Victor's interruption of his story reminds us of its fictive nature and reintroduces
the problem of belief that will in numerous ways dominate the final pages of this
first volume. It also quietly prepares us for a major shift in the plot. In terms
of the novel's characterization, however, it might be read as Victor's way of reasserting
an urbane control over a narration (as well as a narrator) evidencing signs of dangerous
instability.