4. Frankenstein
Title: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Synopsis:(from amazon.co.uk) here
My thoughts: Once again: good ideas, questionable execution.
The ideas of how we treat the outsider, the speed at which techonology develops, the responisbility of scientists are all fantastic ideas which are still relevant today. They intrest me, as does the fact that as Victor grows to hate his creation, he actually becomes more and more like the creature. Despite his attempts to term it "just retribution", Victor begins living for the basic needs of nourishment and rest and is driven by his want for revenge. I also liked that the power shifts when Victor's bride is killed, after he himself destroyed the creature's bride.
However, the book is so repetitively written: pages upon pages are dedicated to Victor's numerous nervouc breakdowns and the same sorts of phrases relating to his guilt and his view of the creature crop up so often I got a feeling of deja vu. I find that Shelley doesn't know when to stop overwriting: moments that could be scary or shocking are ruined by verbosity. I'm more than willing to accept that perhaps you could make a living creature from dead bodies, and perhaps he could somehow learned a command of English which mimicks his creator's, but the characters themselves are so flat that it's hard to care. Victor spends the entire novel absorbed in himself (even after the deaths of his closest family and friends, the loss is quickly glossed over in favour of his suffering.) During the first confrontation between the creature and Victor, Shelley does draw your attention to the fact that the creature's motivation and you almost feel sympathetic. However, this is quickly forgotten, until the end, when the creature mourns Victor's death.
Overall, I probably shouldn't be so surprised since we've been studying Gothic literature for the last 18 months.
Up Next:The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides
Author: Mary Shelley
Synopsis:(from amazon.co.uk) here
My thoughts: Once again: good ideas, questionable execution.
The ideas of how we treat the outsider, the speed at which techonology develops, the responisbility of scientists are all fantastic ideas which are still relevant today. They intrest me, as does the fact that as Victor grows to hate his creation, he actually becomes more and more like the creature. Despite his attempts to term it "just retribution", Victor begins living for the basic needs of nourishment and rest and is driven by his want for revenge. I also liked that the power shifts when Victor's bride is killed, after he himself destroyed the creature's bride.
However, the book is so repetitively written: pages upon pages are dedicated to Victor's numerous nervouc breakdowns and the same sorts of phrases relating to his guilt and his view of the creature crop up so often I got a feeling of deja vu. I find that Shelley doesn't know when to stop overwriting: moments that could be scary or shocking are ruined by verbosity. I'm more than willing to accept that perhaps you could make a living creature from dead bodies, and perhaps he could somehow learned a command of English which mimicks his creator's, but the characters themselves are so flat that it's hard to care. Victor spends the entire novel absorbed in himself (even after the deaths of his closest family and friends, the loss is quickly glossed over in favour of his suffering.) During the first confrontation between the creature and Victor, Shelley does draw your attention to the fact that the creature's motivation and you almost feel sympathetic. However, this is quickly forgotten, until the end, when the creature mourns Victor's death.
Overall, I probably shouldn't be so surprised since we've been studying Gothic literature for the last 18 months.
Up Next:The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides