A review by sarful
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
5.0
A classic for a reason.
Armed with man’s arrogance, lack of foresight and visions of fame, Victor Frankenstein adventures to use his education and imagination to reanimate a human life. He creates his “monster”, hideous in size and aesthetics, and runs away from it, in shame.
Told in epistolary form, we see Frankenstein hounded by his own creation until he’s nothing but regret, sorrow, loss and deathly ill. But, really, my sympathies went to his monster, fiend, but ultimately a sad creature. Left alone when he awakes, the creature is horribly shunned in fear by all he encounters. He watches a family from afar and falls in love with them, learns from them, but once they see him, he’s shunned again. Everywhere he goes, the only thing he craves, love, is violently pulled from his grasp. Until finally, he’s filled with revenge for his creator, violent revenge.
And while what happens to Frankenstein is pretty terrible, he really did lead himself straight to where he ends up, miserable and alone, just like his creation. Only really, in the end at least Victor had been loved and even at his death had a friend. Compassion shouldn’t have been so hard to feel for Frankenstein, I mean geez.
Obviously, Frankenstein is mankind, willing to create anything he imagines, but often unwilling to accept its consequences. As relevant today as it was when published.
Armed with man’s arrogance, lack of foresight and visions of fame, Victor Frankenstein adventures to use his education and imagination to reanimate a human life. He creates his “monster”, hideous in size and aesthetics, and runs away from it, in shame.
Told in epistolary form, we see Frankenstein hounded by his own creation until he’s nothing but regret, sorrow, loss and deathly ill. But, really, my sympathies went to his monster, fiend, but ultimately a sad creature. Left alone when he awakes, the creature is horribly shunned in fear by all he encounters. He watches a family from afar and falls in love with them, learns from them, but once they see him, he’s shunned again. Everywhere he goes, the only thing he craves, love, is violently pulled from his grasp. Until finally, he’s filled with revenge for his creator, violent revenge.
And while what happens to Frankenstein is pretty terrible, he really did lead himself straight to where he ends up, miserable and alone, just like his creation. Only really, in the end at least Victor had been loved and even at his death had a friend. Compassion shouldn’t have been so hard to feel for Frankenstein, I mean geez.
Obviously, Frankenstein is mankind, willing to create anything he imagines, but often unwilling to accept its consequences. As relevant today as it was when published.