Frankenstein

What is Frankenstein about?

The novel follows the tragic arc of Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist who discovers the secret of reanimating dead tissue. The narrative is structured as a series of nested accounts, beginning with Captain Robert Walton's letters to his sister from an Arctic expedition. Walton rescues a dying Victor, who then recounts his history. At the University of Ingolstadt, Victor’s obsession with natural philosophy leads him to construct an eight-foot-tall being from scavenged body parts. However, the moment the creature awakens, Victor is struck by horror at its hideous appearance and abandons it.

Left alone, the creature becomes self-aware and eloquent but faces universal rejection due to its appearance. After witnessing the kindness of the DeLacey family and being violently rebuffed by them, the creature’s inherent goodness turns to vengeful rage. He murders Victor’s younger brother, William, and frames the family servant, Justine, for the crime. The creature eventually confronts Victor in the Alps, demanding that his creator build him a female companion. He promises to disappear into the South American wilderness if his request is granted. Victor initially agrees but later destroys the second creation, fearing that a new race of beings might endanger humanity.

In retaliation, the creature kills Victor’s best friend, Henry Clerval, and murders Victor’s bride, Elizabeth Lavenza, on their wedding night. These losses drive Victor into a state of single-minded vengeance, leading to a pursuit across Europe and into the Arctic. The story concludes back on Walton’s ship, where Victor dies from exhaustion. Shortly after, the creature appears in the cabin to mourn his creator. Identifying himself as a fallen angel rather than an Adam, the creature expresses deep remorse and vows to incinerate himself on a funeral pyre, disappearing into the darkness of the polar sea.

Who wrote Frankenstein?

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote the novel when she was eighteen years old during the 1816 'Year Without a Summer.' While staying at Lake Geneva with her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron, the group engaged in a ghost story competition sparked by the gloomy weather following a volcanic eruption. First published in 1818, the book reflects the tensions of the early nineteenth century, particularly the transition from Enlightenment rationalism to Romantic individualism. It engages with contemporary scientific experiments in galvanism and the ethical boundaries of the Industrial Revolution. Shelley, the daughter of feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin, infused the narrative with complex questions regarding social justice, education, and the duties of a parent toward a child. The work is often cited as a foundational text in the development of science fiction.