Cold, Frankenstein and Mur(der) (Frankenstein - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Member Name: Ophelia

Product:	Frankenstein - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Date:	21/03/03 (274 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Food for thought, well written

Disadvantages: Old writing style, omissions in detail

The tale of Victor Frankenstein and the monster he creates has been told time and time again in numerous films. My education seemed sadly lacking in that I had never read Mary Shelley?s original story and found out about the original scientist and his inhuman creation.

And so I embarked upon Shelley?s tale of man?s inhumanity to man, divine powers, revenge and retribution. The story started as merely a tale to be told at parties or around the fire on a dark winter?s evening but, encouraged by her husband, Shelley expanded her story into a novel. Was that novel worth the fame it has accrued?

THE PLOT

Arctic explorer, Robert Walton, is traversing the icy seas on an expedition to the North Pole, when he comes across a lone man whom he takes aboard his ship. This man is Frankenstein who then tells his story to Walton. It is in the form of letters from Walton to his wife, recounting his new friend?s narratives, that the story is divulged.

Frankenstein travels to Geneva to study science and whilst doing so embarks upon an experiment to create human life by constructing a body composed entirely of bits of dead corpses. Remarkably his experiment results in success but Frankenstein is suddenly struck by the hideous nature of his creation and is at a loss as to how to proceed.

Fortunately for Frankenstein the monster vanishes from his laboratory one afternoon while he is absent and it would appear that his troubles are over, however, we soon find out that they are just beginning.

Some time later as he is on his way home Frankenstein catches sight of a hideous being, surely his own creation? When, a few miles later, he arrives home and learns that his youngest brother has been strangled to death, he fears that is his own creation that has wrought this terrible deed.

Frankenstein meets with the monster who relays his tale of what he has done until that time. Due to his hideous appearance he has been unju
stly spurned by human society and hated and feared. He has grown to loathe himself and, more than that, to hate his creator. His sole remaining purpose in life is to destroy the man who created him.

THE SCIENTIST

Many would argue that unpleasant and often morally dubious experiments are sometimes required to further man?s knowledge in the realms of medical science, to discover cures for diseases and to gain information on the workings of the human body. However, Frankenstein does not really give any in depth reasons as to why he should want to embark upon the creation of human life. We are aware that his mother died and we could theorise that this death of a close beloved relative could have inspired a desire in him to fight against lifelessness and attempt to instil life in lifeless beings. However, this is certainly not stated and it seems strange that a scientist would embark upon such a morally questionable experiment without having strong convictions as to the benefits it would have and with little or no inward debate but this is exactly what Frankenstein does.

Once the monster has been created Frankenstein is appalled by its hideousness and is relieved when it escapes. He behaves utterly irresponsibly. He has taken no attempts to take care of his creation or to acclimatise it to life or society and upon its escape instead of trying to find it and give it assistance, he washes his hands of the entire affair and is happy to quit the country with no idea as to the location of the being to which he has given life.

In addition to the accusations that can be levelled at Frankenstein of flippancy and irresponsibility are those of cowardice and selfishness. After the monster has committed one murder an innocent young girl is charged with the crime. Frankenstein knows the real culprit to be the monster and yet remains silent as he fears that his explanation would be regarded as madness. So, in order to retain the respect
of his peers he remains silent and allows a child to be judicially executed.

In addition to these character traits, if one needed any more to be convinced of the nature of the ?hero?, Frankenstein keeps his past experiments hidden from those closest to him. He is happy to lie to his friends, his family and his fiancée, even though their knowledge could have warned them that they themselves were in danger.

THE MONSTER

Frankenstein?s monster sets off into the world as an innocent. He has no knowledge of society, no grasp of language and no concept of verbal or written communication. From the start he is a clean sheet, ready to be drawn on and shaped by those he encounters and their treatment of him.

The first time he encounters a village he is chased out violently by humans who are disgusted and prejudiced by his hideous appearance. Just because he is ugly does not guarantee that he is evil but we soon learn that humans are very judgmental and prejudiced without foundation. On the next occasion the monster comes across human life he saves a little girl from drowning, only to be repaid with a beating from her father.

The monster eventually finds shelter in a hut from where he can observe the lives of a poor family and from observation of them he slowly begins to read and write. At this point a little willing suspension of disbelief is required as a being with not a single word to his vocabulary transforms within weeks into a fluent French speaker who can read Milton?s ?Paradise Lost? to himself!

Finally he is driven out and beaten by this family also and his trust in mankind turns to hatred and revenge. Who can blame him? His actions have always been harmless or benevolent and yet he has been met at every turn by violence and hatred. If this is to be mankind?s treatment towards him, is it any surprise that he should set out to wreak harm upon mankind? In fact, the monster narrows his aims to the dest
ruction of his creator and although innocents do die, their deaths are always aimed at harming the scientist.

We have to ask ourselves, who is more the monster: a naïve being rejected by society, pre-judged, ostracised and abhorred or the man who made him with little thought to the consequences and with no attempt to acclimatise him to society?

THE TELLING

First published in 1818, the novel is written in a very formal and almost an unnatural style of prose. However, this is only to be expected and once the reader has got used to this it does not interfere in the narration and if anything concentrates the reader?s mind and emphasises the gravity of the tale.

Often Shelley does not go into enough detail in her story telling. The details of Frankenstein?s experiment, the origins of the body parts and the method of animation are almost non-existent. One could of course argue that Shelley was not a scientist and so any description would have been foolhardy, or that she is leaving the details to the reader?s imagination. However, not even enough detail is provided to whet the imagination of the reader and to set the mental cogs in motion.

These omissions are relatively minor when compared with the main themes of the novel. Society?s treatment of the monster and his reaction to the abuse is outlined clearly and yet subtly, leaving the reader to draw his own conclusions and yet with the information plainly set out before him. The bitter irony and obvious unfairness and hypocrisy of the situation is self evident and the reader will be left feeling more sympathy for the monster than for his creator.

Due to these themes it is no wonder that the book has inflamed the imaginations of filmmakers and story tellers for over a century since. The book is indeed a ?classic? and well worth a space in anyone?s library.

FROM MILTON?S ?PARADISE LOST?

?Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay to mould me man? D
id I solicit thee from darkness to promote me??

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