Three Key Points from Marilyn Butler's Essay on Frankenstein

• The newsworthiness of Frankenstein resulted in the subjection of both author and text to outside pressures that had little to do with the aesthetics of the book, leading historians to believe that perhaps Shelley didn't wish to change the book.
• The novel ironically illustrates a very basic observation about parenting -- the medical mishaps to which the process of birth is subject to. Since Victor cannot accept his child, the monster turns on his own parent.
• For the later edition of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley adds a more remorseful and religious aspect to Victor Frankenstein, making it easier to sympathize with him. She also removed the interfamilial marriage aspect, in an attempt to silence the concerns of genetic problems.

Short Essay on Mary Shelley

Victor Frankenstein, a complex character to begin with, becomes evermore-complicated thanks to the style of narration that Mary Shelley uses in the novel. Whether Frankenstein’s intentions while creating the monster were noble or selfish, as a reader it is difficult to separate the emotions used by Frankenstein when narrating to William, the captain of the ship. Shelley uses the character’s dictation to her advantage in showing how confused Victor is about his own original intentions. He begins with a justification for his work, as he wishes to “pour a torrent of light into our dark world” (Shelley 33). This noble face quickly dissolves into a thirst for glory and recognition; Victor wishes to be not only exulted by his own species, but also by the new species that he intends to make. His pride shows most vigorously in the paternal sense, knowing that “no father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve their’s” (Shelley 33). The abundance of evidence stating reasons similar to these in Shelly’s first paragraph clearly shows that no matter how Frankenstein tried to spin his story, pride and arrogance in according to his station as a natural scientist won out in his muddled and volatile heart.

            Shelley uses the second paragraph to demonstrate Victor’s almost apologetic tone in describing the physical limits that he pushed himself to. He almost beseeches both the ship captain and the reader to understand the hardships he went through in order to make this monster, only to have it emerge hideous and ugly. Victor describes himself as going through the most extreme ardor, having his physical body shrivel and shrink away while his task essentially consumes his spiritual peace. Frankenstein’s plea to the reader for mercy is Shelley’s way of proving that, while Victor might seem noble and altruistic on the surface, beneath this layer of integrity is a desperate self-interested man begging forgiveness before he dies. 

Notable Moment in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

While reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I became aware of the main character's sound judgement and overall knowledge to be astounding. Whether in science, humanities, or mathematics, Victor seemed all together the brightest character in the novel, with intuition abound. That is largely why I found his failure to comprehend his creation's threat to essentially kill Victor's bride-to-be, Elizabeth, so confounding. I assumed that Victor would have seen the creature's intentions immediately and have carried out a different set of actions instead of playing directly into his nemesis's hand, despite how painful it may have been for Elizabeth. After thinking it over, I came to the realization that his lapse of judgement could only have occurred due to the rapid decreasing stability of his mind and the guilt that weighed upon him for the deaths of the first three victims. I believe Shelley tried to prove the point that under extreme duress, even the most secure and brilliant minds can become unhinged.

Memorable Books

1. Green Eggs And Ham, Dr. Seuss. This epic novel was the first actual book I can remember reading on my own. It laid the foundations for all my reading yet to come. 
2. The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis. I read this series between the ages of 10 and 11. These were the first fantasy books that I had really encountered, thus opening a large and fruitful venture into the genre. 
3. Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far), Dave Barry.  I first read this book at the age of 12, and Barry's hilarious and ridiculous takes on today's news made me more interested in keeping up with current events, albeit in the form of the newscasts of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. 
4. The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara. This book was assigned reading for APUSH last year. I remember having doubts about reading it, having already snored through a biography on President Reagan, but ultimately enjoying it completely. Shaara's switching point of views made a really interesting read. 
5. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. I read this book for fun at the age of 13. It takes place in a medieval English town, and, being a fan of historical fiction, I enjoyed this books more than almost all others I've read.
6. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card. This was by and large the first science fiction novel I had ever read. The space aspect, mixed with the drama of both essentially video games and war, pretty much blew my 11 year old mind. 
7. All Ray Bradbury Short Stories. I read both of my older brother's large books that contained scores of these sci-fi short stories. Even now I would be able to pick up those books and reread them over and over. 
8. The Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket. This series of thirteen books took me many years to read, as the last few books were not release until after I had read most of them. The main characters, however, were easily and fun to relate to, and I had no problem rereading them all every time a new book was released.