Monsters: interdisciplinary explorations in monstrosity

By Sibylle Erle &Helen Hendry  Abstract There is a continued fascination with all things monster. This is partly due to the popular reception of Mary Shelley’s Monster, termed a ‘new species’ by its overreaching but admiringly determined maker Victor Frankenstein in the eponymous novel first published in 1818. The enduring impact of Shelley’s novel, which … Read more

Frankenstein Monster Outlook

Frankenstein has enjoyed an afterlife in numerous stage productions and movie adaptations that have reshaped the monster of the original story. Indeed the monster has taken the name of his creator and his archetypal image is still influenced by the 1931 movie poster and movie starring Boris Karloff as a green skinned giant with bolts … Read more

The Last Man and the Order of Society

The Last Man and the Order of Society: How Mary Shelley’s Use of the Plague Serves as a Metaphor for the Failure of the Utopian Ideal The Last Man was Mary Shelley’s most ambitious and experimental work. Necessitating that a plague, which decimates mankind, is justified in its pursuit, Mary Shelley creates a world where … Read more

On Frankenstein; or, the modern Promotheus

By Percy Bysshe Shelley [This review was unpublished until some months after the third edition of Frankenstein appeared in 1831, when P.B. Shelley’s cousin Thomas Medwin saw to its printing in the Athenaeum for 10 November 1832.] NB: Students in high school, online colleges and universities often study this essay when they read Frankenstein. The … Read more

Frankenstein Story

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The myth of the Frankenstein monster returns to its literary roots in this tale of a scientist’s monstrous attempt to play God. This story is the archetype for many subsequent tales of the mad scientist and his creatures with the monster of misguided science eventually tormenting its creator. The novel features Victor Frankenstein, a student … Read more

Who is the Monster?

The theme of monstrosity pervades the entire novel, as the monster lies at the center of the action. Eight feet tall and hideously ugly, the monster is rejected by society. However, his monstrosity results not only from his grotesque appearance but also from the unnatural manner of his creation, which involves the secretive animation of … Read more

Crazy science

They may come up with a disease that can’t be cured, even a monster. Is this the answer to Dr. Frankenstein’s dream? So were the words of the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, warning against a proposed DNA laboratory at Harvard University in the early 1970s. Today, we almost expect to hear references to “Frankenstein” — … Read more