Triple Threat In Frankenstein

So, after all those encounters with the story, reading the novel is surprising. The reason therefore, being that the reader, while reading, already has all those other images, of what the book needs to contain or to be more precise, what needs to happen, so that he, right at the beginning of the book might be thrown off by the Opening. It opens not with the story of Victor Frankenstein, or his creation, but with a series of letters from an Arctic explorer. Suddenly, the monster, is not, like widely believed named Frankenstein, in fact, he does not even have a name at all. Yet another difference to the widespread picture of the monster is that he is, a rather articulate creature. During the novel, Mary Shelley weaves books like Milton’s Paradise Lost, Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, Volney’s The Ruins of Empires, and Plutarch’s Lives, into her own story by letting the monster read them. Shortly, this monster is better read than most of today’s high- school graduates. Those books, however, are another important aspect. Mary Shelley choose those books prudently. As to why, will be discussed later.

Genre wise, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein can be called a triple threat. The novel is often recognized as the first work of science fiction, it is one of the greatest horror novels ever, additionally it is often called the greatest Romantic novel. It contains the idea that emotions like horror, awe and terror can be the center of an aesthetic experience.

1. R O M A N