Frankenstein

Mary Shelley was the original author of Frankenstein. As a kid growing up, I saw a variety of movies with Frankenstein but I never picked up the book to read. It wasn't until my son-in-law were having one of our many intriguing conversations about what we were reading or have read when our discussion turned to Frankenstein. Somewhere in our discussion, I told him I wouldn't be interested in the book because its about a monster that was created by a mad-scientist who then kills people. Based upon the Frankenstein movies I watched as a young lad, I had little interest to read the book Frankenstein. My son-in-law assured me that the plot of the book was no where near that of any Frankenstein movie and that the characters in the book had more depth. A week later, Sean bought the book and gave it to me as a gift and assured me I would like the book.

The book sat for some time before I picked it up and cracked the spine. The first few chapters dragged but as the characters developed and the plot thickened the chapters quickly flew by. I found that the "old" language of the 1700 - 1800's slowed me down quite a bit as I read.

As I eluded to earlier, the book was nowhere near any of the movies or built-up impressions I had about Frankenstein. As I read the book, I discovered that the individual who created the living creature from body parts of dead people was actually Mr. Frankenstein. The creature that was brought to life looked hideous mainly because he was created from body parts from a large number of dead or decaying bodies. I also discovered that Mr. Frankenstein was a man who enjoyed learning. I'd say he was borderline obsessive when it came to learning something. Once he set his mind on learning something, he devoted every waking moment uncovering its secret. One of those things he wanted to learn about was what made life. This is what lead him to discover how to create life from death.

Once the monster came to life, Mr. Frankenstein was so offended by its hideousness, he ran away. As time passed, this created creature sought out his creator seeking his acceptance. The creature was rejected by humans and rejected by his creator. The creature then sought out revenge upon his maker to entice him to create a mate who would care for him for who he was. Mr. Frankenstein, the creature's creator, would not concede. Therefore on Mr. Frankenstein's wedding night, the creature killed his wife. Mr. Frankenstein then sought out and hunted the creature in hopes to remove it from the human race.

The last chapters of the book recall the chase. Mr. Frankenstein goes to all ends of the earth (or at least near the northern end of the earth) seeking the monster. Frankenstein dies on a ship up in the Northern Hemisphere. However, before he dies he shares his life story with the captain of the ship. When all is said and done, the story you actually are reading is the life of Mr. Frankenstein as told by the ship's captain.

I really enjoyed this book and will read other classic novels because of this reading experience. Reading this book made me realize how much movies have influenced the way I perceive as well as believe something should be. Lastly, Mr. Frankenstein as well as the creature referred to three books throughout the novel. These three books apparently had a profound effect on the way both Mr. Frankenstein and the creature viewed their world. Those three books were: 1) Paradise Lost, 2) The Sorrows of Young Werther, and 3) Parallel Lives. Incidentally Mary Shelley read these three books prior to writing Frankenstein, thus influencing the development of the characters as well as the plot. In the near future, I plan to read these three books and see how they connect with Frankenstein. In fact, my son-in-law and I will be reading Paradise Lost together over the Christmas break. I'm sure we will have some lively and intriguing conversations. Here's to the journey!