Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus
The creature in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, is far more intimidating than any movie version of him.
One of the problems with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when people first read it, is that they have images of the monster from movies and cartoons which almost never depict the creature as he is in the novel. Several of the memes in our edition of the book, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus, remind students that the creature in the novel is far more intimidating than anything in movies or television.
He’s big, grotesque looking, strong, fast, vengeful and becomes extremely intelligent. He’s not the plodding, arms out in front of him, big oaf staggering to keep his balance while being outrun by those he’s pursuing. No one in their right mind would want to deal with him and no normal human could outrun him.
And the creature’s name is not Frankenstein, though many people think it is. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the doctor who created the creature.
The meme below, taken from still shots of a very early Boris Karloff movie (1931) based on Frankenstein, not only reminds students that the creature is nothing like most movie versions of him, but also brings in the plot point that the creature is angry at Dr. Frankenstein because he refuses to create a mate for him.
Mary Shelley wrote this novel when she was only 18 and published it in 1818. It’s incredible that one so young could have such amazing insights into the nature of knowledge and it’s abuses. Clearly she was not a product of our public education system!
It’s a great novel suitable for high school students and adults.