Tone - Frankenstein

"It was a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils," (34).

This sentence opens Chapter V, setting an eerie tone for the remainder of the chapter. Because of this change in tone, the reader is made aware that something bad is about to happen. This signal helps to keep the reader anticipating what will happen next. The tone also helps the reader to infer that this creation will not produce desirable outcomes. In order to properly demonstrate the occurrences in the novel, the change in tone must take place. Without these changes, anticipation would be diminished making the creation chapter seem dull and less undesirable. Contributing to the tone was Shelley's word choice throughout the chapter. She describes Victor's feelings of "anxiety that almost amounted to agony" and describes the darkness of the room as his "candle was nearly burnt out."