Chapter 8
Justine Moritz is tried and executed for William's murder despite her innocence.
6 argumentative units
- 01Victor enters the trial knowing Justine is innocent
Victor accompanies the family to court for Justine's trial, suffering living torture as he knows his creation is responsible for both William's death and Justine's imminent fate.
- 02Justine's composed appearance and the evidence against her
Justine enters the court tranquil yet constrained, her beauty only making the spectators' condemnation more striking; circumstantial evidence and the found portrait combine against her.
- 03Justine's defense and Elizabeth's appeal
Justine gives a plain, dignified account of her innocence; Elizabeth rises to speak for her character; but public indignation only intensifies, and Victor cannot endure watching and rushes out.
- 04The verdict and Justine's false confession
Despite witnesses to her character, the ballots are all black—Justine is condemned. Victor learns she has confessed, a lie forced by a confessor who threatened her with excommunication.
- 05Victor visits Justine in prison
Victor and Elizabeth visit Justine in her cell; she reveals her confession was a lie extorted by her confessor, and accepts her fate with resignation, comforting Elizabeth even as she faces execution.
- 06Justine is executed—Victor's prophetic despair
Justine dies on the scaffold despite all appeals; Victor can only watch in torment, proclaiming prophetically that his loved ones will weep again before destruction is satisfied.