Frankenstein

by

Mary Shelley

She began work on Frankenstein in 1816 when staying at Lord Byron's villa on Lake Geneva in Switzerland. She incorporated a number of different sources into her work, not the least being the Promethean myth from Ovid. The influence of John Milton's Paradise Lost can also be discerned within the novel.

Mary edited and annotated her husband's works after his death in 1822 and also wrote a few more novels, which do not even begin to approach the lasting power and fame of Frankenstein, with the possible exception of The Last Man, an intelligent novel of the distant future.

Mary Shelley was interred in St. Peter's Churchyard, Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

Curious and intelligent from a young age, Victor leaves his beloved family in Geneva, Switzerland to study science in Germany. In a moment of inspiration, Victor discovers the means by which inanimate matter can be imbued with life. (When the book was written, science had a very imperfect understanding of the difference between living and dead matter.) With great drive and fervor, he sets about constructing a creature—intended as a companion, perhaps—from various materials, including cadavers.

He intended the creature to be beautiful, but when the creature awoke, he was disgusted. Its yellow eyes, rough stitching, large size—Victor found this revolting and although the creature expressed him no harm (in fact it grinned at him), Victor ran out of the room in terror whereupon the creature disappeared. Overwork caused Victor to take ill for several months. After recovering, he received a letter from home informing him of the murder of his youngest brother William. He departed for Switzerland at once. Near Geneva, Victor sees the creature and is convinced it killed William. Upon arriving home he finds Justine, the family's maid, framed for the murder. She is convicted and executed. To recover from the ordeal, Victor goes hiking into the mountains. He meets his creation atop a glacier.

The creature is strikingly eloquent, and describes his feelings first of confusion, then rejection and hate. He explains how he learnt how to talk by studying a family through a crack in the wall. He performs in secret many kind deeds for this family, but in the end, they drive him away when they see his appearance. He gets the same response from any human who sees him. The creature confesses that it was indeed he who killed William and framed Justine, and that he did so out of revenge. But now, the creature only wants one thing; he begs Victor to create a female companion for him.

At first, Victor agrees, but later, he tears up the half-made companion in disgust. In retribution, the creature kills Henry, Victor's best friend. On Victor's wedding night, the creature kills his wife. Victor now becomes the hunter: he pursues the creature into the arctic ice, though in vain—near exhaustion, he is stranded when an iceberg breaks away, carrying him out into the ocean. At that moment, Captain Walton's ship arrives and he is rescued.

Walton assumes the narration again, describing a temporary recovery in Victor's health, allowing him to relate his extraordinary story. However Victor's health soon fails, and he dies. Finally, the creature boards the ship and finds Victor dead, and greatly laments what he has done to his maker. He vows to commit suicide, and leaves.

(From Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org )

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/SheFran.html

http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/shelley/mary/s53f/