He has been trying to kill the monster for many days when he meets the captain and tells him the story. The irony of the story is very interesting. At first, Frankenstein wants to create a life that would never die, but eventually the only quest he has is to kill the monster. Many times in our lives we find ourselves being hypocritical. We do something that we said we would never do, or we make an allegiance to something we don't really believe in.
Life seems to have many ways of retribution for our mistakes.
But without those mistakes and differences in each other, life would be without adventure, and we would sink to mediocrity. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is mediocrity at its finest. If you want to remind yourself of everything that is depressing in life, watch this movie.