This illustration is first described to us in Volume II, Chapter Eight, of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
First impressions of picture : The creature is huge compared to William, His whole hand is covering the boys face. The picture is very dark and ominous looking. You can see the creature's spine. His skin looks scaly or ribbed. He must be incredibly strong if he can crush William with only one hand. Creatures composure hints that he is angry. His hair is all in his face making it impossible to read his expression.Creature is in agony, only thinking about killing william. The city is in the background. They're not far from it.
The first murder of the creature is that of William. In the creature's own words of Chapter 8, he was sleeping in the woods when William, the "beautiful" boy, came upon him and was seized with the intention of "educating him as my companion and friend." (Shelley,105) Unfortunately, William screamed when he saw the creature and told him that his father was Frankenstein. The beast then attempted to kill William and "grasped his throat in order to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet." (Shelley,105) When he was dead, the creature found a lock around William's throat that he had taken. Planting the locket on Justine as she was walking, the creature framed Justine for William's murder. Victor receives a handwritten letter on their return to university telling him that Victor's youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Saddened, and surprised, Victor, leaves for Geneva at once. Night has fallen by the time he arrives, and the gates of Geneva have been closed, so he spends the evening roaming around the outskirts of town in the woods. He spies the creature lurking as he walks near the spot where his brother's body was found and becomes certain that his creation was responsible for the murder of William. The next day, though, as he returns home, Victor discovers that Justine was convicted of murder. After the discovery of the body, a servant found an image of Caroline Frankenstein last seen in William's possession in Justine's pocket. Victor proclaims Justine's innocence, but the evidence against her appears indisputable, and Victor refuses to justify himself for fear that he will be branded insane.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein 1818 Text. Oxford World Classics, 2018.