Frankenstein
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is dooooooooone! I so dislike this book, despite how hard I tried to like it, because, after all, it’s early classic sci-fi/horror. I will express this in list form, ’cause I like lists.
1) Victor Frankenstein is a weenie. He makes a monster, then runs away from it and ignores it for a whole year. For this delightful display of cowardice, he will be hereafter known as Frankie.
2) Frankie is a whiny bemoaner of a fate he flippin’ created and about which he does nothing to correct, mostly ’cause he’s too busy bemoaning instead of blaming himself.
3) Frankie is also a Mary Sue. (Before Mary Sue’s were invented, which makes this sorta impressive.) I base this mostly on the fact that everyone talks about how wonderful, intelligent, generous, loving, clever, bloody noble and full of deep sensitivities he is and all I see is, well, see point numero uno y dos. Oh, and the boy is stupid…see next point and the next.
4) Frankie Sue gave a monster working sexual organs, but can’t figure out that if he doesn’t want ‘the unholy pair’ to mate and make monster babies all he has to do is make the female monster sterile. Really. (Actually, I’m assuming that he gave him working sexual organs based on what he said, but I still find the whole thing rather hard to believe.)
5) Despite his vaunted cleverness, Frankie Sue is also incapable deciphering the fact that the monster isn’t threatening his life, but his happiness with the line about being with him on his wedding night. If you could throw shoes at book characters, I would have thrown mine at Frankie Sue for the stupidity preceding his wedding and the subsequent murder of poor Elizabeth.
6) His monster inspires more sympathy and warmth of feeling than he does. At least, the monster has actual injuries to resent and ignorance to fuel his poor, ill-informed choices. (I’ve been told that this is the point. If it was, it could have been more explicitly rendered.)
7) Oh, and Mary, why does the monster find a large cloak out in the middle of the uninhabited woods?! Does this even make sense? Or, how about the time he mysteriously finds Paradise Lost, Plutarch’s Lives and the Sorrows of Werther in FRENCH when he lives in a GERMANIC STATE while he’s stalking a FRENCH family. Isn’t that just too convenient?
Yes, I know that I’ve lost all perspective on the book in my hate, so I will admit here that my point number 4 seems less valid in the light of something that Dr Dyke pointed out to me. He reminded me that Mary Shelley’s mother was Mary Wollenstonecraft and the monster could be construed as a symbol of the new Industrial Age and Science stealing and subverting the natural ability of women, birth. I’m embarrassed to say that I missed this considering how much evidence for this idea can be found in the very descriptions that Mary gives of the monster and the moment of his awakening, which closely mirror the birth of a baby.
Being peculiarly interested in gender roles, this strikes me as something important. So what if the whole thing isn’t about factories and God-complexes, but is about something far closer to home? Does it have more value as feminist literature than the typical horror accolades it receives?
12 Responses to “Frankenstein”
This seems to be a lot different from the Frankenstein movies were the monster is the bad guy, from your description the doctor seems to be the villain and an annoying one at that.
My disclaimer: It has been years since I’ve read this novel and I have not had time to double check the facts that are scattered in my head; so, please consider this comment more of a brain-dump from the recesses of my frazzled mind then a well thought-out, factual reply to your post. When I read Frankenstein years ago I had some background of the author and I couldn’t help but look for parallels in the book. I knew who’s daughter she was. So, I was hoping at some time that one of the women would break the stereotype and do something heroic or at least something out of the norm, but my hopes were dashed. Mary Shelley’s husband, Percy Shelley, didn’t believe in marriage (although he married at least twice that I can remember) and he believed and practiced a form of “open marriage” with Mary. The other lady of his affection lived with them for some time. Mary Shelley had, I think, four babies and only one lived to adulthood with most of the children passing at a young age. She had at least one miscarriage and once she almost died after giving birth. I also remember a story of one of the babies dying in her arms as they searched or waited for a doctor. All this being said, I can’t remember if the idea of open marriage or non-marriage or man/women romantic roles were ever addressed in the novel. I may have brain-dumped that just as an interesting fact. The idea of creating a being, particularly a very strong being, unconventionally may have been on Mary’s mind for some time given her history. I have to say, overall, I shared your dislike for the book. I would be interested in re-reading it now though given that I (supposedly) am wiser and more mature.
Here is where I admit that I have never seen a Frankenstein movie in it’s entirety. Only clips…and I fell asleep about a third of the way into Rocky Horror Picture Show. However, the clips from movies that I’ve seen, they do seem to differ greatly from the canon of Shelley’s work.
Well, I mostly meant that it might be seen as feminist in that the men are useless, because the women in the novel are ridiculous. Okay, so there is really only Elizabeth who, to be frank, just seems like a patsy, nice, but a patsy.
Actually, I think that is what I really dislike about this novel is that the characters don’t move me to love or hate. I mostly got a you-are-so-irritating-I-would-throw-shoes-at-you-if-could feeling. I couldn’t even be happy that he got what he deserved.
Thank you, I’ve recently been looking for details about this topic for ages and yours is the best I’ve located so far.
I have a friend who’s been in an open marriage now for 2 years and they both seem happy.
I have fun with, lead to I found exactly what I used to be looking for. You have ended my 4 day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
Absolutely what i thought… and you got an awsum blog buddy..
I have seen movies based on Frankenstein books, i am very much sure this book will be same interesting as their movies are.
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