* THE MODERN PROMETHEUS. sentence starters from mary shelley's novel, frankenstein ; or, the modern prometheus. from the original manuscript, the original published edition, & the 1831 revision. feel free to change pronouns / terms / tense / etc.
do you understand this feeling ?
I desire the company of someone who could sympathize with me.
I shall do nothing rashly.
remember me with affection, should you never hear from me again.
I will not rashly encounter danger. I will be cool, persevering, & prudent.
will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound ?
I have lost everything, & cannot begin life anew.
you may easily perceive, [name], that I have suffered great & unparalleled misfortunes.
with what interest & sympathy shall I read it in some future day !
the world was to me a secret, which I desired to discover.
it was the secrets of heaven & earth that I desired to learn
no youth could have passed more happily than mine.
do not waste your time upon this ; it is sad trash.
I believed myself totally unfitted for the company of strangers.
have you really spent your time in studying such nonsense ?
I am happy to have gained a disciple.
remember, I am not recording the vision of a madman.
a resistless, & almost frantic impulse, urged me forward.
you must pardon me, if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected.
how can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe ?
how glad I am to see you !
it gives me the greatest delight to see you.
you look as if you had been watching for several nights.
what is the cause of all this ?
I dare say you wish to be indulged in a little gossip.
are you always to be unhappy ?
my dear friend, what has happened ?
even cato wept over the dead body of his brother.
I am afraid, tears instead of smiles will be your welcome.
I do not know what you mean.
no one believes it, surely ?
did the murderer place it there ?
I did confess, but I confessed a lie.
I hope you do not believe I am guilty.
I cannot live in this world of misery.
Do you think that I do not suffer also?
men appear to me as monsters thirsting for each other’s blood.
I would sacrifice my life for your peace.
devil ! do you dare approach me?
I expected this reception.
all men hate the wretched.
be calm ! I entreat you to hear me.
have I not suffered enough?
I do not wish to hate you.
I was benevolent & good ; misery made me a fiend.
make me happy, & I shall again be virtuous.
you, my creator, abhor me ; what hope can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing ?
cursed be the day, abhorred devil, in which you first saw light !
relieve me from the sight of your detested form !
I ought to be thy adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.
I stared back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror.
was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, & whom all men disowned ?
cursed creator ! why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust ?
pardon this intrusion, I am a traveler in want of a little rest.
I thank you, & accept your generous offer
at length the thought of you crossed my mind.
to whom could I apply with more fitness than to him who had given me life ?
I do not intend to hurt you.
I am content to reason with you.
if I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear.
I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you curse the hour of your birth.
this is what it is to live !
where does he now exist ? is this gentle & lovely being lost forever ?
does it now only exist in my memory ?
I could pass my life here.
I had rather be with you.
hasten then, my dear friend, to return, so that I may again feel myself somewhat at home, which I cannot do in your absence.
had I the right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations ?
what is it that you intend ?
do you dare to break your promise ?
I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you.
beware ; for I am fearless, & therefore powerful.
I will be with you on your wedding night.
villain ! before you sign my death-warrant, be sure that you are yourself safe.
why do you answer me so roughly ?
I am sorry that I am still alive to feel this misery & horror.
can I do any thing to make you more comfortable ?
on the whole earth there is no comfort which I am capable of receiving.
persecuted & tortured as I am & have been, can death be any evil to me ?
a fatality seems to pursue you.
do you not love another ?
it is your happiness I desire as well as my own.
if I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, I shall need no other happiness.
you are sorrowful, my love.
this night is dreadful, very dreadful.
why did I not then expire ?
I am satisfied, miserable wretch ! you have determined to live, & I am satisfied.
for many months this has been my task.
my reign is not yet over.
learn my miseries, & do not seek to increase your own.
do you think that I was then dead to agony & remorse ?
you throw a torch into a pile of buildings, & when they are consumed you sit among the ruins, & lament the fall.
but it is even so ; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil.
you hate me ; but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself.
soon, I shall die, & what I now feel will no longer be felt.
