Review of Mary Shelley's Frankeinstein

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Recommended: Frankenstein as a romantic movement

Frankenstein is a Romantic Horror novel written by Mary Shelley. Originally published in 1818, a revised version was also published in 1831. As a Romantic novel, Frankenstein is very emotional and addresses the connection between man and nature. This nightmarish tale was the result of a friendly challenge between Shelley, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and Claire Clairmont to see who could compose the most horrifying ghost story. Shelley won after conceiving the idea of Frankenstein after experiencing a dream. Soon, Percy Shelley, her lover and future husband, convinced Mary Shelley to lengthen her story into a novel, creating the terrific Frankenstein readers enjoy today.

Primarily set in the 1800’s in the city of Geneva, Frankenstein presents the tale of Dr. Victor Frankenstein, an obsessive, ambitious, and passionate scientist who discovers the secret of creating life. Using this newfound knowledge, Frankenstein collects and reanimates lifeless body parts to create a living creature. Essentially, Frankenstein’s story depicts his struggle against his own creation, who seeks revenge on him after being abandoned.

The tale begins with the letters of Robert Walton, a seafaring captain who seeks glory in the vast Arctic Ocean. Soon, he rescues a dying man on the ice. Walton is puzzled by the man’s unexpected presence, and questions the mysterious stranger. The man, who we discover to be Victor Frankenstein, then reveals his story. Fascinated with the ideas of natural philosophy and the mysteries of life, Frankenstein devotes his life to studying these subjects at a very young age. After years of diligent and strenuous study, he discovers how to create life and uses this concept to bring an experiment in the form of a “human” man to life. Soon after, Frankenstein realizes that the creature is an abomination, and upon seeing its lurid appearance abandons it. However, the monster, infant-like and new to the world, finds refuge in a hovel near the residence of an impoverished family of peasants. Upon spying on this family, the “wretch” questions his existence and expresses deep envy of the family’s happiness. After teaching himself to converse in human language, he presents himself to the blind man in the family. The blind man is the only character in the story that does not cast a judgment on the creature, allowing the monster to express his lamentation to him. However, the rest of the family comes back and immediately rejects and scorns the creation because of his revolting image.

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