The Creator’s Creations

While many readers have tended to view Frankenstein simply as a juvenile horror story, an understanding of Mark Shelley’s introduction shows a more complicated story because it reveals how her own life is intertwined into the novel. Although this more complicated version of the Frankenstein story in terms of the author’s personal life may not be familiar to many readers or viewers of Frankenstein, in my view it is crucial to understanding Shelley’s novel.

There are many parallels between Shelley and the characters she has created within the novel. When Frankenstein is read closely, one can find many similarities between Frankenstein and Mary Shelley, making it appear that this is more than a horror story – it’s a horror story that is symbolic of her life. Frankenstein grows up as a privileged child, in the very first sentence he admits that, “I am by birth a Genevese, my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic” (page 27). Readers can assume from this that Frankenstein grew up having everything that he wanted, including a well rounded education. Shelley also tells us that she grew up privileged. In her introduction she gives readers some background when saying that, “…as the daughter of two persons of distinguished literary celebrity….”(277). Here we see the first similarity between her and Frankenstein. Both of them started off life in an educational environment and it can be assumed that they had more experiences than most children in the 1800’s. Their childhoods both had influences on the creations they came to form in the adult years of their lives. For Frankenstein it was the science novels he read as a child and for Shelley it was the influence of her parents. Shelley is trying to show her readers that who we are as children effect who we become.

More similarities arise on the following pages. We know from Shelley’s introduction that she learned to think outside the box from early on. She celebrated the fact that, “My imagination, unbidden, possessed and guided me, gifting me the successive images that arose in my mind with a vividness far beyond the usual bounds of reverie”(282). Thus, she has always had a vast imagination, a trait that she also gives to her creation, Frankenstein. He has a mind vivid enough to create this being from the parts of the dead. A mind unbound by limits and ready to, “Pour a torrent of light into our dark world” (51). As the novel continues, Frankenstein tirelessly works to create a superficial being; Shelley on the other hand works to create a timeless horror story. Both creators have the same goal in mind; to be remembered for something great. When their creations are finished, their creators describe them as something horrible, Shelley saying, “I bid my hideous progeny to go forth…”(284) in regards to her novel, and Frankenstein saying, “I beheld the wench- the hideous monster whom I had created”(56). These similarities provide prove that Frankenstein is more than a fictional character; he is the author’s version of herself. She created this hideous novel and he created a hideous monster.

There are also some examples of Shelley’s personality embedded into the other characters of the novel. Shelley admits to being, “a close imitator” (278). This trait coincides with a trait of the monster. He learned all he knew by watching the cottagers and imitating what they did. Hence, Shelley didn’t only embed her personality into Frankenstein, but also into several other characters.

A Closer look at Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein shows how the events of her own life are intertwined into the life of the main character. In my view it is crucial to understand Shelley’s life in order to the origins of the novel.

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