Browse quotations by Mary Shelley with named works, context notes, meanings and recurring themes.
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”
Abrupt change can overwhelm the mind because adaptation requires time, making disruption painful even before its long-term consequences are understood.
Source note: Frankenstein; the narrator reflects on the psychological strain created by sudden changes in circumstances.
“I ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had so thoughtlessly bestowed.”
Victor’s regret is inseparable from responsibility and revenge: after William and Justine’s deaths, he wishes he could reverse the act of creation whose consequences he believes he failed to foresee or govern.
Source note: Frankenstein, Chapter 9 in the represented Project Gutenberg #84 text. Victor narrates this while describing overwhelming remorse and guilt after Justine’s execution; his reaction also turns toward hatred and revenge, so the line is not presented as a complete model of healthy repair.