Dang, Vic’s good at remembering what letters say.
Elizabeth writes to Victor and… I’ve gotta confess, the letter was kind of boring to me. Elizabeth basically writes that not much has changed back home, except that one of Victor’s little brothers, Ernest, wants to pursue a job with the Swiss military; and one of their servants, Justine, has returned to their house after some time away at her home visiting her mother.
After the letter is finished, Vic decides he’ll (finally) write back. He then starts showing Clerval around Ingolstadt, but hates any mention of his old studies in natural philosophy. I’m honestly not sure why Vic “had to” go visit Waldman and Krempe. He does though, and Waldman and Krempe both are their usual selves: complimentary of Vic and pleasant/irritating respectfully.
After this, Vic spends some time studying literature with Clerval, trying to get out of the funk caused by this whole reanimating the dead business. In particular, the two are interested in literature from Persian and Arabic literature. It’s very steeped in orientalism, but hey, at least Shelley seems rather fond of the aesthetic she ascribes to that literature (which, I know, is part of the point of orientalism). Throughout all of this, Clerval still remains too good for everyone around him. He’s constantly trying to make Vic feel better, to tell him stories and jokes and go on hikes. The two of them return one day from some sojourn and Vic is finally really happy again.
Which, I think, is surprising given that there’s still a giant skaab on the loose (I’m going to use the term that Magic: the Gathering uses for a stitched together, animated corpse-beast in addition to “the creature” or “the monster” from now on, just for specificity sake).
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