Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

Title: Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

Author: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Published in: 1818

Date read: 30th August 2004

Score: 5/5

Genre: Horror, Classic, Thriller

Plot: (Warning, may contain spoilers):
"Frankenstein: The 1818 Text" by Mary Shelley is a foundational work of Gothic literature and science fiction, exploring themes of creation, ambition, responsibility, and the consequences of playing God.

The novel begins with a series of letters from Robert Walton, an ambitious explorer on an expedition to the North Pole. He writes to his sister, detailing his journey and his desire to achieve something great for mankind. During his voyage, Walton encounters a nearly frozen and emaciated man, Victor Frankenstein, adrift on an ice floe. Walton rescues him, and as Victor slowly recovers, he begins to recount his extraordinary and tragic story to the sympathetic captain.

Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant and ambitious young student of science, leaves his idyllic home in Geneva to study at the University of Ingolstadt. Obsessed with discovering the secrets of life and death, he dedicates himself to the pursuit of reanimating dead matter. Working in isolation and secrecy, he painstakingly constructs a being from various body parts, driven by the dream of creating a new, beautiful race. However, upon animating his creation, he is repulsed by its hideous appearance and immediately abandons it, fleeing in horror.

The Creature, intelligent and articulate despite its terrifying appearance, is left alone to navigate a hostile world. It attempts to integrate into human society, observing a kind family, the DeLaceys, from afar and learning language and human emotions. However, every attempt to approach humans results in terror, rejection, and violence due to its monstrous appearance. The Creature's initial benevolence turns to bitter resentment and a thirst for revenge against its creator for abandoning it and condemning it to a life of solitude and misery.

The Creature tracks Victor down and confronts him, recounting its suffering and demanding that Victor create a female companion, promising to leave humanity alone if his request is granted. Victor reluctantly agrees, beginning work on the second creature, but he is ultimately overcome by fear of the potential consequences of creating a race of monsters and destroys his work in progress.

This act irrevocably turns the Creature's pain into murderous rage. It vows revenge, systematically destroying everything Victor holds dear. It murders Victor's younger brother, William; frames his beloved family friend, Justine Moritz, leading to her execution; and finally, on Victor's wedding night, murders his new bride, Elizabeth Lavenza. Each act of violence leaves Victor a broken man, consumed by guilt and a desperate desire for vengeance.

The narrative culminates in a relentless pursuit across continents, with Victor chasing the Creature to the frozen wastes of the Arctic, driven by a desire to destroy his creation, even as his own health deteriorates. The novel explores the profound moral questions surrounding scientific progress, the responsibilities of a creator, the devastating impact of societal prejudice, and the tragic cycle of revenge. Victor dies on Walton's ship, still pursuing his creation, leaving Walton to contemplate the chilling legacy of Frankenstein's ambition.

Comments:
This is an ultimate horror story that was written in a timeless fashion. This should be read by everyone interested in horror.

Books that we've read by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1):
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (1818)