Yes, you read that right, I’m reviewing Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. Do you want to make something of it? A waste of time you say because you already know the plot. A monster is raised who breaks free from his chains. Stumbling about, groaning, with bolts in his head he attacks villagers and is frightened by fire. Well, you are right that is indeed a plot but not the plot to Frankenstein. Frankenstein is one of those novels that everybody knows what happens but that almost no-one has actually read. With all the movies, TV shows etc. made why is this book even still in print? But not only has it been continuously in print for close to 200 years but many publishers still print expensive editions of it. Its influence on literature is immense and it basically helped create the horror genre even though many now argue that it was the first true science fiction story.
It was during a trip through Europe in the early 1800’s that the idea of Frankenstein came into being. Mary Shelly and her husband, Percy Shelly (a major poet of the Romantic era) were staying in Italy near Lake Geneva and went to visit their neighbor, Lord Byron (one of the greatest British poets) and his guest, Dr. John Polidori. As it was particularly dreary outside, a challenge to pass the time was placed. Everyone was to work on a ghost story. That boring day would go on to produce two works that would start whole genres of horror tales. One is obviously Frankenstein but not as well-known, Polidori would create the vampire horror genre with the first ever vampire novel simply titled The Vampire. Frankenstein would be published anonymously in 1817. It would slowly gather steam and Shelly would publish a much embellished version in 1831 which is the one most read today.
Surprisingly for most people the book actually starts off with a series of letters written by a man to his sister regarding an artic expedition. The expedition is surprised to find a man near death on the ice thousands of miles away from the closest town. This man is Victor Frankenstein and as he heals he starts recounting his tale to the one that saved him. Describing his early life and his attachment to his adopted sister Elizabeth he continues with his search for the secret of life. In the part that everyone knows he puts together a man from body parts and awakens him. The sight horrifies him and he flees in terror. Eventually returning he finds the creature gone. It’s interesting to note here that at no time in the novel does the creature actually have a name. It is never called Frankenstein. The absence of a name is Shelly’s way of showing just how different it is from normal mankind. She never really describes the creature either except with words such as “grotesque” and “horrific”.
Returning to his ancestral home in Geneva Victor learns that his brother, who is just a child, has been murdered. The murder is placed on a young girl recently adopted into the Frankenstein household and she is soon convicted and hung. Victor is convinced the monster has committed this crime and indeed one day when he is travelling in the mountains the creature approaches and confronts him. It is here that many readers view of the monster falls apart. Far from the lumbering, grunting monstrosity most think of, the creature is highly intelligent, strong, preternaturally quick, unafraid of fire and, in a nod to the grave from which his pieces came, immune to cold. Faced with Victor’s wrath over the murder of his brother the monster expresses regret and begs a favor, the creation of a companion. The creature presses Victor with his arguments. Did he ask to be created so monstrously? His birth is due to Victor’s ego. Why was he created in a way that would force all of humanity to shun him? Does the creator not have some responsibility for that which he created? Why should he, out of all creatures, be without a companion to help his overwhelming loneliness? The monster is persuasive. Victor gives in and secluding himself begins the process of creating a female. Soon, however, he is overwhelmed with doubts at the possible consequences of his work and dumps the body in a lake. The creature, enraged, vows revenge, especially on Victor’s wedding night.
The book moves between Victor’s and the creature’s viewpoints and it’s at times hard to not feel sympathy for the creature. On the other hand in no way is Victor portrayed as blameless by Shelly. His life is in tatters but who is really responsible? It’s really this question and its repercussions that are one of the main themes of the book.
Many of the comments I see directed at this work seem to involve claims that it is dated. Unfortunately “dated” is a word used a lot in science fiction and horror circles much to the detriment of the genres. My own feeling is that novels are a product of their times. Yes, the language of the romantic period during which Frankenstein was written can be off-putting to modern readers. Yes again, the long philosophizing and use of rational arguments can be tiring for those used to one horror shock after the other but I would argue that these points are what gives this book its real staying power. Who is the greater monster here? What are our responsibilities to the things we create? What are the ethics behind using new technology unfettered? 200 years have passed since this novel came out and these issues were raised. I have serious doubts that the intervening years have really produced any answers. Recommended.
Great review, George.
It’s been years since I read FRANKENSTEIN but by reading it I’ve seen how the ethical questions it raises have informed both horror and s.f. ever since it was published. For instance, I would hazard that THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU are extensions of those questions and more recently, the movie EX MACHINA, among many others.
For anyone interested in the U.S., there is a filmed version of a stage play of FRANKENSTEIN starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller (yes, two! two! Sherlocks for the price of one, with a Moneypenny thrown in for good measure — Naomie Harris) an encore presentation of which Fathom Events will be showing in theaters on October 25. I take it that when it was live the two leads would switch roles from performance to performance; the filmed version has Miller as the monster and Cumberbatch as Frankenstein; both are excellent. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
A small correction, Polidori’s “The Vampyre” is a short story rather than a novel. One of the points of interest in the story is that his Lord Ruthven is the first vampire rather like Dracula — elegant, charming, suave — and based on Lord Byron. Polidori and Byron did not get along well.
Randy
Randy, Thanks for the clarifications and insights. Much appreciated. Byron seemed to attract all sorts. Polidori would go on to commit suicide later and both he and Byron were upset that the novel was attributed to Byron. Byron never seemed to have luck with physicians. He probably died from “therapeutic” bloodletting followed by sepsis at the Siege of Missolonghi but that is a tale for another day. George