Frankenstein or, the modern Prometheus / Mary Shelley.

It is remarkable that this book was written by Mary Shelley when she was only 19 years of age and amazingly, it still has relevance today in its questions about the nature of creation, the hazards of scientific experimentation (GMO food, cloning) and what it means to be human.

I admit that I have never seen an entire Frankenstein movie, but the portions I did see had the monster, called Frankenstein, terrorizing people so that he was greatly feared and hunted. The original book is quite different from this popular view. As most people know, the monster's creator is Victor Frankenstein and the being he created does not have a name. The book is composed of letters, telling stories within stories. A sea captain writes to his sister of his far north explorations and relates how he encounters Frankenstein, then Frankenstein's story is told, and then the monster's story as told to Frankenstein. So as the title notes, the book's focus is the creator and not the created. Frankenstein feels extreme torment after having brought the creature into existence, and there are echoes of Milton's Paradise lost in his reflections.

I was very surprised to read that the monster is very human-like in his intelligence, morality and desires. He is also strictly a vegetarian. After leaving Frankenstein's laboratory, he lives in a hovel attached to the cottage of an adult brother and sister and their aged father. He secretly observes the people, taking delight in their interactions and looking upon them with affection. Under cover of darkness he replenishes their supply of wood for the fireplace. He comes upon a bag containing clothing and books, and reads Paradise lost by John Milton, a volume of Plutarch's Lives and the Sorrows of Werter. Thus with these books and others, he becomes educated. As he says, "Many things I read surpassed my understanding and experience," and the books elevate him as they teach him and illuminate his situation.

I was also very surprised to read that initially the only reason that the monster is rejected and treated as abhorrent not because of his actions, but due to his grotesque appearance. He comes to realize what he looks like and carefully approaches the blind aged father before the son and daughter see him. But he is seen and the son, horrified by this creature, beats him until he manages to escape. He is shot at on his way to the home of his creator, Victor Frankenstein, to whom later he explains his all-too-human reactions to monstrous circumstances.

Last year, I saw the animated movie Frankenweenie (with the granddaughters), directed by Tim Burton. One of the characters in the movie was a turtle named Shelley. A fitting name for a turtle, and also a tribute to the writer Mary Shelley.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mary Shelley