"His countenance instantly assumed an aspect of the deepest gloom;and he replied, 'to seek one who fled from me.'"
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
In Rebecca Solnit's book, The Faraway Nearby, the story of Frankenstein is deconstructed to examine the nature of storytelling, and the consequences of creation. The way she discussed the book was extremely interesting, and it peaked my interest. After all, this widely adapted book has been extremely influential in many different aspects of life, from literature to science. It has shaped the way we think about humanity, and it has changed our views on how humans fit in the rest of the world.
"She never imagined that all of us could become Dr. Frankenstein, chasing and fleeing our altered creation that is the landscape all around us and its invisible contaminants everywhere, from within our bodies to the ends of the earth."
Rebecca Solnit The Faraway NearbyI thought that the book would begin in the same way as most of the movies do: in a dark castle surrounded by high mountains and lightning. In opened, though, on a ship in the far north. The entire story is told through a set of letters that Robert Walton, the captain of the ship, is writing to his sister, Margaret, telling of his adventures and ambitions on his northern voyage. One day a mysterious figure appears on the ice. They pull him on board, emaciated and sick, and he proceeds to tell the captain the story of how he came to be alone on the ice. He tells the tale of his childhood, and how in his passion for his studies, he created life. He immediately feels horror for his creation and scorns it. The creature stumbles through the world, and begins to feel anger and rage because of the scorn of his creator, Victor Frankenstein. He proceeds to take revenge on his creator.
Needless to say, this book was nothing like I expected. There was no Igor, the protagonist was a rational young man, not a crazed evil genius. The monster, though childlike, was rational, and, far from lumbering and slow, he moved with super human speed and grace. What I found in this story, was far beyond what I had thought I would find. During this Halloween season, I invite everyone to look back to the original, before they go to the theaters to see the latest adaptation. I don't think anyone will regret it. I sure didn't.
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