The Frame

by Mary Shelley

et me tell you, if you are planning to watch the 1931 Boris Karloff film and use that as the basis of your book report instead of reading the book, you’re going to flunk. It’s almost completely different. The story details Dr. Frankenstein, a young man whose scientific interests lead him to try the unthinkable–the creation of human life. He is successful, but he flees his terrible creation. Several months later, the creature catches up to him and tells him all about how despite learning to read and becoming rather cultured, everyone he tries to befriend rejects him–leading the creature to hate mankind and wreak vengeance for having been created. It’s a lot darker than the film versions have been, and a lot more morally ambiguous. Who bears the blame for the murders the monster commits? Frankenstein for creating and abandoning him? Or the monster, who does seem to have a sense of morality? It’s more ethical dilemma than horror story. The writing is a bit over the top, in gothic novel style, but the underlying questions are still weighty.
Well Above Average