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A review by alexiacambaling
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley
4.0
Frankenstein is a book which has been done a disservice by its adaptations. The popular portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster as an unintelligent zombie-like creature was the image that I got prior to reading this book. Instead, what I got after reading was this kind and intelligent being twisted by the rejection of humanity and its own creator who in a way could really be called his father. This was also a really good blend of soft science fiction (the first modern sci-fi book in fact) and gothic horror. I only call it ‘soft sci-fi’ because of its focus on the social aspect and ramifications of the technology, rather than the use of science. The manner in which Victor created the creature was never revealed and instead, kept a secret. He was also a college dropout so calling him ‘doctor’ was inaccurate and really at odds with the pop culture image of the mad scientist.
I think reading this book was a fascinating exercise in differentiating the pop culture image that we may have from the real work that Mary Shelley wrote. Prior to watching the Extra Sci-Fi episodes-which convinced me to finally pick this book up- I never knew about the framing device Mary Shelley used. I didn’t know that it was framed as a manuscript, with a series of letters between a ship captain/explorer and his sister. I admit that subplot seemed a little disconnected with the Victor Frankenstein/Creature storyline but it did tie up the story rather well in the end.
Also, the writing was incredibly readable for a book first published in 1818. I had expected it to be a little harder to parse, but it actually made for easy reading. I usually have trouble reading English classics, but I didn’t in this case and I was able to read it quickly.
Victor was like a father who decided to abandon his child. He was arrogant in believing he could one-up his professors and create life- and the thing was, his arrogance actually had merit. He had clear talent and could have gone far in his scientific career. However, he’s also irresponsible and vain. He was an incredibly angsty young man in his late teens/early 20s. Clearly, not mature not enough to go around creating life. Literally, he runs out after seeing how hideous his creation was and then he was relieved after seeing that he was gone.
From there, the narrative kind of diverges and Victor and the creature don’t really meet for a few months to a year or so. Victor goes about gallivanting with Henry and we kind of don’t see what happens to the creature until later on. That is, until tragedy strikes and Victor has to go home and then also decided to marry Elizabeth. We find out what happened to the creature in the meantime.
However, Victor’s relationships with his family and especially with Henry and Elizabeth remain secondary to his relationship with the creature he created. While I do wish we learn more about them, it does make sense for the creature to have so affected him that most of his interactions and thought processes would involve the creature to some extent.
Frankenstein’s monster was really interesting. He was very complex and as I said, initially kind and intelligent. He was like a child in the beginning, a child who had to learn everything on his own due to Victor’s neglect and abandonment. He could have flourished had he lived in a world accepting of those like him. Unfortunately for him, society wasn’t kind to monsters- or rather, those who look like monsters. The creature himself was eloquent, he taught himself how to read and subsequently became well-read in Goethe’s Sorrows of Werter, Plutarch’s Lives, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. All of these books had profound effects on him, but not as much as Paradise Lost.
In the beginning, the creature was fascinated by humanity. He wanted to be one of us, he wanted to be part of society, and he wanted to help. Unfortunately, he became aware very early on that he was feared due to his appearance so he took to hiding. Over time, he grew to know and care for a family of fallen aristocrats from a distance. He very badly wanted to be friends with them and he saw them as his ‘friends’ and ‘protectors’. In the end though, they too let him down and that becomes the cataclyst for what happens next.
I really liked the contrasts and comparisons made in this book. Victor’s obsession with science in contrast to the creature’s fascination with arts and humanities. The creature comparing himself with Lucifer in Paradise Lost. Victor playing god but also being unable to take responsibility for his creation.
The creature does some truly horrific stuff in this book which is why I couldn’t really say that “Victor is the real monster here”. While to an extent, Victor certainly played his part, the creature wasn’t fully innocent either. He still murders an innocent child and an innocent man and woman. Whatever one might say about what he was like in the beginning, he still became a monster in the true sense of the word- whether or not humanity played a part in it.
I think that’s why this book works so well- there’s many ways you can interpret the story. It’s also a prime example of why I love the sci-fi I read to be on the ‘softer’ side- while talking about the science and technology can be cool, I prefer it to be secondary to how the characters react to it, how they make use of it, manipulate it, live with it. It’s why Frankenstein is a classic- not only did it invent a genre, it also made us ask the important questions we should be asking when it comes to the use of technology.
I think reading this book was a fascinating exercise in differentiating the pop culture image that we may have from the real work that Mary Shelley wrote. Prior to watching the Extra Sci-Fi episodes-which convinced me to finally pick this book up- I never knew about the framing device Mary Shelley used. I didn’t know that it was framed as a manuscript, with a series of letters between a ship captain/explorer and his sister. I admit that subplot seemed a little disconnected with the Victor Frankenstein/Creature storyline but it did tie up the story rather well in the end.
Also, the writing was incredibly readable for a book first published in 1818. I had expected it to be a little harder to parse, but it actually made for easy reading. I usually have trouble reading English classics, but I didn’t in this case and I was able to read it quickly.
Victor was like a father who decided to abandon his child. He was arrogant in believing he could one-up his professors and create life- and the thing was, his arrogance actually had merit. He had clear talent and could have gone far in his scientific career. However, he’s also irresponsible and vain. He was an incredibly angsty young man in his late teens/early 20s. Clearly, not mature not enough to go around creating life. Literally, he runs out after seeing how hideous his creation was and then he was relieved after seeing that he was gone.
From there, the narrative kind of diverges and Victor and the creature don’t really meet for a few months to a year or so. Victor goes about gallivanting with Henry and we kind of don’t see what happens to the creature until later on. That is, until tragedy strikes and Victor has to go home and then also decided to marry Elizabeth. We find out what happened to the creature in the meantime.
However, Victor’s relationships with his family and especially with Henry and Elizabeth remain secondary to his relationship with the creature he created. While I do wish we learn more about them, it does make sense for the creature to have so affected him that most of his interactions and thought processes would involve the creature to some extent.
Frankenstein’s monster was really interesting. He was very complex and as I said, initially kind and intelligent. He was like a child in the beginning, a child who had to learn everything on his own due to Victor’s neglect and abandonment. He could have flourished had he lived in a world accepting of those like him. Unfortunately for him, society wasn’t kind to monsters- or rather, those who look like monsters. The creature himself was eloquent, he taught himself how to read and subsequently became well-read in Goethe’s Sorrows of Werter, Plutarch’s Lives, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. All of these books had profound effects on him, but not as much as Paradise Lost.
In the beginning, the creature was fascinated by humanity. He wanted to be one of us, he wanted to be part of society, and he wanted to help. Unfortunately, he became aware very early on that he was feared due to his appearance so he took to hiding. Over time, he grew to know and care for a family of fallen aristocrats from a distance. He very badly wanted to be friends with them and he saw them as his ‘friends’ and ‘protectors’. In the end though, they too let him down and that becomes the cataclyst for what happens next.
I really liked the contrasts and comparisons made in this book. Victor’s obsession with science in contrast to the creature’s fascination with arts and humanities. The creature comparing himself with Lucifer in Paradise Lost. Victor playing god but also being unable to take responsibility for his creation.
The creature does some truly horrific stuff in this book which is why I couldn’t really say that “Victor is the real monster here”. While to an extent, Victor certainly played his part, the creature wasn’t fully innocent either. He still murders an innocent child and an innocent man and woman. Whatever one might say about what he was like in the beginning, he still became a monster in the true sense of the word- whether or not humanity played a part in it.
I think that’s why this book works so well- there’s many ways you can interpret the story. It’s also a prime example of why I love the sci-fi I read to be on the ‘softer’ side- while talking about the science and technology can be cool, I prefer it to be secondary to how the characters react to it, how they make use of it, manipulate it, live with it. It’s why Frankenstein is a classic- not only did it invent a genre, it also made us ask the important questions we should be asking when it comes to the use of technology.