Week 1: Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a story full of gothic elements and questions about life, death, and morality. I did not realize just how many preconceived notions I held about the story until I actually had the chance to sit down and read the book. My thoughts on Frankenstein had been formed from an amalgamation of references in popular media, usually kid-friendly media that portrayed the monster as a friendly, green giant named “Frankenstein.” However, I quickly learned this story is a showcase of very dark, gothic themes. It features death and violence, the downfall of a protagonist through his own actions, a threatening villain, mystery and gloom, and many more important staples of the genre.

When reading the book, I was surprised to find that Victor was a clean-cut, young college student, and not the white-haired, insane scientist I had imagined. He is a studious and ambitious character, albeit careless with his research. I believe this is one of the first major occurrences of a character who struggles with the consequences of “playing God” through an attempted resurrection. His story reminded me of the famous quote from Jurassic Park, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” While Victor succeeds in his quest to bring the monster to life, he is horrified by his creation and decides to run from it. This action characterized Victor as very irresponsible and even cowardly. The repercussions of this abandonment are tragic, and leave the reader unsure of who to feel more sympathetic towards by the end of the novel.

The story of the monster himself was another element I had very much mischaracterized in my mind before reading. I had always assumed he was a well-intentioned character, who simply did not understand his own strength or his society in general. However, I was very surprised to find that throughout the book, the monster becomes educated and intelligent through both the observation of the De Lacey family and the books he learns to read. He experiences constant, violent rejection from the humans he encounters, and ultimately makes the decision to become the monster everyone thinks he is by killing Victor’s loved ones. This novel left me pondering the question of responsibility. Who is more to blame for this tragedy, the neglectful creator or the creature who chooses violence?