Jamie’s Book # 18: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The fact that shocks me most about Frankenstein is that Mary Shelley began writing it when she was only 18 years old. The second fact that surprised me the first time I read it was that Frankenstein is the name of the man who creates the monster, not the monster itself.

In the novel, Victor Frankenstein is a wealthy young man who believes he is meant to do something great with his life. At his university, he is first ridiculed by his professors for his interest in outdated philosophers and alchemists, but quickly learns and excels in the modern sciences and earns the respect of his peers and mentors alike. While at school, he discovers the secret to creating life. To him, it is so plain he is shocked he is the first to figure it out.

From there, he spends the next few years making his theory a reality. On the day he succeeds and brings his experiment to life, he realizes it was all a great mistake. The first time his creation takes breath, he runs out of the house and hides in his courtyard all night.  The monster is described as “an 8-foot-tall, hideously ugly creation, with translucent yellowish skin pulled so taut over the body that it "barely disguised the workings of the vessels and muscles underneath"; watery, glowing eyes, flowing black hair, black lips, and prominent white teeth.”

For the sake of trying to keep this somewhat short, suffice it to say everything goes downhill for Frankenstein from here. The monster is born basically an overgrown infant, left to fend for himself in a world that despises him simply for the way he looks. He experiences great hardship and loss, and blames it all (rightfully so) on Frankenstein. He seeks revenge, and I guess I will stop here so I don’t give everything away for those who haven’t read it!

A few thoughts:

-Must be nice to go to school for years on end without having to worry about money and never needing to work a real job your whole life, Frankenstein

-Frankenstein is a coward up until the last, when he has lost everything and has nothing to do but chase the monster halfway across the world

-Rich people had a lot of opportunities to have nervous breakdowns and spend months in bed recovering

-Honesty is the best policy. Frankenstein should have fessed up from the start.

-I feel really sad for the monster, who had potential to do good

Anyway, I rate this an 8/10. It’s worth a read just to get the real story straight!