1. Victor is tempted to kill himself; what prevents him from doing so?

Quote from novel/ Chapter 9

“I was tempted to plunge into the silent lake, that the waters might close over me and my calamities forever.”

In the quote above we can see the quote in context; note that Victor says "tempted," this single word informs the reader that he wasn't serious. I personally think the intention here is to garner sympathy, but then again, I don't doubt he thought about it.