Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

Reviews tagging 'Islamophobia'

Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley

23 reviews

salma101's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lilacerie's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it🏔️🌌”

Frankenstein is a sweeping, gothic delight that provides interesting insight into human nature + the depth of human cruelty. I honestly found myself able to discuss it at length with lots of people around me because the themes presented are so engaging. It depicts what it means to be Othered through the creature and is an exploration of the conflict between all-consuming individualistic pursuits of greatness and the human need for community, connection and love. Victor’s rejection of community is what ultimately led to his downfall and that same lack of love and care is what he cursed his Creature child to. What I found particularly poignont and painful is Victor’s positioning as a failed parent and the Creature’s as his scorned child. It was so heart-wrenching and beautifully executed. I thought I enjoyed the sections centered on Victor, but when I first read from the Creature's perspective, I was utterly swept away. Reading about him lumbering through the forest awkwardly with the senses of a confused child cut deep and the depth of loneliness experienced by his character is rendered in dazzling clarity in Shelley's atmospheric prose. Something that stuck with me is the solace both characters found in the natural world, and I felt a pang of heartbreak thinking about how both father and cursed son wandered through the world with only the moon and the mountains for company.

This is one of my favourite books but I’m knocking off a star for the deeply orientalist portray of Safie sometimes called ‘The Arabian’ like she’s a sought after breed of horse and her father who is only referred to as ‘the Turk’, ‘the treacherous Turk’ or ‘the unfortunate Muhammadan’. I’d recommend reading Sauleha Kamal’s
‘ Muslim Women and the Victim/Seductress Binary in Frankenstein and “Alastor” ’ for more on this. As a Muslim woman, this subplot left a bad taste in my mouth but I don’t expect much from Mary Shelley considering that she’s an upper class, white Victorian woman whose mother was literally Mary Wollstonecraft (Wollstonecraft’s ideas of women’s liberation in relation to 'Eastern women' have racist, orientalist underpinnings).

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orchidlilly's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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wolfgirl's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It was fine until the islamophobia

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celisabeth's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Things don’t go as planned for Dr. Frankenstein, and his creature (aptly named The Creature) turns against him. What I will say is this: Frankenstein has been told and retold since its publication, but one thing that is certain, is that the original novel is not so much about fear or horror or monsters, but what happens when a living thing becomes lonely. After learning more about Shelley’s life, it becomes clear that The Creature’s monologues come from a very personal place. In many ways, Shelley is The Creature. She did not ask to be made. She did not ask for the pressures put on her by her parents. She didn’t ask to be born into a world where sadness, loneliness, and rejection rule. She also didn’t ask to be a woman in the 19th century, without many options. At the time, women were supposed to be wives and mothers, and (in her mind) Shelley couldn’t even do that properly.

Shelley works through her feelings of loneliness through her writing. But, she wasn’t allowed to claim her work the first time it was published due to her sex. It was published anonymously with a short introduction by her husband. Many thought that the novel was written by Percy, and he didn’t seem to mind taking credit for it. The second edition did give credit where credit was due, and Mary Shelley’s name was on the cover. Interestingly enough, when critics found out it was written by a woman, harsh reviews began to surface which criticized the novel, with a few publications refusing altogether to comment on the novel. But despite the harsh reviews, Frankenstein was an instant success and has remained largely read and studied since the 19th century.

For me, it’s important to remember that Mary Shelley was just 18 years old when she wrote her masterpiece. It speaks on the hardships and melancholy that come along with being a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. She was trying to find her place in a world that was very difficult for a young woman. She was trying to express her feelings in a way that felt right. And, I think, if we take a closer look at Frankenstein, we can all recognize that we have a Creature living inside of us.

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