Mutability

“We rest; a dream has power to poison sleep…Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like his morrow; Nought may endure but mutability.” (pg. 111)

These lines come from the poem Mutability written by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley includes this poem in her novel because the subject matter resembles the plot of Frankenstein. The “dream” that “poisons sleep” corresponds to Frankenstein and his recurrent nightmares that focus on the Creature. The “thought” that “pollutes the day” is analogous to Frankenstein’s constant fear of his creation’s reign of terror. The line including “cast our cares away” is much like Frankenstein’s descent into selfishness where he is no longer as concerned with his loved ones, but obsessed with the monster he manufactured. Lastly, “man’s yesterday…ne’er being like his morrow” relates to the contrast between the innocent lifestyle Frankenstein has before his experiment and the tumultuous lifestyle he has afterward.

"Mutability." Internal.org. Web. 13 Aug. 2009. http://www.internal.org/view_poem.phtml?poemID=311