Shaunee

Mary Shelley was a British writer whose life was deeply connected to the Romantic movement. Many of the tragedies she experienced influenced her writing.

Interestingly, the inspiration for Frankenstein was born in a way that almost mirrors the creation of the Creature itself. During a stormy night, Lord Byron challenged his guests to write a ghost story. That night, Shelley dreamed of a young scientist kneeling beside the "hideous thing" he had brought to life. She awoke suddenly, much like the Creature opening his eyes for the first time, and knew she had found her story.

In the novel, Romanticism plays a huge role, as does the context of the Industrial Revolution.

Victor Frankenstein represents blind faith in progress, the pursuit of knowledge, and the dangers of science without ethics. But he also embodies the more intense side of Romanticism: obsession, ambition, and overwhelming emotion. He doesn't simply want to create life. He wants to challenge nature itself. For two years, he isolates himself completely, consumed by his work and unable to see the line between what is possible and what is right. When he finally succeeds, he is forced to face the consequences of what he has done. And he runs.

The Creature, on the other hand, represents a different side of Romanticism. When he first comes to life, he experiences the world with almost childlike wonder. He admires nature, listens to birdsong, and learns by observing others. He learns what a family is before he has one. He learns what love is before he ever receives it.

And that's where the tragedy of his character begins.

Before reading the novel, I thought Frankenstein was just a horror story about a mad scientist and his monster. I imagined the Creature as a mindless green zombie whose only purpose was to kill people. And of course, I thought the monster's name was Frankenstein 😭

But the novel is so much more than that.

The Creature is not rejected because of what he does. He is rejected because of how he looks. People decide he is a monster before hearing him speak, before understanding him, before giving him a chance to exist as anything else. Even Victor, the person who created him, abandons him the moment he opens his eyes.

What struck me most is that the Creature never truly stops searching for love and connection. Even when he confronts Victor in the Alps, he still speaks with dignity. He still wants to be heard.

I think the real heart of Frankenstein is loneliness.

The Creature spends the entire novel watching others form bonds while remaining completely alone. He understands love, friendship, and family, but can never become part of them. Over time, that rejection transforms him.

He decides that if he cannot inspire love, he will inspire fear.

And while he does commit terrible acts, I never saw him as purely evil. So much of his violence comes from a loneliness so profound that it eventually turns into anger.