Elizabeth’s letter relates how Victor’s brothers, Ernest and William, are doing, and how their housekeeper, Justine Moritz, is faring with her family troubles. The tale of Justine is important because it relates how she endured poor treatment by her own family, being accused of causing the deaths of several family members, and how she came to be loved and respected by the entire Frankenstein family. The fact that Justine was not loved by her own family, but loved and respected by Victor’s is much like the distance and alienation Mary Shelley felt from her own family. Mary was not fond of her stepmother, nor was she close to her step-siblings. In fact, Mary was sent to live with relatives in Scotland to keep her away from her estranged family. Perhaps her Scottish relatives were more welcoming of Mary than her own family.
Henry removes the chemical instruments in Victor’s apartment because of the reaction that Victor has at the sight of those lab apparatuses. When feeling properly recovered, Victor introduces Henry to his professors, Waldman and Krempe, who have nothing but high praise for their now prized student. For Victor, the praise is a bit much, because he has a big secret to hide.
