refuse me.”
His words brought back all the anger I had felt earlier. While he had been telling me about his quiet life with the cottagers, my hatred had faded for a moment. But now it came rushing back.
“I refuse,” I said. “Nothing you do will make me agree. You may make me the most miserable man alive, but you will never force me to become something I despise. Should I create another creature like you? What if the two of you become even more dangerous and bring disaster upon the whole world? Leave me. I have given you my answer. You may torture me if you wish, but I will never agree.”
“You are wrong,” he replied. “And I would rather explain myself than threaten you.”
“I am cruel because I am miserable. Haven’t I been rejected and hated by every human being I have ever met? Even you, my creator, would happily destroy me if you had the chance. You would call it nothing more than killing a monster if you could throw me into a glacier and watch me die.”
“Then tell me why I should care about humanity when humanity has never cared about me?”
“If people would only treat me with kindness, I would return that kindness a hundred times over. I would give them everything I could, simply because someone had accepted me.”
“But that can never happen. Human beings cannot overcome what they see when they look at me. My appearance will always stand between us.”
“I will not live as a helpless slave. If I cannot make people love me, I will make them fear me. And you, above all others, will feel my hatred.”
“You are my greatest enemy because you are my creator. I swear that I will never stop hating you. Be careful. I will destroy everything you care about. I will not stop until your heart is completely broken and you curse the day you were born.”
His face twisted with terrible rage as he spoke. The hatred in his expression was so frightening that I could hardly bear to look at him.
Then, just as suddenly, he calmed himself.
“I meant to reason with you,” he said. “This anger does me no good. You must understand that you are the reason I become so violent.”
“If even one person had shown me genuine kindness, I would have returned it a hundred times over. For the sake of that one person, I would have made peace with the entire human race.”
“But I keep dreaming about a happiness that I know I can never have.”
“What I am asking from you is not unreasonable. I want only one creature of the opposite sex, someone who is as ugly and isolated as I am. My hopes are small because my needs are small. She would be enough for me.”
“Yes, we would both be monsters, separated from the rest of humanity. But that would only make us more loyal to each other. Our lives would never be truly happy, but at least we would stop hurting others and escape the misery I suffer now.”
“Please, my creator. Give me this one thing. Let me have someone to care for, and let me finally feel grateful to you for giving me something good.”
His words affected me deeply.
I was horrified when I thought about what might happen if I agreed. Yet I could not deny that some of his arguments were reasonable. Everything he had told me showed that he was capable of deep feelings. And since I had created him, was I not responsible for giving him whatever small amount of happiness I could?
He saw that I was beginning to soften and continued.
“If you agree, neither you nor any other human being will ever have to see us again. I will leave Europe forever and travel to the remote wilderness of South America.”
“I do not need human food. I do not kill animals simply to satisfy my hunger. Acorns, berries, and other plants are enough for me.”
“My companion will live the same way. We will sleep on beds of dry leaves. The sun will shine on us just as it shines on every human being, and the earth will provide us with enough food.”
“Think about it. The life I am describing is peaceful. We would harm no one. You would have to refuse me only if you wanted to be cruel simply because you have the power to do so.”
“I can see compassion in your eyes now. Please, don’t turn away from me when you are finally beginning to pity me. Give me what I have been asking for all this time.”
“You say you will disappear into the wilderness,” I replied. “But you have spent your entire life longing for human love and companionship. How long will you really remain away from people?”
“You will eventually return. You will seek their kindness again, and they will reject you once more. Your hatred will return, and this time you will have another creature beside you to help you carry out your revenge.”
“I cannot allow that. Stop trying to convince me. I will not agree.”
“How quickly your feelings change,” he said. “Only moments ago, you were moved by what I told you. Why have you suddenly become cold again?”
“I swear to you, by the earth beneath my feet and by you, the one who created me, that once you give me the companion I ask for, I will leave human society forever.”
“I will go wherever you wish, even to the most remote and savage place on earth. Once I have someone who understands me, my hatred will disappear. My life will become quiet.”
“And when I finally die, I will not die cursing the person who gave me life.”
His words touched me in a way I could not explain.
I felt sorry for him. At times I even wanted to comfort him.
But whenever I looked directly at him, whenever I saw that filthy, unnatural body standing before me and heard him speak, my pity turned into horror and disgust.
I tried to fight those feelings.
I reminded myself that I could never truly understand his loneliness. But if I was capable of giving him even a small amount of happiness, perhaps I had no right to take that possibility away from him.
“You promise that you will live peacefully,” I said. “But you have already shown how much hatred and violence you are capable of. Why should I trust you?”
“How do I know this promise is not simply another trick? Perhaps you only want me to create another creature so that you can make your revenge even greater.”
“You must not play with me,” he answered. “I need your answer.”
“If I remain completely alone, with no one to love and no one who loves me, then hatred will be all I have left.”
“Give me someone who cares for me, and the reason for my crimes will disappear. I will vanish from human society so completely that no one will even know where I am.”
“My hatred and violence were created by the loneliness that was forced upon me. I hate being alone.”
“But if I live beside someone like myself, my better qualities will return. I will finally have someone who understands my feelings. I will finally have a place in the world, instead of being completely cut off from everyone and everything.”
I stood silently for a long time, thinking about everything he had told me.
I remembered how, when he had first come to life, he had shown signs of kindness and goodness. Those feelings had been destroyed by the disgust and cruelty of the people who rejected him.
I also had to consider his strength and his threats. He could survive in freezing glaciers and disappear among mountains that no ordinary person could reach. Trying to fight or capture him would be almost impossible.
At last, after a long struggle with myself, I decided that I had a responsibility both to him and to the rest of humanity. I would grant his request.
I turned toward him.
“I will create the companion you want,” I said. “But you must swear that as soon as I give her to you, you will leave Europe forever and never live near human society again.”
“I swear!” he cried.
“I swear by the sun above me, by the blue sky, and by the love burning inside my heart that if you grant my request, you will never see me again as long as I live.”
“Go home and begin your work. I will watch for signs that you are making progress. And when you are finished, do not doubt that I will come for what you promised me.”
With those words, he suddenly turned and left me.
Perhaps he was afraid that I might change my mind.
I watched him race down the mountain faster than any human being could run. Within moments, he had disappeared among the waves of ice and snow.
His story had taken the entire day.
The sun was already sinking toward the horizon when he left, and I knew I needed to hurry down toward the valley before darkness covered the mountains.
But my heart was heavy, and I could barely make myself move.
The narrow mountain paths were difficult enough to follow under normal circumstances. Now, overwhelmed by everything that had happened, I stumbled along slowly, struggling to keep my footing.
It was deep into the night when I finally reached the halfway resting place and sat down beside the fountain.
The clouds moved across the sky, revealing the stars for a few moments before hiding them again. Dark pine trees stood around me, and broken branches and fallen trunks lay scattered across the ground.
The whole scene was strangely beautiful and frightening at the same time.
I began to weep.
Clasping my hands together in despair, I cried out, “Stars, clouds, winds—everything around me seems determined to mock my suffering. If you truly feel pity for me, then take away my ability to feel and remember. Let me become nothing.”
“But if you cannot do that, then leave me alone. Leave me in darkness.”
These were desperate thoughts, but I cannot describe how deeply the endless stars seemed to weigh upon me.
Every strong gust of wind sounded to me like a dark, burning wind coming to consume me.
Morning came before I finally reached the village of Chamounix.
I did not stop to rest. I immediately continued on toward Geneva.
Even inside my own mind, I could not put my feelings into words. They were too heavy, crushing me beneath their weight until there was almost no room left for anything else.
When I finally arrived home, I entered the house and faced my family.
My exhausted and wild appearance frightened them. They asked what had happened, but I could barely answer. I hardly spoke at all.
I felt as though I had been cast out from the world—as though I no longer had the right to ask anyone for love or sympathy.
It seemed impossible that I would ever again enjoy the simple comfort of being with other people.
And yet I still loved my family more than I could express.
For their sake, I decided to take on the task I hated more than anything.
I would create the companion the creature demanded.
The thought of that terrible work consumed me so completely that everything else in my life seemed unreal.
That single task was the only thing that now felt real.