Contrast the mood of the story in the two situations: Victor begins reading Paracelsus; Victor moves to the Orkneys to begin work on the monster's mate.

At the age of 13, Victor discovers the works of famous alchemists of the past. Victor dives into the works of Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus. He has a voracious appetite to learn and finds himself lost in the beautiful mystery of it all. When Victor moves to the Orkneys to begin work on the monster's mate, he is sick in heart, soul and body. Victor wonders how all his knowledge has led to this. He is creating a mate for the abomination he had unleashed upon the world. Unlike his excitement for knowledge he once had reading the books, Victor now feels nothing but revulsion for what that knowledge has brought him.