"Fear not that I shall be the instrument of future mischief. My work is nearly complete. Neither yours nor any man's death is needed to consummate the series of my being, and accomplish that which must be done; but it requires my own" (Frankenstein, 165-66).
Even though the creature brings about quite a few deaths, I still feel sympathy for him ("No sympathy may I ever find," he says on page 164). He wants "pardon" from Frankenstein who is, of course, dead because of his own creation, and he points out that "[his] agony was superior to [Victor's]" (166). I think it's fair to say that the creature is a sympathetic character torn apart by mankind, "wrenched by misery to vice and hatred" (164). I just wanted to present my case for the creature as a sympathetic character. He definitely seems hypocritical when he comes back for pardon; however, I really think that a quarter of the novel was dedicated to the creature's story so that we could see his thought process and realize that he's not intrinsically evil.
Speaking of the creature's thought process, I'm going to revive chapter eleven where the creature begins to explain his learning curve:
"One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it. In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain" (72).
This scene was brought to mind as I read about the creature's plan to kill himself -- to "consume to ashes this miserable frame," to set himself on fire (166). The creature says that his sorrow only increases with knowledge. It makes complete sense to me, then, that the creature's last action should contradict one of the first pieces of knowledge he acquires. Once the creature ignores the knowledge he has required by subjecting himself to fire, his sorrow will dissipate, and he will finally find rest.
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