Week One: Frankenstein
What exactly makes a work such as Frankenstein by Mary Shelley so memorable and iconic? Personally,
I think Frankenstein is perfectly
timed result of exploring a unique topic of the time combined with social commentary
and inflection into human nature. The trust and exploration of science at the
time was just starting to kick off, and it was a fascinating subject. The new
German discovery of electric currents causing muscle spasms in the dead and the
fact humans use electric energy in the nervous system made people think they
could really bring back the dead. Shelley tapped into this discovery, and by
basing her fiction in science of the time, she created the first known “true”
science fiction story.
I think that one of the strongest Gothic elements in the
story is how Shelley explores human nature through the monster. The monster
acts as the only decent being in the story, and they end up ruining him. I
think it’s important to think about how the people in the story condemn the
monster for just existing. Shelley depicts mankind as hostile and cruel to
those which it does not understand. For example, when the monster tries to save
the little girl from drowning, they shoot him. It’s no wonder the monster ends
up on a homicidal rampage.
This novel also romanticizes the monster rather than depicts
him as true evil. It makes the reader sympathize and try to understand what it
would be like to be scorned. This new turn of events in a scary story fleshes
out the characters and makes it a much more entertaining read. Although this story has become a sort of icon of Halloween, it is still important as a reflection of the beliefs of the past and the birth of Gothic fiction.
