The Biblio Blogazine

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
Fiction, Page lengths and publishers vary

I always include a book cover with my reviews. I also try to use one that is identical to the particular edition I’ve read. That being said, I don’t always care for them, and wouldn’t mind using another. However, even though this one isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as others, it seems so highly representative of the story.

A man alone standing upon a pinnacle – or is it a precipice? A metaphor perhaps for mankind itself during that time in history when this book was written.

Many great minds have had noble ideas of how to use science and technology to benefit humanity. However, what are the consequences? And are we ready to accept the responsibility of facing those them if they are negative? When do morals and ethics come into play?

Frankenstein is the story of a man who chooses to run from this responsibility. And in doing so, sets into motion a chain of events that eventually costs him more than he is willing to pay. He had worked so hard on what he wanted, he lost sight of what he was actually doing, and not until the result was staring him in the face, did realization begin to set in:

The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardor that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room.

Soon after, he has a nervous breakdown and decides to move on, trying to forget the life he created. I hesitate to use the word monster. In the beginning, he was merely a being who only craved companionship. After constantly being denied this, rejected continually by those who feared him simply because of his appearance, did hate begin to grow and thus create the “monster” we all think of when one uses the word “Frankenstein”.

In his own words:

You…seem to have a knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes. But, in the detail which he gave you of them, he could not sum up the hours and months of misery which I endured, wasting in impotent passions. For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; still I desired love and friendship, and, I was still spurned. Was there no injustices in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all human kind sinned against me…I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice.

Yes, he was a monster, one made through the experience of rejection: not creation.

I cannot help but feel that this is what makes many “monsters” of the modern age. How perception, prejudice, rejection, bullying can turn anyone against his fellow man. It’s been nearly 200 years since this book was written, but how much has human nature really changed since then?

I must admit, this is a difficult book to read. Not for the subject matter, but for the language. Since I love historical fiction and 19th Century literature, I’m not too put off with the style; however some may struggle with it.

Other than that, I cannot find fault at all with the story. The only reason it is not getting higher marks from me is that this is not a book that can be read in one sitting, or one that had me so entranced that after putting it down, it was all I thought about until I could return. Based on this, I am giving it 3 Stars and a high recommendation for anyone who wishes to read the real story of Frankenstein.

I would also recommend reading the story behind its writing, as it is just as interesting as the novel itself.