Chapter 18: The Misery of Victor

I have been paying attention to Victor's mood for the past couple of days. He has been extremely miserable and depressed upon his return. Out of all of the family members, Victor shows the most suffering and misery. I feel that he carries more weight from the passings than I do. He feels anguish towards two different events: William's death and Justine's death. I find that the second death has made a deeper cut inside of him than the first death. He believed in Justine’s innocence more than anyone else, even more than I did. The loss of not one, but two of his family members have caused him to enter a state of deep depression. I think he feels partly responsible for the losses. His absence during William’s murder has caused him to blame himself. Maybe if he had come home sooner and was present with the family during the dreadful evening, he could have somehow prevented William's unexpected fate. I think being away from the family for so long has added additional pain with him. He had ignored us for so long, blocking us entirely out of his life. Then when he finally decided to return home, it was no longer the same family that he had left before college - we were one person short. Not long upon his return did we lose another important person. I think being absent for so long and experiencing two losses upon his return has placed misery upon Victor that no one can truly understand.