Frankenstein

I read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for one of my literature courses last year and I wasn't very impressed by it. So when it cropped up as reading material for a different class I'm taking this year, I jumped at the chance to try it again and to hopefully change my opinion of it.

Unfortunately that didn't happen exactly as I would have liked it to. I still dislike it as a whole, but I think reading it a second time around has allowed me to notice things I didn't notice before, and thus I can safely say that I appreciate it a lot more (you don't have to like something to appreciate it do you?)

My main issue with this book is the writing style. I feel like Shelley writes really slowly. That probably doesn't make much sense to you, so let me try to explain what I mean...
The concept of the plot (a mad scientist creates a terrible monster and shit goes down as the body count goes up!) initially sounds so exciting. However, it takes so long to get to the juicy, exciting bits that by the time we reach them, they don't pack a punch and I've lost interest. During the novel the monster kills some of the characters (should have warned you, but *spoiler alert*) and even that didn't feel as exciting as it should have! We, as the reader, do not experience the killing from the monster's point of view, we only hear about it from the narrator. That was disappointing for me because I really wanted to see them! (What does that say about me I wonder?) But I guess that since the narrator wasn't there, we are not either. The novel is often labelled as a gothic horror story, and so as I was reading it I really expected (and wanted) to feel scared, but it just fell a little flat.

Yet saying all that, as I read the novel a second time I was able to notice, and pay more attention to, the social commentary that Shelley provides. One of the main themes of the novel is technology and the abuse of it. Victor Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, is obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge (remind you of anyone...Faust perhaps?) He is fueled by his own pride and personal gain. He can not see the consequences of creating such a monster until it is too late. Maybe we can see some parallels between how Victor uses science and technology in the novel and the way we use it now? Many people feel that science today has gone too far. It defies and manipulates the laws of nature into things that are obscene, just like Frankenstein does when he creates life. Perhaps Shelley is warning us against getting too carried away with our desire to control and manipulate the natural world and the natural order of things. Otherwise Frankenstein's downfall could be our own...

And with that dark thought, I shall end this blog entry. Until next time!