Frankenstein

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of savage hopelessness and immaculate prose.
Review: If a reader was to compare the macabre gothic darkness in the novels of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Phantom of the Opera, one would believe that the element of horror and depravity in each book would be on an equal standing. But the reader would be incorrect, for in respects to horror, somberness, trauma, deprivation of love, empathy and respect, Frankenstein towers above the others. It has a hybrid of excessive melancholy despair and disturbing horror. It is a work of literature where the gothic element is pushed to the zenith. Where Dracula is a novel of lust and physical intimacy, at its core, it is still a novel of love-however warped and disturbing it may be. Where the Phantom in Gaston Leroux's novel is a more well-rounded representative of human needs, Frankenstein really isn't. If anything he is a full throttled representation of anger and rage. And that is only one side of human dynamics. His is a living organism, created and plunked into the epicenter of humanity, a walking, thinking experiment that goes terribly awry. Frankenstein is not a creature of God-and perhaps therein is where the problem lies-but a concoction of man's arrogance and man's wickedness for unrepentant self-glorification. One could easily say that he is the genuine embodiment of the true son of Satan, albeit a human one. And that is truely appalling. He is the son of evil who is able to see and feel the horror of his own birth. How ironic! His abomination is both internal and external. Frankenstein obviously addresses numerous contemporary issues: the medical ethics of cloning, the wanton lack of family responsibility and the dangers that arise as a result of it, and lastly-the sometimes subtle, sometimes not-emotional evolution of humans into self-proclaimed gurus or demigods. Is there really a stark difference between Dr. Frankenstein and say, the megalomaniac Reverend Jim Jones of the People's Temple or Marshall Applewhite of Heaven's Gate? Dr. Frankenstein untimately comes to his senses when it is too late, but his desire for historical immortality via creative and scientific recklessness is no different then the hunger of contemporary, psychotic cultist gurus or tyrannical dictators-evil doers who are willing to go at any extreme in order to be remembered. Religion often plays a part in gothic works. The idea of a higher authority isn't always blatantly addressed, but its essence is surely felt. Dracula was at one point a human being who casts God to the side, makes his own decision and evolves into a horror of his own making. The phantom was a deformed being who, because of his skeletal appearance, was cast into the scummy bowls of Paris. But there was something that both of these characters had-and without sounding like a preacher-simply, they had God, a force whom they could turn to for strength and persistence. And what did Frankenstein have? A god, a father, a force who turned his back on him. Frankenstein is an especially sad novel, because the monster is truly alone in every sense of the word. He is a genetic calamity whereby only suicide could be his salvation. Mary Shelly incorporated many possibilities in this novel for the creature to find happiness, numerous inroads for human acceptance; a case-in point would be the various scenes with the creature's 'beloved' cottagers, but just when you think you have the progress of the story 'licked,' you are deceived and led down another road entirely: from hopelessness, to hope, to hopelessness, back to hope. Elegantly written and truly thought-provoking, Frankenstein is a novel that can't be limited in the things it has to say. A true classic.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent tale of good and evil
Review: I believe at the time that this was written, that readers were expected to come away from reading this book with a sense that people should not try to emulate God by creating their own life from scratch. And in such, readers were supposed to empathasize with the monster and shun the doctor. I had the opposite reaction. Initially I had pity for the monster but it slowly disolved as the story wore on. I felt pity for the doctor. I think this is one of the classic stories of good versus evil. And the fact that the interpretation of who is good and who is evil is up to each individual reader. And it's because of this that this is one of my favorite books of all time. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: The original Gothic horror classic
Review: Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" is one of the original Gothic horror classics, along with Bram Stoker's "Dracula."
If you only know "Frankenstein" from the movie versions, this book will come as a surprise. There is less detail on the creation, no criminal brain vs. normal brain, no Igor, no fabulous lightning storm, no bolts in the neck and no slow-moving gait.
In fact, Shelley's narrative begins with letters from an Arctic explorer, R. Walton, written to his sister. Walton's passion for exploration is explained and his quest for companionship detailed. Then, while his ship is trapped in the northern ice, he spots a creature crossing the ice. Following the creature is a weakened man in a broken sledge. Upon rescuing the man, Walton meets Victor Frankenstein, and so begins his tale.

We learn of Frankenstein's family background, upbringing in Geneva, early education and fascination with the nature of the world. Upon entering university, he expands his knowledge of physical science and chemistry. It is there that he begins construction of a being that he plans to bring to life. Through Frankenstein's narrative, we begin to see his descent into an obsessive madness, more manic than maniacal, a bi-polar disorder of the nth degree.

The assembly and bringing to life are kept vague, probably because Shelley herself lacked the scientific knowledge, but cleverly veiled by Frankenstein's own admission, lest another try to duplicate his work.

Dr. Frankenstein succeeds, and when the creature awakens, Frankenstein is so repulsed that he abandons the creature and flees his laboratory. He has a breakdown, and only the arrival of his best friend, Henry Clerval, brings him back to health.

What follows is Victor Frankenstein's demise through the machinations of the being he created.

I love Mary Shelley's language, so evocative of the time, full of color, passion and darkness. The voices are very distinct, and we get to hear the creature's story of what happened when he was thrust into the world, cast away by the hand that created him. The creature is far from the dull movie versions, in fact he is quite intelligent, mastering language by observing a family as he hides in a hovel next to their home, discovering the joys of music, and reading the work of John Milton.

But, he is alone and an outcast, and implores Dr. F to create a mate for him. The Dr. denies him this request, taking a moral high road lest he should unleash a family of demons upon the world.

There is so much to enjoy here, from the lush detail of the travels of both the Dr. and the creature. The range of emotions displayed by both make each sympathetic and pathetic at various stages. There is also the strong message about violating the natural order and trying to play God. One must be ready to face the consequences. This is a powerful story.

Rating:
Summary: Horrifying
Review: This book is scary - in a good way. As set apart from the typical notion of Frankenstein as a green monster with nails sticking out of his head, the true daemon was pale yellow, with flowing black hair. While many people have interpreted the novel in different ways, I feel it depicts three main points:

1) Excessive desire for knowledge is not a good thing, as it leads to a lower appreciation of the beauty of the world. As a child, Victor Frankenstein enjoyed looking on the beautiful mountains and hills of his native Switzerland, but then he got deep into science and the secret of life. And this led him to a gloominess in life, and a lack of wonder at the world. While working on creating the creature, he says, "It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful harvest, or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage: but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature."

2) Man's sinfulness always passes down to his creation, and the results are horrific. I am a Christian who believes man is sinful at heart, and I saw a dramatic illustration of this principle in Frankenstein. The sins of Victor Frankenstein passed down to his creature, and eventually it destroyed his friends, his family, and even himself. Says Frankenstein, "I considered the being whom I had cast among mankind, and endowed with the will and power to effect purposes of horror, such as the deed which he had now done [his murder of Frankenstein's brother], nearly in the light of my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me."

3) Man is responsible to care for the things he creates, or else the results are dreadful. Once Frankenstein breathed life into his creature, he immediately was struck with horror and regret at what he had done, and he abdicated his responsibility to guide it. The creature consequently turned into a miserable, vengeful brute. He says, "I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my natural lord and king if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other and trample upon me alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due. Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous."

I believe this novel is worth reading to gain a sense of horror at these points. It should lead us to continually appreciate the world's beauty, to always repent of our sin, and to take care of our creations, especially our children.

If you don't read the book for these points, then just read it for a good story. It's truly fantastic. :-)

Rating:
Summary: Tragic & Classic
Review: A tragic emotional Gothic tale of the classic mad scientist and the unnatural grotesque outcast. I feel contemptuous of Victor and extremely pitious of the monster. Poor soul, abhorred by all, including God (as Victor is his God). Some major themes in this book are Divine Nature, Passive weak women, and perhaps abortion. I see why it's a classic.

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Summary: Forget what you already think about Frankenstein.
Review: The image that most of us have when hearing the name "Frankenstein" is a huge lumbering monster with little or no intelligence. This is the image I had when first reading Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus." Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The story starts with letters between a man and his sister over his choice to explore the artic region. While trapped in ice, this main and the crew of his ship meet with the infamous Mr. Frankenstein. From here, Frankenstein tells the horrid story of how is attempt to play God backfired.
His story starts with young Frankenstein first leaving his home and the family and friend he loves so much. He is headed off to a university to study the natural sciences. During his time here, his reputation grows until he is one of the most respected members of the university. It is by chance that he happens to stumble upon the secret of creating life from that which is lifeless. After many months of solitude in his labratory, Frankenstein is able to successfully create a living being. The problem is that his creation is too hideous to behold. Frankenstein immediately shuns his creation as does the rest of society.
From here, Frankenstein gives the long account on how the creature came to be his ultimate tormentor, shadowing him wherever he travelled, giving Frankenstein's heart no time for rest.

What surprised me most about this story was just how human Frankenstein's creation was. He learned to speak and feel emotions just like a human being. He did not start out as an evil creature wanting to wreak havok on humans. It was society's reaction to him that drove him to vile actions. Even his "God," his creator, Mr. Frankenstein, had forsaken him. A lot of references to "Paradise Lost" by John Milton were thrown into the story which added an interesting parallel between the Judeo-Christian creation of man and Frankenstein's creation.

Before reading this book you should try to cast off any preconceived notions you have about Frankenstein. You won't find any dimwitted brutes in this story, only some extremely tormented individuals who are brought to the brink of madness.

Rating:
Summary: THE prototypical mad scientist/horror story.
Review: A story does not become as well-known and a part of the culture as this book has become without tapping in to some serious veins of the social subconscious. It is a fascinating idea, with a balance that allows for many hours of debate as to the relative merits of the monster and his creator, as well as the relative merits of the options facing Dr. Frankenstein, and whether the option he ultimately chose was the most ethical one or not. Still, much of the writing style itself is rather weak; there are places where it really shows that Shelley was only nineteen when she wrote it. Particularly given that the story is essentially told in the first person from the perspective of Dr. Frankenstein, in his voice, the fact that Shelley's dialogue is stilted and awkward is a real drawback. I realize that by the standards of 19th century fiction, the dialogue is not as poorly written as it would seem in a modern book, (dialogue was in general not a strong point in 19th century fiction) but even by those standards, the dialogue here is weak. Still, the concept is too good to rate less than four stars.

Rating:
Summary: Frankenstein, A Novel
Review: Having to read Frankenstein for my Freshman Honors Eng. Class, I thought it would be much more boring than it really is. The writings before the novel are splendid. As a novel,Frankenstein is an excellent book, not a Clancy, but detailed enough for me. Shelley's work on the novel is phenomonal.

The novel starts out with a man by the name of Robert Walton writing letters to his dearest. Soon enough, Frankenstein is rescued in an ice flow. Soon after Frankenstein is rescued, he comes to tell his tale.

I rate this book 4 stars.

Rating:
Summary: A complex, poignant examination of human nature
Review: Those who know Frankenstein only from movies and television may well be surprised to read the original book by Mary Shelley. Indeed, one may well look back to the cover to see if the book is in fact Frankenstein because the first pages consist of messages from an R. Walton to his sister concerning his expedition to the northern polar regions. Victor Frankenstein appears as a wretched creature stranded on an ice floe beside the ship. After he is rescued and recovers somewhat, he tells his incredible story to Walton, who in turn preserves the story in writing. Frankenstein reminisces about his happy childhood, particularly the close relationship between himself and his "cousin" Elizabeth, and then explains how his interest in discredited natural philosophy led him to create a living man of his own design. The creature is a hideous, misshapen, giant of a man who so disgusted Frankenstein upon his awakening that he fled his laboratory and residence. The creation process, it should be noted, in no way involved an elaborate machine powered by lightning such as is portrayed in the movies; in fact, beyond the fact that chemicals are involved, we are told nothing of the process. For two years, Frankenstein goes about life with a clinging sense of guilt and nervousness, hoping the creature has perished. When his little brother is murdered, though, he returns home and soon discovers that it was the monster who committed the deed. In an isolated mountainous area, the monster appears before him and explains his actions. Although the creature does nothing more than grunt in the movies, the original Frankenstein was possessed of great eloquence and intelligence, and he tells a moving story about his attempts to make a connection with a society that is revolted at the sight of him. He describes living in a small hovel at the back of a small house for many months, watching the interaction of the family inside, learning how to speak their language and eventually even learning how to read. When he eventually tries to interact with the family, he is assaulted and runs away, and it is at this point that his virtuous and peaceful nature begins to become inflamed into a torrent of hatred for mankind. When he rescues a girl from drowning, he is rewarded with a bullet in his shoulder. Each time he performs a good deed, mankind runs from him in disgust or attempts to harm him. Living in total isolation and loneliness, his one purpose in life eventually becomes tormenting his creator, and many terrible misfortunes ensue for Frankenstein, who himself eventually becomes dedicated to the sole purpose of destroying his tormentor.

Both Frankenstein and his monster are tragic figures. The complete alienation of the creature makes him a very sympathetic character in many respects, and he does perform many kind deeds for humans early on. Frankenstein is an utterly pitiable character utterly destroyed by his mad decision to create the monster; he burdens his soul with responsibility for every crime the monster commits, and his inability to tell anyone his secret for so long destroys him in body, mind, and soul; everyone and everything he cares for is taken from him by his horrible creation. His tendency to bemoan his fate at every turn of the narrative can get rather tiresome, but one cannot question the depth of his turmoil. Both creator and created seem to be mirror images of each other in important ways, their fates clearly tied to one another, each soul deserving both blame and pity. There is much about human nature, both good and bad, revealed in the monster's life as well as Frankenstein's; the novel is a far cry from horror for the sake of horror. This is actually a very complex, compelling story full of human pathos; it is unfortunate that modern media have turned Frankenstein's creature into a simple, heartless, mentally deficient monster for the sake of scares and laughs.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful, romantic sci-fi - a first!
Review: After seeing at least five versions of this tale in film - one of my great childhood monster loves - I was happy to finally read the novel. As so often occurs with classics, I was as surprised as I was fascinated.

For starters, the characters are far more subtle than any of the film versions: Victor F appears as a brooding and obsessed genius, but also as a great lover of life and nature. The monster, who is an articulate and literate creature who read Goethe, is even more interesting, from his hopeful beginning to his bitter reaction at rejection and his thirst for vengence. His eloquence was vivid and his pain horribly realistic.

But the work is also fascinating as a window into the mind of the Romantics, who at once strove to reject the rationalism of the Enlightenment yet reflected it. The creature starts off empty and what it becomes is due entirely to his experience. Knowledge is not always good, etc.

Finally, the themes are timeless and full of conflict: creativity giving birth to unimaginable destruction, tampering with nature as its necessities overwhelm even genius, and the like. THe book is a kaleidescope of philosophical reflection. The pain of the creator and the monster alike are inescapably linked like father and son.

I did find the style of the book a bit difficult. It is full of florid rhetoric and lengthy circumlocutions, as the doctor and then the monster tell their stories in almost identical prose.

Highly recommended.