• without bounds

    The repetition of "boundless" language from the previous chapter (see II:1:6 and note)
    emphasizes the point that Victor is, as ever, too "ardent," unable to moderate or
    even control his reaction. Whereas some earlier critics wished to enforce a facile
    dichotomy between Victor as rationalist and his Creature as the exemplar of sensibility,
    a passage like this reminds us of how little power Victor's capacity for abstraction
    actually has over the broad field of his mind.

    The Creature, as his narrative unfolds, will likewise represent himself through similar
    language as he experiences what he conceives to be a betrayal by his "adopted" family,
    the De Laceys. At that moment (II:8:12) in his recital he seems unconscious of the
    close similarity between the two of them.