Edoardo Sitzia, Marta Sanna, Serena Fois

FRANKENSTEIN
THE CREATION OF THE MONSTER; THE MESSAGE OF THE NOVEL; A WARNING AGAINST THE DANGERS OF SCIENCE;
THE ROLE OF WOMEN
 THE CREATION OF THE MONSTER
-Dr Frankenstein is in the German town of Ingolstadt. He is doing some research in
human physiology in the local university laboratory. The following extract describes the creation of the new ‘human being’-

It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that
almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of
being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered
dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-
extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive
motion agitated its limbs.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such
in inite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his
features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and
arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and lowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these
luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same
colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
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 THE CREATION OF THE MONSTER
-Chapter 5-

The di erent accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for
nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself
of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had inished,
the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust illed my heart. Unable to endure the
aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-
chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before
endured, and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of
forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw
Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced
her, but as I imprinted the irst kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features
appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud
enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the lannel.
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 THE CREATION OF THE MONSTER
-Chapter 5-

I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became
convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the
wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be
called, were ixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.
He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed
downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of
the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it
were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.Oh! No mortal could
support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I
had gazed on him while un inished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of
motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.
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 THE MESSAGE OF THE NOVEL

-Shelley's Frankenstein, often considered the irst work of science iction,

presents a view of science linked to the idea of secrecy

- Shelley’s work emerges as a warning against the dangers of science and its
applications that still resonates today in the connotations of the name
'Frankenstein

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A WARNING AGAINST THE DANGERS OF SCIENCE

-The story of Frankenstein is now familiar: it is the story of the

scientist Victor Frankenstein, who, driven by a desire to discover the
mysteries of life, strives to create a human being.
-Victor hopes his experiments will banish "diseases from the human
picture" and renew "life where death has seemingly doomed the
body to corruption."
A WARNING AGAINST THE DANGERS OF SCIENCE

• -Shelley's narrative debunks the so-called "myth of purity"

• -His research is not “pure” but, rather, shaped by Enlightenment values –

that life can be created, death overwhelmed, nature defeated.

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A WARNING AGAINST THE DANGERS OF SCIENCE

-As Frankenstein proclaims, "Life and death appeared to me as ideal bonds,

which I should irst break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark
world."
-Frankenstein o ers us a moment of pause, in which to re lect on the types
of knowledge we want to research to create medical technologies that
improve – rather than harm – human life.
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A WARNING AGAINST THE DANGERS OF SCIENCE

-Contrary to certain romantics, Shelley is not in favor of abandoning science

and technology and returning to a Rousseauian "state of nature".
-In conclusion, we can deduce that the main message that Frankenstein
conveys is the danger in the pursuit of knowledge and advancement in
science and technology.
 THE ROLE OF WOMEN

- Frankestein marked European literature.

- The author, Mary Shelby, had a troubled and adventurous life, pain and
sadness marked her life.
-“But now that I had inished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and a
su ocating horror and disgust illed my heart. Unable to bear the sight of
the being i had created, I rushed out of the room and continued walking for
a long time”
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 THE ROLE OF WOMAN

-“But now that I had inished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and a
su ocating horror and disgust illed my heart. Unable to bear the sight of
the being i had created, I rushed out of the room and continued walking for
a long time”

-The rough life of the author is re lected in her work

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 THE ROLE OF WOMAN

-Mary in her twenties had already perceived many of life’s realitie, after the
disillusionment of an early elopement in wich she experienced human
paucity

-The essay goes against every thought of its time. There are extremely
progressive ideas for the years in which the author lived and unfortunately
her untimely death deprived us of further development in her proto-feminist
writings
THE END