Awakenings: Frankenstein

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Frankenstein

This Day in History: March 11, 1818

Frankenstein 1831 (Illustration)
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

What comes to mind when you hear the name Mary Shelley? Of course, if I asked the same question but referenced Frankenstein instead, you might get a clearer mental image. It is like comparing Bram Stoker to Dracula.

Mary Shelley shaped our imagination when she penned Frankenstein, which is considered to be one of the earliest examples of science fiction. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen. The novel was not only completed but also published by the time she was twenty years of age. No one knew the true identity of the author when the first edition was published in London. In 1818, Frankenstein, subtitled the Modern Prometheus debuted as a new novel from an anonymous author.

The woman who gave the world Frankenstein and wife of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of few women whose marriage to another writer has not overshadowed her own literary achievement. That’s hardly surprising – the 1818 classic is a major contribution to the Gothic genre and arguably the first science fiction novel in English literature. It’s also gripping, original and genuinely frightening. Still, it wasn’t shaped in a vacuum, and neither was its creator. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, as she was born, was surrounded by literary and political influences that can be traced throughout her remarkable career, and nowhere more clearly than Frankenstein.
Source: Mary Shelley and the Birth of Frankenstein, Part 1

Volume I, first edition
Image Souce: en.wikipedia.org

While Mary Shelley may have given birth to Frankenstein, many different 'Frankensteins' have appeared within his realm of horror for almost 200 years. The public cannot get enough of Frankenstein. Even with our kids it is often the start of a new day as they chow down on a bowlful of Franken Berry Cereal.

When Mary Shelley wrote the book, her vision of the 'monster' and the monster depicted through the years since its publishing has changed dramatically. Has any one of the horribly disfigured human beings become sexy? Perhaps. Has he stolen your heart at any point in time? Definitely a possibility. But, when compared to other monsters, Frankenstein is certainly the least sexy. He is not mysterious nor does he have the dark glamor of vampires. He definitely lacks the animal magnetism of werewolves.

When you hear the name Frankenstein, what picture comes to your mind?