Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is worth reading simply because it is arguably the first science-fiction novel ever published, and on that merit alone it is worth a read. Shelley paved the way for H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, China Mieville, and many others. The novel is also interesting because it raises an argument that’s still being debated today: are we the sum of our parts, or our experiences? Finally, when viewed from with a post-structuralist lens with the author and both 19th century and contemporary literary criticism in mind, it gives the reader a new perspective with regards to sexism and the patriarchy in western society. For that last reason I recommend the Norton critical edition of the novel because it includes both 19th century and contemporary criticism and analysis of the novel, as well as a decent look at Percy Bysshe Shelley’s contributions to the novel as editor. For readers who simply want the Frankenstein experience with none of the criticism, make sure you get the 1818 edition, as the 1831 edition is heavily revised for the worse (on a related note, the Norton Critical Edition discusses the changes made and the critical reaction to them).
The novel is arranged in an epistolary format in order to lend 19th century audiences a sense of realism. The story, though the story of natural philosopher Victor Frankenstein and that of his creature, is actually relayed to the reader in letters from explorer Robert Walton written to his sister while on his voyage to discover the Northwest Passage. This framing of the narrative is important because it gives a sort of reason for the telling of the story in the first place, and is perhaps the greatest stylistic decision Shelley made in the writing of this book. Had she just had Frankenstein tell his own story directly to the reader it would have seemed silly and amateurish. If the novel had been told in third person without any framing then it would have just been confusing. Another boon this format lends to the novel is that it creates Victor Frankenstein into an unreliable narrator without any reason to question the conclusion. Without Walton, Frankenstein would be lying to the reader, which unless framed properly, would either come off as silly or simply pass by without notice. As I said before, the framing, from a literary perspective, is the strongest element of the story, and though it is an entertaining read, certain plot elements either fall completely flat or are just textbook examples of bad writing.
A lot of stuff just doesn’t make any sense. Why, of all books, is the creature carrying around Paradise Lost, The Sorrows of Werter, and Plutarch’s Lives? Forget the ham fisted connections were supposed to make from these references, forget that Paradise Lost was not only being read by Shelley during the writing of Frankenstein but that the novel itself is so centrally focused on that relationship between Good and Evil that it’s impossible to not make the connection even without it literally being in the novel; it’s just bad writing to have the monster come upon a satchel in the woods that conveniently has all of these books for him to make his literary allusions to. A good story reveals the plot and challenges the reader to find and make the deeper connections behind it, whereas Frankenstein simply tells you everything without a lick of subtlety about it. There’s also one event in the novel that just screams poor writing, but revealing it would be a spoiler so I’ll allow you to indulge yourself in the most obvious and poorly forced in plot device I’ve read this side of a Dan Brown novel. Arguments can be made that Victor is a poorly written character, but I’m fully entrenched in the “unreliable narrator” camp, and write off the bad decisions and strange thinking as signs a descent into madness that began when he first gazed upon his creation and followed him to his death. If you don’t buy into that the novel completely falls apart, so for Shelley’s sake I just go with it. If you’re interested in enjoying the novel for what it is, I suggest you go with that as well. If you’re just reading for a good laugh or to tear it apart, ignore my opinion on the matter. No matter which way you read Frankenstein, you will no doubt enjoy it.
