A Frankenstein Study
Anatomy of a Story
These articles explore the relevance and meaning of Mary Shelley's captivating horror classic. Frankenstein has more to do with everyday relationships than with the misuse of science or the enjoyment of a good gore fest. It is horror, but its ghoulishness involves the way we treat each other and how self-centered we can be when chasing our ambitions.
The Value of Fright
Every Halloween, we love seeing ghosts and monsters, but beyond the cute factor, why would anyone want to read horror? After terrifying us and quickening our heartbeat, doesn’t it just keep us up at night? What are the dark gifts it might bear? Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein helps us consider these questions. It takes courage to take another look to ask what it is we are really afraid of. (Read More)
Monsters at the Margin
Despite its publication over 200 years ago, the manmade monster in the classic novel Frankenstein continues to stalk us in popular culture. It's an extraordinary, powerful and haunting saga. In our continuing series on Frankenstein, we invite you to take a deep dive and meet Mary Shelley’s monster - a cataclysmic horror tale of compulsion, murder and revenge. (Read More)
Passions of Prometheus
In this next article we introduce you to Robert Walton. Most of us know Dr. Victor Frankenstein, creator of the infamous monster, but few may remember Robert Walton, the polar explorer who meets Victor in the Arctic. It is to Walton that Victor tells his tragic story, and their roles run parallel. They are both “Prometheans”; defiant of limits and ensnared by immortality projects. (Read More)
The Brides of Frankenstein
Compared to the male characters, the women in Mary Shelley’s novel are angels full of kindness, compassion and moral guidance. Yet modern interpreters of Frankenstein are frustrated by these porcelain caricatures of womanhood. But if we take a closer look, we can see her genius. The relational holding patterns between men and women in her novel might speak to flaws that can distort relationships even today. (Read More)
Marriage and Mary Shelley
Long-term relationships such as marriage are meant to bring out the best in us, but so often they do the opposite. Mary Shelley would have understood. The story of her marriage to Percy is a remarkable backdrop to the novel she created. It is an even more incredible template through which to view our relationships and our projects. We invite you to ponder this multi-layered tapestry, and maybe even find hard-won hope for your own life. (Read More)