Here we encounter the first, ironic sign of Victor's bonding with his Creature. He
first called him a "wretch" in the second paragraph of this chapter (I:4:2), and has
just reiterated the epithet two sentences before this. Victor's adverb may seem innocent
enough, but when juxtaposed with the many instances later in the novel in which he
and his Creature will exchange places or nomenclature, it functions as a clear opening
signal of the complex narrative patterning to come.