Frankenstein — Mary Shelley

Familiarity Level = I’ve Taught This

Key information you may already know: 1) Mary Shelley wrote this practically on a dare, when a group of literary geniuses challenged each other to come up with the best scary story. She won. 2) Frankenstein is not the monster. He is the doctor. The monster is called “The Monster.” 3) Frankenstein is the original Mad Scientist.

Depending on which movie you’ve seen (if any), you may also know: 1) Frankenstein wants to play God. He wants to use science to create life. MANY writers in the 1800s wrote about such things, because science was booming. This is similar to how nowadays we obsess over robots with artificial intelligence taking over the world. (because creating life in a lab is now old news – we have stem cells, in vitro, and clones – oh my!) The moral of the story, though, is that man is not meant to toy with creation. This is because 2) Frankenstein screws up. When The Monster comes to life, he is ugly and a brute. Frankenstein freaks out and abandons him. Thus, The Monster is not taught love or understanding, only rejection and hatred. 3) Therefore, all hell breaks loose and we learn a lot of lessons. Like, teach and practice kindness. Nurture and educate others so that they can be productive members of society. Sin begets sin. You are not a deity. Love your child unconditionally, or they may turn into a murderous psycho.

A few more details that are often left out (mild spoilers). The book is framed by a sailor’s account of how he found a nearly-dead Frankenstein at the North Pole. Frankenstein is tracking The Monster to kill it for it’s wretchedness. He has been driven insane by the horrors he’s seen in his life, and he relates the story to the reader. His ‘voice’ is frantic and full of real and fake scientific terms, which makes it hard to read with ease or comfort. He is clearly unhinged by guilt and grief. It’s similar to reading anything by Edgar Allan Poe, if that helps. Within Frankenstein’s narrative is a retelling of The Monster’s experiences after running off. [So for those of you keeping track, yes, there is a story within a story within a story.] In my personal opinion, this is the best part of the book. The Monster is easier to understand and his story is compelling. His perspective is almost that of a child’s at first, but he grows angry when he realizes what he is and how Frankenstein betrayed him. He confronts Frankenstein, who sucks at life again and just makes it worse.

The Verdict: This is where things get real. Read it IF… this blog post interested you AND you are a good reader. In other words, if you dig the mad scientist stuff and have a big…um… vocabulary. Otherwise, you will probably hate it. I have ADHD, which makes it hard to focus on difficult texts even when I like them (you’re killing me, Shakespeare). Add to the mix that I suck at biology and think big words are annoying… yeah, it was a battle. And with so many TV/film/comic adaptations, there’s no point in forcing it. Have you seen the Mel Brooks version, Young Frankenstein? Hilarious. Remember folks, you should enjoy things you do for fun.