Chapter 14 — the De Laceys' history

An interpolated chapter. The Creature, having pieced the story together from many overheard conversations, narrates the De Laceys' history in full. The family had once been wealthy in Paris — old aristocracy, with property and standing. Felix, on a state errand, attended the trial of an Arabian merchant condemned to death by a French court on what was clearly a fabricated charge. The man was Safie's father. Outraged by the injustice, Felix conspired with him to organize an escape. The merchant promised, in exchange, his daughter Safie's hand in marriage and a share of his hidden wealth.

Felix executed the escape. The merchant — and Safie — were freed and made it as far as Italy. There the merchant, motivated partly by greed and partly by reluctance to give his daughter to a Christian, broke off the engagement and tried to take Safie back to Constantinople. Safie, raised by an Italian Christian mother who had instilled in her the desire for self-determination, refused to go. She fled. Meanwhile in France the conspiracy was discovered. Felix and his family were stripped of property and exiled. The merchant disowned Felix entirely. The De Laceys ended up in the cottage, in poverty, blind father, broken son, devoted daughter — all because Felix, years before, had seen an injustice and refused to look the other way.

Safie, after her father's death, found a sympathetic Italian woman who helped her travel north. She crossed Europe almost alone, found the cottage by following Felix's letters, and arrived in the snow with the horse. The Creature, listening to all this from his hovel, takes the story as a moral education. The De Laceys are good. Felix sacrificed his fortune for justice. The injustice was real. The world contains people like this. The Creature ends the chapter convinced he can — if he reveals himself carefully, with kindness — be admitted into their society.