Type of Work
.......Frankenstein is a Gothic novel with elements of science fiction.
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Frankenstein as a Gothic Novel
.......Frankenstein is a Gothic novel, a literary genre that focuses on dark, mysterious, terrifying events.
The story unfolds at one or more spooky sites, such as a dimly lit castle, an old mansion on a hilltop, a
misty cemetery, a forlorn countryside, or the laboratory of a scientist conducting frightful experiments. In
some Gothic novels, characters imagine that they see ghosts and monsters. In others, the ghosts and
monsters are real. The weather in a Gothic novel is often dreary or foul: There may be high winds that
rattle windowpanes, electrical storms with lightning strikes, and gray skies that brood over landscapes.
The Gothic novel derives its name from the Gothic architectural style popular in Europe between the
twelfth and sixteenth centuries. Gothic structures—such as cathedrals—featured cavernous interiors with
deep shadows, stone walls that echoed the footsteps of worshippers, gargoyles looming on exterior
ledges, and soaring spires suggestive of a supernatural presence.
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Frankenstein as Science Fiction
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.......Frankenstein contains elements of science fiction, a literary genre focusing on a fictional story of how
scientific experiments, discoveries, and technologies affect human beings for better or worse. Science
fiction differs from pure fantasy in that it presents events that appear to be scientifically plausible.
Traveling to another galaxy in a spaceship is scientifically plausible. Riding to the moon on a winged
horse is not scientifically plausible.
Publication
.......The London firm of Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones published Frankenstein in 1818
when the author, Mary Shelley, was in her early twenties. In 1831, the London firm of Henry Colby and
Richard Bentley published a revised edition with a new introduction by the author.
The Title and Its Meaning
.......The full title of the novel is Frankenstein: or the New Prometheus. It compares the protagonist, Victor
Frankenstein, to the Greek god Prometheus. Prometheus was the son of the gods Iapetus and Clymene,
both Titans. The Titans, led by Cronos, were the original rulers of the universe; they were later
overthrown by the Olympians, led by Zeus. .......The name Prometheus was formed from the Greek pro
(before) and methes (thinking); thus, his name means forethought. He is associated with the creation of
man from earth and water and with the bestowal on man of gifts that made him superior to animals. After
the Olympians became the supreme rulers of the universe, Prometheus continued to look out for the
welfare of human beings. Thus, when the time came to sacrifice animals to the ruling Olympians,
Prometheus reserved the choicest parts of animals for man and the fat and bones for the Olympians.
Zeus, the king of the Olympians, eventually discovered what was going on. In retaliation, he withheld fire
from man. Fire, of course, was essential for providing warmth, making tools, cooking food, and other lifesustaining activities. In turn, Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and returned it to man. Zeus then punished
Prometheus by chaining him to a rock on Mount Caucasus and sending down an eagle to feed constantly
on Prometheus’s liver. (To access the Greek play on this subject, click here.) Because Prometheus was
immortal, his liver restored itself every time the eagle ate of it. Thus, Prometheus suffered unrelenting,
everlasting torture. Zeus declared, however, that he would release Prometheus if Prometheus disclosed
to him knowledge he had of a plot against Zeus. But Prometheus defiantly refused to do so.
.......Ultimately, Hercules freed Prometheus.The comparison of Frankenstein to Prometheus is apt, for
three reasons. First, like Prometheus, Frankenstein became a creator. Second, Frankenstein also defied
heaven, for in making the monster he usurped power reserved for heaven alone. Third, Frankenstein
suffered greatly for this defiance. Ultimately, death freed him.
Settings
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.......The action in the novel takes place in (1) the city of Geneva in southwestern Switzerland, as well as
the surrounding countryside; (2) Ingolstadt, a city on the Danube River in south-central Germany, not far
from Munich; (3) the lower slopes of Mont Blanc, part of the Alpine mountain range on the border of Italy
and France; (4) cities and other locales in Germany and The Netherlands; (5) London and other English
towns; (6) the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland; (7) the Arctic regions north of Russia; (8) a ship in
the Arctic regions.
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Characters
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Victor Frankenstein: Young scientist consumed by a passion to discover and control the force that
sustains human life. After he animates his artificial, he has a profound change of heart in which he regrets
bringing his creature to life.
The Monster: Grotesque eight-foot creature. In a sense, he is a manifestation of the dark side of Victor
Frankenstein's soul.
Alphonse Frankenstein: Wealthy and generous father of Victor.
Caroline Frankenstein: Kind and loving mother of victor.
Elizabeth Lavenza: Adopted child of Alphonse and Caroline Frankenstein. She and Victor become
playmates as children and fall in love as young adults.
Henry Clerval: Loyal friend of Victor Frankenstein.
Robert Walton: Ship captain who takes Victor aboard in the Arctic. He listens to and writes down Victor’s
strange story.
Mary Walton Saville: Sister to whom Robert Walton writes his letters, which include an account of
Frankenstein's life. The initials of the fictional Mrs. Saville, M.W.S., are the same as those of the author of
Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
Justine Moritz: Frankenstein family servant falsely accused of murder.
William, Ernest Frankenstein: Younger brothers of Victor.
De Lacey: Blind man who lives with his son and daughter in a country cottage. He befriends the monster.
Felix, Agatha De Lacey: Son and daughter of the blind man. When they see the monster with their
father, they drive the monster off.
Professor Waldman: Victor’s chemistry instructor and advisor.
Professor Krempe: Professor whom Victor dislikes but who gives Victor sound advice.
Mr. Kirwin: Magistrate who arrests Victor as a suspect in the murder of Henry Clerval.
Madame Moritz: Mother of Justine. Because she does not get along with Justine, she allows the
Frankensteins to take her daughter in.
Peasant Family: Italian Family that cares for Elizabeth lives before the Frankensteins adopt her.
Narrative Approach
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as both a frame tale and an epistolary narrative. Following are
definitions of these terms:
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Frame Tale
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.......A frame tale is a story with a plot structure in which an author uses two or more narrators to present
the action. The first narrator sets the scene and reports to the reader the details of a story told by a
character. (In some frame tales, the first narrator reports the details of several stories told by several
narrators.) In Frankenstein, Captain Robert Walton—a minor character—is the first narrator. He sets the
scene and listens to the story told by Victor Frankenstein, the main character. All of the information
Walton reports to the reader is in the form of letters written to his sister. Thus, Frankenstein is a frame tale
in that it is like a framed painting: Walton's story is the frame, and Frankenstein's story is the painting.
.......Some frame tales—such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio's The Decameron—have
several narrators telling stories "inside the frame." One famous frame tale—the Arabian Nights (also
called The Thousand and One Nights)—has only one narrator, a sultan's bride named Scheherazade,
who tells many tales "inside the frame," including the well-known stories of Sindbad the Sailor, Aladdin
and his magic lamp, and Ali Baba and his magical command "Open sesame!"
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Epistolary Novel
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.......An epistolary novel is a novel in which a character (or characters) tells the story through letters
(epistles) sent to a friend, relative, etc. In Frankenstein, Captain Robert Walton writes letters to his sister
to bring her up to date on his expedition in the Arctic. After his ship takes Victor Frankenstein aboard, he
listens to Frankenstein’s story and writes it down in letter form.
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Themes
The Boundaries of Science
.......Victor Frankenstein believes he has the right as a scientist to pursue truth and knowledge even when
his quest ventures into the domain of the divine. Science, he thinks, has virtually no boundaries. It may
explore and experiment when, where, and however it pleases. It may play God.
.......The experimentation of the fictional Frankenstein foreshadows the experimentation of some real-life
researchers of the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, the infamous Dr. Joseph Mengele—a member
of the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene, founded in Nazi Germany in 1934—performed
cruel experiments on live human beings in the Birkenau concentration camp, where he served as an SS
officer beginning in 1943. Mengele, known as the “Angel of Death,” was attempting to further his
knowledge of twins and of fertility techniques. Jewish inmates became virtual guinea pigs, enduring great
pain and suffering. Here in the 21st Century scientists are experimenting with the cloning of human
beings, an activity which many theologians condemn as immoral.
The Duty to Help the Poor, the Sick, and the Ostracized
.......A sometimes overlooked but nevertheless important theme of the novel is society’s duty to support
and care for the poor, the neglected, the sick, and the ostracized. Victor Frankenstein’s mother and father
demonstrate this theme from the outset through their good works on behalf of the impoverished and
downtrodden. Mrs. Frankenstein regularly visits the poor, and she and her husband adopt Elizabeth and
take in the servant girl, Justine. Moreover, Mrs. Frankenstein, well aware that scarlet fever is a contagious
disease, remains at Elizabeth’s bedside until she recovers.
.......Unfortunately, Mrs. Frankenstein contracts the disease herself and dies of it. Victor’s best friend,
Henry Clerval, also understands the importance of caring for fellow human beings. When Victor becomes
ill, Henry tends to him over several months. He also helps Victor through difficult times. On the other
hand, Victor selfishly ignores others while conducting his experiments. Moreover, he makes no
preparations to care for the creature he hopes to bring to life. When he succeeds in his experiment, he
abandons his creation, becoming like a father or mother who abandons his or her child. The monster thus
feels neglected, unwanted. Consequently, he seeks revenge against Victor by killing Victor’s little brother
and planting evidence that implicates Justine as the murderer. When Victor fails to create a female to
alleviate the monster’s loneliness, the monster kills Elizabeth when she and Victor are on their
honeymoon. After Victor tracks the monster to the Arctic regions, he falls deathly ill from exhaustion and
exposure to the cold. But Captain Robert Walton takes him aboard and nurses him—just as Mrs.
Frankenstein nursed Elizabeth and Henry nursed Victor.
Prejudice
.......When Frankenstein’s monster first goes into the world, he is like a little child waiting to be loved and
appreciated. But society rejects him because of his grotesque appearance. In this respect, he is a
symbol—the summation of—all those who suffer because they are different in some way. These
“different” members of society include the handicapped, the retarded, and the deformed, as well as
persons ostracized because of their skin color, religion, or social status. Only the blind man treats the
monster humanely. Because the blind man cannot see, he cannot form prejudices. Consequently, he
judges the monster in other ways—and accepts him.
The Ultimate Terror: Loneliness
.......Because society has isolated him—because he must live alone away from the damning eyes of
humans—Frankenstein’s monster suffers terribly from loneliness. Even “Satan had his companions,” the
monster says,” fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I am solitary and abhorred.” Out of
desperation, he asks Victor Frankenstein to create for him a female companion. Victor first agrees to do
so, then changes his mind at the last minute. As a result, the monster attempts to plunge Victor into
loneliness—by killing his loved ones.
Character Irony
Victor Frankenstein: His name suggests victory. But his creation of new life brings only defeat and
death.
De Lacey: He is a blind man who is the only character capable of seeing the humane side of the monster.
Justine Moritz: Though her name suggests justice, she is executed for a murder she did not commit.
Study Questions and Essay Topics
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Do you believe a scientist has a right, or even a duty, to conduct scientific experiments that may
lead to outcomes that some believe are immoral or unethical? For example, does a scientist have
a right to clone a human being? Does he have a right to develop more powerful military weapons,
including bombs, gases, and chemicals that can destroy tens of thousands of people?
As a youth, Victor Frankenstein studies alchemy and the occult? What is alchemy? What is the
occult? Does his study of them influence him after he begins studying chemistry, anatomy, and
other scientific disciplines at the university?
Victor explains his fascination with science in this way: "In other studies you go as far as others
have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is
continual food for discovery and wonder." Do you agree that "other studies" allow a person to "go
as far as others have gone before you"? Explain your answer.
Write an informative essay explaining the characteristics of a Gothic novel. In your essay, trace
the origin of the term Gothic and why it is used to describe a literary genre. Also, give examples
of Gothic novels besides Frankenstein and identify what they share in common with
Frankenstein.
The story of Frankenstein continues to be highly popular today. Scores of Hollywood films center
on it, and the Frankenstein mask remains a big seller before Halloween. What accounts for the
enduring popularity of this tale?
Who is more monstrous, Victor Frankenstein or the monster he created?