“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.”
WHEW!
This novel is much more than any adaptation I’ve seen. Themes include, but are not limited to, family, creation, nature, alienation, prejudice, danger of knowledge, loss of innocence, and revenge.
I’ll try to summarize using all the above themes without giving too much away.
Frankenstein, like everyone else, does not hide how horrified he is of this being he has brought to life. The creature is insightful and empathic, but the more it learns about the oppressiveness of humanity, including Islamophobia – a topic I never imagined would be discussed in this book – the more its hopes for acceptance based on outward appearances are dashed. Being harshly judged for its looks forces the creature into isolation, and it has to rely on nature for survival. All it wants is to connect to other beings, but its creator refuses to help, so the creature, knowing how important family is to Frankenstein, endeavors to condemn him to a life of alienation as revenge.
Bookish Thoughts
Dan Stevens’ realistic portrayals of the characters brought this classic to life. You can hear the anguish in his creature’s voice as it tries to get Frankenstein to see how a life of solitude makes it miserable and malicious. Even though it threatens Frankenstein, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for it and disliking Frankenstein, who comes off as selfish.
Background
In 1816, when Shelley started writing a story about a scientist playing God and being terrified of his own creation, she just wanted to win a horror story contest against her husband Percy B. Shelley, her step-sister Claire, and their two friends Lord Byron and John William Polidori. She didn’t know that by publishing “Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus” in 1818 she would be widely considered the inventor of science fiction many years later.
Celebrate Sci-fi
Today is Science Fiction Day, a day we celebrate sci-fi writers like Shelley, who, at the age of 20, laid the ground work for Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells et al. with this thought-provoking tale.
Everyone should read/listen to this story at least once.
What sci-fi book or author is your favorite? What sci-fi book are you currently reading or would like to read?
The Bookishevy Book Blog 