He Calls Forth the Better Feelings of my Heart

Prologue

To my dearest cousin –
I hope my letter finds you in excellent health, and my father as well. I myself am in the greatest of spirits and the best of health. For not only am I writing you, but my dearest friend Henry Clerval has come to visit. This combination of grand circumstances has me elated beyond belief, my dear Elizabeth. I imagine you will be equally elated to find this letter after many months without my writing.
Though, I am not writing this simply to drabble on about the status of my being. In fact, my spirits damper more and more with each word I write, for I have been struck with the most enlightening and yet the most difficult of realizations. I must confess, Elizabeth, that my hands tremble in fear as I compose this letter. Do you not see how the ink trembles along the parchment? Although I am terrified, I know I must notify you of my realization. I want you to lead the happiest life, but I am afraid that you will not lead such a life unless I inform you of the understanding I have come to. Oh, do my spirits not flee as I write? A fever washed over me for three days when I came to the conclusion. And now I need to tell you, my dearest cousin, of the unpleasantness as well!
I have taken long enough already, I must tell you. Since we were children, I have seen you as my own. Mother presented you to me as a present, and I have led my life believing that was what you are. You and I together believed that one day we would marry, this was what had been expected of us. And so, during my life, I have never thought that I may love another. My intentions of marrying you, cousin, were built upon the belief that our marriage was what I was supposed to do. Now, though, I've come to the realization that our marriage would not be a necessity, but a choice. Oh, Elizabeth, I hardly wish to continue! As I write, I imagine the tears falling from your cheeks as you read my conclusion. I do not wish to marry you, my cousin. Although not by blood, you are in my eyes nothing but family. You alone are my sister, the only one I have ever known, and I would rather view you as such than as a wife.
You and I are allowed to choose what our lives will continue as. I pray that, although you may presently be melancholy at this news, you will come to the same realization as I have. You may now live a life filled to the brim with the sincerest of love, in lieu of one built upon obligation. I hope, my dearest Elizabeth, that you may find someone who will love you as deeply and sincerely as you love.
I have presently sat here for hours forming this letter, and have been able to express my feelings through words only with the help of my dear friend Clerval. I hope that, when I return to Geneva for Christmas, I find you in fine spirits. My heart aches at the thought of your reaction, but I assure you that I only write this with the purest of intentions. Do inform Father for me, Elizabeth.
–Victor Frankenstein
November 14th, 17–