Victor Frankenstein may be dead at the end of the novel,
but this is not an established fact. The ship's surgeon, through
Walton, says that Frankenstein "had certainly not many hours
to live." Yet, how certain can Margaret Saville be that Victor is
dead when her brother writes of  "the untimely extinction of
this glorious spirit"? Walton has seen and written that
Frankenstein "speedily sinks again into apparent lifelessness".
That has been the pattern for at least a week (see September 5th
entry). On the night Walton reports Frankenstein's death, he also
mentions that he "often thought that life [Victor's] was entirely
extinct". So what is the difference between this apparent death
and the many others that Walton has witnessed? You might
answer that this time there is another who testifies to
Frankenstein's death, and you would be right. The Creature
does say that Victor "is cold and may not answer me". Cold
and unresponsiveness are consistent with a diagnosis of death,
however, until the physician examines Victor, we can't be
certain that Victor is dead. The doctor might announce that his
patient's fever has broken. Mary Shelley offers us the opportunity
to "exercise untried resources of mind" with respect to Victor's
death. Walton's  announcement is preceded by his own testimony
of how unreliable his assessment can be, and information is
included that might indicate a turn for the better. Real horror can
come about when opportunities for better outcomes are not
recognized.
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