Suspense

"I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous." p.69

It is very odd phrases like this that build suspense in this novel. Key word in that phrase: was. The past tense implies that the creature was once good but is not so anymore. This empty quote gives no reason as to why or how but leaves it to the reader to only wonder until stumbling upon it later in the novel. By slowly revealing background on the characters and then having ground-breaking events happen, such as the creation and death of William, Shelley builds suspense and then has the story blow up with large happenings. These events, like the run in with the creature, leave the reader to wonder what has been happening while Shelley has been focusing on another character. Parallel plots with different character create an absence of mystery and suspense that leaves the reader to wonder. We can only conjecture until the story starts to unravel and piece together.