Frankenstein, Chapter 8 summary

What happens

1. Witnesses describe Justine’s movements and the portrait found in her pocket, while she explains her search for William but cannot explain the portrait.
2. Elizabeth defends Justine’s character, but the court remains hostile, and Victor leaves in anguish.
3. Victor learns that Justine is condemned and has confessed, which briefly shakes Elizabeth’s belief in her innocence.
4. In prison, Justine explains that her confessor frightens her into lying, and Elizabeth renews her trust.
5. Justine finds comfort in their belief, but appeals fail, and she dies on the scaffold the next day.
6. Victor holds himself responsible for William’s and Justine’s deaths and for his family’s grief.

In this chapter

What to notice

Justine’s admission separates confession from truth. It restores Elizabeth’s trust and exposes the pressure behind the supposed proof of guilt.

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