Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic novel, “Frankenstein,” is used as a way of exploring the darkness of the human condition. Shelley uses the unique narrative structure of ‘Frankenstein’ to help readers understand not only the creature and Frankenstein, but also ourselves. Through different speakers, readers learn that there is always a reason; a driving passion, that motivates characters to become or display certain characteristics. As Shelley continually refers to the struggle between nature and man, readers understand the similarity of themselves; science is the magnanimous structure foreshadowing monstrosities and nature is the conscious telling right from wrong. Finally, it makes us consider if furthering scientific frontiers is really the direction the world needs to be heading in.

Initially, readers perceive Frankenstein’s “catastrophe” as a hell bent creature fuelled by “revenge and hatred”, but it is the unique narrative structure that provides insight into the reasons for the creature’s motives and infinite desolation. As the creature tells Frankenstein of how he was “benevolent; (his) soul glowed with love for humanity”, readers understand that there must have been some sort of external force that drove the creature to becoming a monster. The instant that the creature was animated to life he was shunned, considered a “breathless horror.” The creature’s narrative enables readers to understand the it was “the barbarity of man” that forced him into becoming monstrous and inspired his motives for revenge. Through the novel, readers gain the insight that they too are always driven by something other than themselves. Readers understand that before they judge one on their actions, they must first hear their story and consider their motives.

Through the use of ‘Frankenstein’, Shelley explains the duality of human kind through the metaphor of nature and man. Nature, a “region of beauty and delight” is a representation of the love and kindness present in all