Mary Shelley has a great way of using descriptive language to portray motifs and themes throughout "Frankenstein." Pay close attention to the language she uses in Chapter 8. In the courtroom scene, Shelley touches on several themes:
- The effects of Regret on an individual.
- The effects of Guilt.
- Equality in terms of societal views, specifically relating to Justine in this chapter, but there are other examples throughout the book.
- The way things appear is not necessarily truth or the reality.

These are some of the themes found in Chapter 8; with this guidline, it will be easier to find more specific examples in the text.