Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

Lots of people know Frankenstein because they have seen one of the different films made in the 20^th century (the film by James Whale with Boris Karloff is a masterpiece!). But few know that Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus is originally a book written 200 years ago by a teenage author called Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, lover and future wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. And many people think that Frankenstein is the name of the creature whereas it is the name of the scientist who created it, Victor Frankenstein. But what is sure is that Frankenstein never leaves anybody indifferent. It is a Gothic novel that has nourished our imagination for two centuries, and will continue in the years to come.

When Dr Victor Frankenstein decides to make his creature by assembling parts of dead bodies together, he wants to prove that he can reanimate lifeless matter. He sets to work and studies anatomy to reach his goal, even though his creature is larger and taller than any human being (8 feet tall). And it is so ugly that Frankenstein flees when it comes to life. Later, the creature (called “the monster”, “the daemon”, “it”…) will escape to discover that every person he meets is afraid of and hates him because of his appearance. Though a good creature, he will kill and take his revenge upon society. When Dr Frankenstein finds him, the latter asks him to create a female companion so as to be happy, too. If not, he will kill the doctor’s relatives and friends. As Frankenstein refuses, the monster kills the doctor’s future wife before the wedding. Victor Frankenstein has no choice but to find his creature and destroy him before other murders take place. He follows him to the North Pole but he will die there. When the creature realizes his master is dead, he mourns over the body and decides to kill himself because Victor’s death will bring him no peace.

Of course good and evil are the major themes Shelley developed in her novel. The creature is good, but turns to evil because of society who rejects him. Who is good? Who is evil? We may wonder.

Ambition is another theme as Dr Frankenstein wants to prove he can achieve something that no one has been able to approach yet. But remorse will soon follow.

Love is present, too. Dr Frankenstein falls in love and is about to marry Elizabeth before the creature kills her. The monster needs also a lover to lead a happy life.

Fear and horror appear in the story, which make Shelley’s book a Gothic novel praised by lots of readers.

We could add science and its infinite possibilities, arrogance, religion (people who want to imitate God will be severely punished), friendship, guilt…

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is such a wonderful story that her book has never been out of stock since its first publication at the beginning of the 19^th century. And dozens of films or stage productions have been made. It is of course one of the most representative story of the Gothic genre, and it is worth reading!