Frankenstein (Enriched Classics)

As I read the novel I thought always of how much better it could have been. Mary Shelley wrote that she originally conceived "a few pages -- of a short tale" but that Percy urged her to develop the story at greater length (p. 283). Mary should have stuck to her instincts. The book is way too long; it would have been much better as a short story.

Moreover, the entire tale of the monster is ludicrous. We never learn anything about how the monster is created, but he certainly is a fast learner! The monster runs away from Victor Frankenstein and hides for several months, living off the land. From where he hides he observes a family's comings and goings. While hidden, he somehow gains the equivalent of a university education, reading Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and the Sorrows of Werter (p. 151). Then he flies into a murderous rage and demands that Victor create him a mate. When the monster realizes that Victor is stalling in the girlfriend-production department, he turns his rage toward Victor, follows him across many lands, and carves long, threatening messages into trees and rocks (pp. 253-254).

The silly monster story might have been easier to take if the novel had left open the possibility that the monster did not exist. For most of the book, such a possibility is open. The entire novel is a series of stories within stories. Robert Walton, the Arctic explorer, writes letters to his sister. The reader's vantage point is that of Robert's sister. Victor tells Robert his story, which Robert passes on to his sister. Victor hears the monster's story and passes it on to Robert, who passes it on to his sister; likewise, with letters Victor receives from his father and sister; and so on. For almost the entire book, all that Robert knows about the monster is what he has heard from Victor. The better ending to the novel would have been for the monster never to appear except in Victor's version of events. In that way Robert, his sister, and consequently the reader would have been left with a choice about whether to believe Victor's kooky monster story or instead to believe that Victor either made it all up or is delusional. Unfortunately, that choice is foreclosed when the monster makes an appearance on board Robert's ship at the end of the book (pp. 270-275).

In "Frankenstein," Mary Shelley claims that one needs to be careful at decision because according to the decision awful consequence comes. The main character, Frankenstein, decides to make creature that is similar with human being when he only has shallow knowledge about what he is going to make. Due to the fact that he builds monster with carelessness, he can't handle his beast and the creature kills his youngest brother, Williams. Also, he determines to chase monster when he is filled with rage toward the creature. He can't have proper thoughts about what he comes to conclusion. He follows the monster up to North Pole and dies. However, when he has lots of time to think about the problem and is prudent, he comes to a right decision. He have doubts about his experiment to make female monster and decides to destroy it, because it can be harmful to society. Therefore, not to face dreadful results, individual needs to spend enough time and be careful when he makes decisions.

I'm probably biased, because I hate the romantic period for its namby-pamby emotional fireworks, and I think Frankenstein epitomizes that. Everything is so dramatic to the point of being histrionic, and annoyingly so. Honestly, the author's life and the inspirations for the novel were a lot more interesting than the novel itself, which was neither scary nor emotionally involving. If anything, I felt little besides sheer ire toward the protagonists. This book awakened my schadenfreude. Unless you have to read it for school or something, stick to the legend of Frankenstein as the monster, not his creator.

Mary Shelley had a great idea for Frankenstein... creation vs. creator is always an interesting topic, but Frankenstein is as dull as it gets! I had to read this book for school and I could barely get through it- the plot goes nowhere, and important parts of the book, such as the creation of the 'monster' happen very quickly. I had expected to read a true classic, but after reading it, I suggest watching one of the many movie versions despite their differences from the book.

I bought this book and I have had problems with the version. I have reason to believe that this is the original version from 1818, although many schools call for Shelley's revised 1831 version. However, the version isn't stated anywhere in the book.

Subtle differences in the two texts include Elizabeth's relation to Victor (she is a cousin in this novel, an orphan in the 1831 version), the chapter organization (part of this version's chapter 1 is the other's chapter 2), and various other minor occurences (in the other version, Victor and Walton discuss the seriousness of the journey and the possible loss of sailors, which doesn't occur in the 1818 book).

If you are buying this book for school, I would advise checking version's because the subtle differences can really mess you up on tests and reading checks.