Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus

I always think about that title, but I try not to get too analytical, since I just want to enjoy the story…

Frankenstein is a fantastic story.  Mary Shelley’s writing is fluid and eloquent.  This is the second time I’ve read Frankenstein and I loved it every bit as much now as I did the first time I read it.  I first read Frankenstein over a decade ago for a class in University.  Back then, I thought I knew the story of Frankenstein, but I didn’t.  If you haven’t read the book, you don’t know…  There’s a mad scientist, of a sort, but he’s not old.  He’s quite young.  I think he’s only 19 when he decides to create “the creature.”  The scientist’s name is Victor Frankenstein.  Frankenstein never gives his creature a name.  He just refers to him as his creation or the daemon, or some other negative term.  By Victor Frankenstein’s end, the ship captain that he is telling the story to says he looks old and frail, but it must come from what Frankenstein endured.  This second time reading the story, I found myself thinking about how old he was.  Really, I think he might not have been out of his twenties.  

There is romance and tragedy throughout Frankenstein.  There is a lot of death, lost love and remorse.  Sometimes I think, if Frankenstein had started out by taking responsibility for his actions, so much life could have been saved.  Instead he blamed the creature and his madness.  I sympathized with him, but I also found him frustrating (in a good way).  Shelley also created a sympathetic antagonist with Frankenstein’s creature.  He speaks so eloquently, he is intelligent and thoughtful.  He may look hideous, but he does not start out “demonic”.  He longs for companionship, but no one can get past his appearance.

I kind of wonder what happened to Victor’s brother, Ernest….  I’m also left wondering the true fate of the creature… and the ship captain.

Frankenstein is one of my favourite books.  I think I’ll still be reading it in the future.  Shelley wrote an enduring and inspiring piece of fiction that I will be recommending for years.