Molly Stephens
Review Writing
Quill And Scroll
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Frankenstein: A Classic Novel That Endures Through the Ages
The novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly, was originally published in 1818 It is a tale about a scientist who decides to create a man without regarding the consequences of his actions It’s themes remain relevant to this day and it’s story continues to be used to create countless adaptations
To understand the writing, one first must begin with the background of the writer Mary Shelly was born to the philosopher William Godwin, and Mary Wollstonecraft, who was a pioneer feminist. Mary Shelly had dealt with loss throughout her life, including her mother dying of a fever when she was only ten days old and her own child dying shortly after birth. You can see this shown throughout her writing of Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley began writing the story one night in the Swiss Alps, when both her husband and friend each attempted to write a ghost story. She published the novel in 1818 when she was only 19. However, due to public pressures to align with social norms, released a second version of the novel in 1831 (Kern, 2018).
Frankenstein is a story of a scientist and his creation It is a story that explores ideas such as good vs evil and whether or not human kind can/should play god. The novel begins with a captain writing letters detailing a man named Victor Frankenstein who came aboard and spoke tales of his life. He tells how he created the monster and the havoc it wreaked in both his life and others. He ends the story by saying that he was still chasing the monster, and that it had supposedly followed him on the ship. The narrative ends with the captain's final letter, describing how he encountered the monster personally, when it stood over the scientist's dead body (Sparknotes, 2019).
The main characters in this novel are Victor Frankenstein, The Creation, Elizabeth Lavenza, and Robert Walton. Victor Frankenstein, the novel's main protagonist, narrates most of the story. He
creates the monster and tells the story to Robert Walton, who shares the story through a series of letters sent to his sister The Monster, a hideous-looking creature, is the novel's main antagonist While the name Frankenstein has been associated with the monster, he is actually nameless in the book After being initially abandoned by Victor, he sees a world not suited for a creature like him and eventually enacts revenge on Victor through the murder of Elizabeth, Victor’s adopted sister and wife Robert Walton is the main initial narrator and relays the entire story through a series of letters to his sister after rescuing Victor from the icy waters of the North Pole (“LitCharts”, 2026)
This novel explores both controversial themes and ethics issues, including a character “playing God,” and ethics of science Frankenstein, the scientist, parallels the classic Greek myth of Prometheus, by creating something horrible and then abandoning it to wreak havoc on the world The themes of abandonment and guilt are also very strong in the novel, reflecting feelings Mary Shelly herself felt in the writing of this novel. There are also very interesting questions regarding ethics. One of such questions is if Victor Frankenstein or the creation were the true villain. The creation is often shown as evil, however, it could be argued that Frankenstein himself did more wrong, both in abandoning the creation and then performing harsh treatment later on in the story. One common ethics question brought up is should one do something just because they are able to? Even though Frankenstein could create a man, he clearly shouldn't have. (Pratico, 2020).
Though originally published over 200 years ago, the relevance of this novel still has a significance over readers of all ages It explores themes of feeling lost, losing control, and struggling to find a sense of identity The story addresses tragedies and unjustness of birth, class and race, which also contributes to the relevance to today’s world It reflects what it means to be human, which is a very big issue in this day and age (Quinnipiac Today, 2022)
Frankenstein was one of the first scientific horror novels and has had countless film adaptations The earliest adaptation was Frankenstein (1910), which was a silent movie It was directed by J Searle Dawley The first short film adaptation, The Monster of Frankenstein, was directed by Eugenio Testa The arguably most famous adaptation, Frankenstein, was created in 1931, and gave the creation its signature box-head with screws protruding from either side Countless other famous directors and actors have been a part of adaptations, including Tim Burton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, who were all a part of Frankenweenie in 2012 (IMDb,
2024) This small list does not even scratch the surface of the 47 and counting film adaptations and spinoffs of the book There have also been numerous cameos and joint storylines in TV specials
To conclude, the novel Frankenstein, is a powerful and famous classic novel highlighting the age-old question of good versus evil Even though this was published over 200 years ago, the novel is still relevant in this day and age, exploring themes of what it means to be human and finding your sense of identity And in the immortal words of Mary Shelly, said through her character Victor Frankenstein, "Learn from me how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow" (Shelley, 1818)
WorksCited
IMDb.“IMDb-Movies,TVandCelebrities.” IMDb,2024,www.imdb.com.
Kern,Stephen.“MaryShelley’s‘Frankenstein.’” Osu.edu,Mar 2018, origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2018-mary-shelleys-frankenstein. “LitCharts.” LitCharts,2026,www.litcharts.com/lit/frankenstein/characters.
notes,spark.“SparkNotes:Frankenstein:PlotOverview.” Sparknotes.com,2019, www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/summary/.
Pratico,Simon.“ThemesandEthicalIssuesinFrankenstein–Science,Technology,and Society.” Colby.edu,19Sept.2020, web.colby.edu/st112a-fall20/2020/09/19/themes-and-ethical-issues-in-frankenstein/.
QuinnipiacToday “‘CreatingMonsters,’theRelevancyof‘Frankenstein’inModernSociety.” Www.qu.edu,26Oct.2022, www.qu.edu/quinnipiac-today/creating-monsters-the-relevancy-of-frankenstein-in-moder n-society-2022-10-26/.
Shelley,Mary. Frankenstein.Lackington,Hughes,Harding,Mavor&Jones,1818.