Summary

Chapter Twelve: At Once Indebted and Discharged opens with Justine and Elizabeth crossing the lake to their home. Elizabeth wanders the house and the nursery is the only room she sees any life. The boys, William and Ernest, remind her of Henry. She wishes she were a true part of the Frankenstein household. Henry’s father arrives and accuses Elizabeth and Victor of corrupting Henry. He refuses to defer the family’s debts, but turns to see Judge Frankenstin. Elizabeth quickly ushers the kids and Justine on a walk, wondering if she did ruin Henry.

The scene shifts to the day Elizabeth received Henry’s letter, upset that her life relied on the events in Ingolstadt. She did not open the letter right away and wished for a moment that she could live in the wild. She opened...