So let's begin by saying that I am currently discussing this novel in two different English classes. That's to be expected, right? I mean, it's a classic and a damn good one at that. Mary Shelley really did a lot here, and it's really more than any regular (Student) reader can understand in their first read through.
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| I never knew how much I needed to use this photo in an academic setting |
This is an introduction level course so we cover the surface level meaning of the story itself without having to rely too much on outside sources or reference material. It's pretty good alone with just that take...but it's not living up to its full potential that way.
M. Shelley wrote this piece at the height of romantic era poetry being made, her own husband one of the most famous poets of the time. Blake, Byron, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Goethe... she had quite a bit of human inspiration surrounding her, as well as the perilous and looming peaks of Mont Blanc. We have to look about a hundred years prior, however, to Milton's 'Paradise Lost' to find true reference and inspiration. I would even argue that this is the most famous 'fan-fiction' produced of all time, as it is Shelley's own take on PL that formed this novel.
Shelley parallels Frankenstein and his creation to the creation of Adam by God... man playing God, and that subsequent creation being monstrous and outside of what it was intended to be. The biggest twist in this piece is that where Adam had paradise and a lover, Eve, he still spurned the 'love' of his creator, ultimately forfeiting his own paradise. The creation of Frankenstein was 'born' despised by his master, and feared by the one who should have loved him. Even when asking for a partner Frankenstein began the process and the literally through it/her away at the last minute in front of his monster. I'd be a little pissed off too if I was this thing.
Adam and the creature are parallel side of a coin. This is what happens when you are born into an environment of hate instead that of love. Ultimately, however, were both not still miserable? But whereas Adam chased after God when he was thrown from his paradise, Frankenstein followed his creation into his own hell.
Crazy fork in a road there, am I right?
This story is very different than what I expected. It is my first reading and I am sure from what you are saying that I will read it again, and I look forward to it. I believe that Mary Shelley did an awesome job with this story and since she was in a contest with other people, it seems she took it way more serious than they did. I agree with you on the environment in which someone is born. If born into hate, as the creature was, the child will use their instincts which are good, but that can only go for so long. At a certain point, they will turn to hate and take that path since it is the only one being shown to them. It will seem as if they have no choice, because maybe they don't know there is any other choice to be had. Words in books are just that. Living is what makes those words real. You can read about love, but if you never feel it, it is not real.
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