Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley (1797 – 1851) was an English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley.

PLOT:
The novel tell the story of a brilliant student ofchemistry, Victor Frankenstein, who discovers the secret of giving life to inanimate matter and decide to create a living being from parts of dead bodies. The creature he generates has supernatural strength and horrible appearance, inspiring fear and disgust in whoever sees him. Becoming more and more lonely and miserable, the creature turn into a destructive and homicidal being who is beyond hiscreator’s control. Feeling abandoned after Frankenstein refuses to provided him with a female companion, he takes revenge by murdering his brother, his friend and his bride Elizabeth. Frankenstein follows him to the Arctic in order to destroy him, but he dies in pursuit.

Characters:

Victor Frankenstein  -  The protagonist and narrator of the main portion of the story. Victor discovers the secretof life and creates an intelligent but grotesque monster, from whom he recoils in horror. Victor keeps his creation of the monster a secret, feeling increasingly guilty and ashamed as he realizes how helpless he is to prevent the monster from ruining his life and the lives of others.

Victor changes over the course of the novel from an innocent youth fascinated by the prospects of science intoa disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to destroy the fruits of his arrogant scientific endeavor. Whether as a result of his desire to attain the godlike power of creating new life or his avoidance of the public arenas in which science is usually conducted, Victor is doomed by a lack of humanness. He cuts himself off from the world and eventually commits himself entirely to an animalisticobsession with revenging himself upon the monster.

The monster -  The eight-foot-tall, ugly creation of Victor Frankenstein. Intelligent and sensitive, the monster attempts to integrate himself into human social patterns, but all who see him shun him. His feeling of abandonment compels him to seek revenge against his creator.

The monster is Victor Frankenstein’s creation, assembled from oldbody parts and strange chemicals, animated by a mysterious spark. He enters life eight feet tall and enormously strong but with the mind of a newborn.

Abandoned by his creator and confused, he tries to integrate himself into society, only to be shunned universally. Looking in the mirror, he realizes his physical grotesqueness, an aspect of his persona that blinds society to his initially gentle,kind nature. Seeking revenge on his creator, he kills Victor’s younger brother. After Victor destroys his work on the female monster meant to ease the monster’s solitude, the monster murders Victor’s best friend and then his new wife.
While Victor feels unmitigated hatred for his creation, the monster shows that he is not a purely evil being. The monster’s eloquent narration of events (asprovided by Victor) reveals his remarkable sensitivity and benevolence. He assists a group of poor peasants and saves a girl from drowning, but because of his outward appearance, he is rewarded only with beatings and disgust. Torn between vengefulness and compassion, the monster ends up lonely and tormented by remorse. Even the death of his creator-turned-would-be-destroyer offers only bittersweetrelief: joy because Victor has caused him so much suffering, sadness because Victor is the only person with whom he has had any sort of relationship.

Robert Walton  -  The Arctic seafarer whose letters open and close Frankenstein. Walton picks the bedraggled Victor Frankenstein up off the ice, helps nurse him back to health, and hears Victor’s story. He records the incredible tale in a series of...