Week One: Frankenstein (6 points)

 

To be frank, I have always favored Mythological books over any other genre but after reading the story of “Frankenstein” I am already compelled to say that I have had the greatest pleasure of being assigned this enthralling novel.  I don’t believe I’ve ever read a novel this compelling and to ghastly overturn my previous perspective of the creature and his maker.  Thus beginning the novel I soon discover that there was much more to the tale of “Frankenstein” than a horrendous monster with bolts in his neck.

Mary Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” embodied many elements of The Gothic which well enhanced the grotesque and eerie themes.  Such as after learning of the Greek myth of “The Modern Prometheus” the similarities between both the God Prometheus and Dr. Victor Frankenstein are not hard to depict.  The God Prometheus who stole fire for man that sought out knowledge and power, was granted eternal punishment for his crimes against stealing sacred fire.  In relation, Dr. Frankenstein a young man who glorified his knowledge science meddle in the nature and creating life which in his ambitions in return created a series of tragedy’s and suffering not only for himself but those around him.  The tragic story and its unsettling descriptions evoke the gothic styles.  As I dived deeper into the novel I discovered more psychological elements than just the characteristics of the Gothic.  The monster at which Dr. Frankenstein had created not only entitled fear and destruction but had an underlying psychological disorder to the gothic theme.  I was pleasantly surprised that The monster wasn’t really “a monster” in my opinion at least.  It was clear from the beginning that The monster only sought out to be loved and have companionship to which his creator abandoned him at “birth.” Anger and selfishness dwells within the monster after being rejected constantly within the novel and it made me feel sympathy for such a beast.

 

In all honesty this novel took a turn I did not expect, it was intriguingly compelling and lured me in one chapter at a time.  I look forward in reading more fascinating stories further along the semester. J