Victor wonders if his family is safe, not knowing the whereabouts of the monster for some time. He parts company with Henry, who wonders about Victor's state of mind, but expresses "return, that I may feel myself somewhat at home, which I cannot do in your absence."
At times, Victor works feverishly; at other times, he would not work at all for days. His mind and heart are in a state of confusion, choosing between two choices:"Finish the monster or destroy this creation?" His body is "restless and nervous." He looks forward to finishing his work with mixed feelings. He says, "I looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager hope, which I dared not trust myself to question but which was intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil that made my heart sicken in my bosom."
The setting is significant to the book. Victor says "I thought of Switzerland; it was far different from this desolate and appalling landscape." He picks a desolate island in the Orkneys off the coast of Scotland. The reader doesn't learn how he find body parts on a practically uninhabited island.
