Mary Shelley makes several allusions to "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in her novel.  This excerpt from the poem appears after Victor creates the Monster in Chapter 5, abandons him, and wanders the streets throughout the night.  It precisely complements Victor's actions and characterization because Victor was alone in his quest to create life and flees from the horror of what he has done once  reality strikes him.  Right before the Coleridge quote, Victor narrates,

"My heart palpitated in the sickness of fear, and I hurried on with irregular steps, not daring to look about me--" (45).

This way of thinking on Victor's part not only literally corresponds with lines 3 and 4 of the excerpt, but in a figurative sense, Victor had an opportunity to "turn his head" back to his apartment and take responsibility for his actions, but instead he leaves behind his creature and hopes to be able to escape the consequences by doing so.

Finally, Coleridge's use of the word "fiend" foreshadows Victor's view of his creature.  He often uses the term to describe the monster, ignoring the fiend within himself.

When Mary Shelley was 8 years old, she heard Samuel Coleridge recite "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in her parent's home. Mary Shelley was heavily influenced by the poetry of Coleridge, and Frankenstein is rich with allusions to "Rime of the Ancient Mariner." This excerpt from the poem parallels Victor's mood and actions. At this point, Victor is wandering the streets alone, contemplating the deaths of William and Justine, and his implicit guilt.  Of course, the shadow of his creation in constantly haunting him, and may well be following him down the road in this moment.

In the Gothic sense, Victor relates to the Mariner’s isolation and fear. In the Romantic sense, both the Mariner and Victor want the knowledge; however, unlike the Mariner, Victor’s new knowledge brings a curse along with it. Like the Mariner, Victor will live in isolation and fear. He seeks to tell his story to anyone who will listen, which turns out to be Walton. Walton is a mirror of the listeners of the Mariner's story in the poem. Thus Victor fulfills the comparison to the Mariner, haunted by his knowledge and his actions, tormented by his past.