This seemingly strange shift in Victor's autobiography, without parallel in the account
of his early education in the first edition, may be intended by Mary Shelley in her
emendations to prepare us for, and make a logical link to, Victor's mental state just
before he is rescued by Walton and his crew. In the last chapter of his narration
(III:7:5) he accounts himself under the special protection of guiding spirits who
guide his vengeance against the Creature.
Coming as it does at the end of this chapter on his formative influence, this strong
commitment to a guiding destiny testifies to a belief system through which Victor
filters his entire existence, thus in effect rewriting it. Where a reader might wish
to observe in Victor's behavior a normal adolescent lethargy or an understandable
lack of assurance about the future course of his preparation for adulthood, Victor
sees the hand of Providence.