Justine Moritz

The third child of the widow Madame Moritz, Justine was her father's favourite but was ill-treated by her mother after his death; taken into the Frankenstein household at age twelve when Caroline Beaufort prevailed on her mother, she learned a servant's duties but, due to Caroline's great attachment, received a superior education and became a great favourite of Victor's, known for her frank-hearted, happy look. Devoted and grateful, she imitated Caroline's manners and nursed her anxiously during her final illness; she fell very ill after Caroline's death and was called home by her repentant (then accusing) mother a few months after Victor left for Ingolstadt, much altered by grief into a softer, milder woman, and blamed by her mother for the deaths of her siblings. Following her mother's death at the start of last winter, Justine has just returned to the Frankenstein household, now very clever, gentle, extremely pretty, and possessing a mien that continually reminds Elizabeth of Caroline Beaufort.

Taken into the Frankenstein household as a girl through Caroline Beaufort's kindness, Justine became devoted to the family, nursed Caroline in her final illness, was later reclaimed and blamed by her own mother before her mother's death, and had just returned to the Frankenstein household prior to this chapter. She has now been accused of murdering William Frankenstein after Caroline's miniature—which he had been wearing—was found in her pocket; she fell ill and was confined to bed for days after the murder, her extreme confusion when confronted deepened suspicion against her, and she is now apprehended and set to be tried, though Victor believes her innocent and the creature guilty.

Taken into the Frankenstein household as a girl through Caroline Beaufort's kindness, Justine became devoted to the family, nursed Caroline in her final illness, was later reclaimed and blamed by her own mother before her mother's death, and had just returned to the household when she was accused of murdering William Frankenstein after Caroline's miniature was found in her pocket. At her trial, dressed in mourning, she calmly testified she had spent that night at her aunt's in Chêne and been shut out of Geneva's gates, searching for William; under coercion from her confessor she falsely confessed to the murder, later retracting it as a lie, and though she expressed resignation and comforted Elizabeth in prison, she was condemned and executed, leaving Victor convinced of her innocence and the creature's guilt.