As my close friend Jheri pointed out to me, I’m jumping the gun a wee bit by reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I mentioned in my previous Read or Rid post that the chosen book for our book club is Whistler by Ann Patchett, and at our last Book Club meeting, we agreed that the book we would be reading following Whistler is Frankenstein to get into the Halloween spirit. I started reading Frankenstein as soon as I finished Whistler, so please forgive my reading enthusiasm in this particular instance.
I, much like most people, I imagine, am of course familiar with Frankenstein as a monster character and some details regarding how he came into existence. I have never read Mary Shelley’s novel up until this point, nor have I seen any Frankenstein movies to any extent. I figured the book was about the monster, and it is, but it really is so much more than just a monster story.
Mary Shelley’s text is an old one, so there is some dated language throughout the book. Seeing as I am an English Language and Literature major, I have zero issues with the use of old English language, but be warned if that is an issue for you with your reading preferences.
To be completely honest, this book shocked me in the sense that it is remarkably sad. After Mr. Frankenstein (a scientist, not the monster) creates his ‘monster’ with scientific brilliance, Frankenstein is positively abhorred by his creation. The creature is not exactly human, but can speak, move and eat like one; the issue is with the appearance of the creature, which is described as rather terrifying. The creature is refused and ostracized by every human he encounters because of the way he looks, leading him to feel extremely saddened, lonely and demoralized. This causes him to become violent toward those who perpetually mistreat him, and even his creator cannot control him.
I don’t wish to give too much away, but this story is about, in my opinion, the consequences that come with mistreating others, and I absolutely consider it a read.
Photo by Bruno Guerrero on Unsplash
