Fan-Lit: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Pt.1

Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

After reading Dracula by Bram Stoker, I thought I should read another story about a classic literary monster. I started reading Frankenstein on ebook a while ago and got about 3 chapters in before I gave up. I couldn't keep track of what was going on in the story. For this read I am doing audio from the website Lit2Go. There are two versions of the book, one published in 1818 and a second revised edition in 1831. Lit2Go uses the original 1818 version. The second edition adds a new introduction by Shelley and changes a few details of the characters as well as the structure of the book.

Not knowing what to expect from this book, I'm surprised to find it more like Dracula than I thought and in some ways very different. I find Victor Frankenstein to have similar characteristics to Van Helsing, both strong willed, full of conviction but conflicted with what they have done or have to do.

The first four chapters of the book set up Victor's family life, his adopted cousin/sister, and his interest in the medical sciences. One quote caught my attention; “Fairer than a garden rose among the dark leaves brambles” (Frankenstein, Shelley). It reminds me of the saying “fairest of them all” but put more elegantly and I find it to be romantic.

One thing that I find interesting is Victor's realization that he could possibly create life. He has experienced the hardships of death, so it would seem that creating life is something he would be intrigued by. I like that he is conflicted with his decision, but ultimately his knowledge and curiosity win out and he indeed does create life. Another good quote is “to examine the cause of life, we must first have recourse to death” (Frankenstein, Shelley). To understand life means to understand death, and death is some thing that he has experienced in his young life.

Something that I noticed while Victor is studying at school, is that the book talks a lot about science, but nothing is actually explained. A hard contrast to modern works of science-fiction, where the science is explained, even if it's not accurate. It is implied in the story that Victor uses electricity to bring his creature to life, but never outright stated, just him observing lightning and what drives life. After he brings his creature to life, Victor is horrified not only by the monster but by what he has done.

The book then jumps ahead two years and Victor is notified of his younger brother's death. On his travels to his hometown of Geneva, Victor sees his creature on the hillside and is immediately convinced that the monster is to blame for the death of his brother William. Much of this book early on, is about Victor's guilt and deals with the philosophical questions of responsibility in the creation of life. A similar question posed in the movie Jurassic Park, being that just because you can do something or in Victor's case, create life, doesn't mean that you should. But the book goes one step further and asks if scientists can then do they have a responsibility to follow through? The book doesn't really provide an answer other than Victor's initial choice of choosing to follow through. But it's a good question that comes up in real life, about should the progression of science be limited by our morality.

The emotional journey of Victor gets more complex after his friend Justine is tried and wrongly convicted of the murder of his brother. Victor becomes depressed, until he encounters his own creation. The book then shifts perspective and tells the creature's story after leaving Victor. This was an approach to the story that I did not see coming. As some one not familiar with the story of Frankenstein, I haven't even seen the classic movies, I wasn't sure how much of the monster we we're going to get in the book. I like the idea of transitioning from Victor's guilt to showing the creatures life and his motives. It makes for a sympathetic character that was almost turned into a villain and asks if Victor (or people) in general make someone a monster. I like this shift, and look forward to finishing the rest of the book to see what happens with Frankenstein's monster.

If you have read the book please leave your comments down below, or tweet @BelleArboreus. Would love to hear your thoughts and interpretations on the book. Stay tuned for my comments on the rest of the book.