I have just finished reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. There is so much that I want to talk and ask about. However, I do no think we have the time to clarify all my inquiries and to address all the topics that I want to express my feelings about. Therefore, I will try to write until at least some of my thoughts are expressed on this book.
Do know that the following is not a summary of the story for I am sure that many are available online for you to look up. The following sentences are merely the fruits of my reflections after reading Frankenstein. Beware that if you have not read the book yet, it might not be a good idea to continue reading this post as it may contain spoilers.
To start off, there are many great quotes that resonate with me, some of which I will share with you all under Quotes category. At least, those that I remember. I wish I had read the story from a an actual book rather a pdf version for I would have highlighted some of the passages and taken some notes for future reference. I might do a close reading on some of the passages found in Frankenstein.
I will jump right in!
Things that I do not understand:
1.) Victor did create a monster and abhorred it the moment it came into being. However, I do not understand why he just ran away and never came back to the his creation to see what it was unto or even the state (both physical and mental) it was in. I know that it feels like I am sympathizing with the monster, maybe I am. I am not sure at this point as having just finished reading the book just a few minutes ago. I could be delirious! Back to the point, it was Victor who brought him into existence. As the monster accused his creator, it was Victor’s responsibility to either protect or extinguish the life of his creation, either of which should have been decided early on, not after the monster got a chance to experience both good and bad. Please do not get me wrong, I am not at all supporting the atrocities of the monster. I believe that all that transpired, either be good or bad, after the birth of the monster was due to Victor. He should have been more responsible towards his passion, which led to the creation of the monster. I simply do not understand this. How could he just neglect his creation for years? Event though he thought about his experiment and the outcome of his ambitions continually after the creation, I do not understand why Victor did not think of going to the chamber in which the creature was born to check on him or search for him when he could not be found at the location in which the monster was last seen. This simply does not make any sense.
2.) In order to make a human being, you need skin and all that. I can assume that the monster was created out of dead people’s body parts. However, I am just surprised that Mary did not even mention this part anywhere in the book. (Maybe she did and I must have overlooked it, if so, I would greatly appreciate if anyone of you would provide the chapter number in which this fact was specified to the readers or rather to Walton).
For now, this is all I can think of. I will make sure that I write a new post as more questions or thoughts come into my mind. Please pardon any grammatical mistakes that you must have encountered.
Stay blessed and inspired!
Pomegranate Lover