This careful specifying of Victor's intellectual passions and gaps is added to the
1831 text to prepare us for the kind of obsessiveness Victor develops when, in the
ensuing chapter, he arrives at the University of Ingolstadt. Yet, intentionally or
not, the emendation also introduces a remarkable contrast in character development
between Victor and his Creature. In contrast to Victor's nostalgic memory of an indulged
childhood, the Creature experiences no parental kindness whatsoever and must begin
life from an existential nadir. In doing so, he is forced to educate himself exactly
in the elements of knowledge for which Victor has no interest: language, law, and
politics. See II:4:9, II:5:10 and II:5:14.