Monstrously Engaging: A Review of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’

Frankenstein is a classic horror/science fiction, that I never read or knew much about, but still I had high expectations coming in. It’s a different style of writing to what I’m used to and it’s probably why it was difficult for me to get into the story at first. The start is a little bit slow, coming from a man, Walton, sailing and sending letters of his travels to his sister, when he finds Frankenstein, a scientist lost at sea and helps him by welcoming him to his ship. Frankenstein starts telling Walton about his life in Switzerland to how he got there, explaining that he was studying science and his dream was finding a way to “beat” death and create life and when he succeeds,  he creates a monster that is so ugly and scary to see when he comes to life, that the scientist falls ill for months. Frankenstein then goes away and keeps in contact with his family with letters, until his father tells him that his brother William has been murdered and the culprit is Justine, which has been taking care of the children as a servant for some time. Victor (Frankenstein) goes back to Switzerland and sees for the first time after creating it the monster near the place where is brother was killed and he’s immediately convinced that he was the one that actually murdered him. The part that really got me interested in the story is the next, when the narrative shifts from Victor’s point of view, to the monster’s. Victor and the monster meet again after  their different travels and the creature starts his tale. Through his eyes we see a beautiful and philosophical tale of the human nature and its experience, seeing as the creature is slowly gaining a conscience and knowledge of the world. Because of his looks he hasn’t had the possibility to share it with anyone and we as the readers start to really empathize with him even when he recounts how his good nature has been ruined by the hatred in the men he has encountered. We discover that he did in fact kill William, because he was part of the family of the person who created him and left him alone to fend for himself. Victor, moved by his tale, promises the creature that he will create a female companion for him, but he soon realizes that he doesn’t know if she will comply with the monster’s promise to live far from humanity, so he destroys his latest creation. As a consequence, on his wedding night, the creature kills his wife and Victor swears he will have his revenge. He starts following him everywhere thanks to various witnesses and even clues left by the monster himself, until he ends up in Walton’s ship. At the end of the book, he’s too weak to even stand up to chase the creature when he’s sighted and dies. The monster, who was always nearby, goes to him and asks for forgiveness, committing suicide. 

Apart from being one of the first science fictions ever, this novel is interesting for its still contemporary morals. It explores several moral and ethical themes, including the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition and the consequences of playing God. It emphasizes the importance of responsibility and accountability for one’s actions, as well as the need to show empathy and compassion to those who are different or marginalized. The novel also underscores the harm of prejudice based on appearances and the devastating effects of revenge.