Interpreting Frankenstein: A Mini-Essay

     The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed the gradual emergence of a conflict between religion and science as the latter attempted to explain and explore worldly phenomena. In 1859, with the publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species, this clash eructed into a vicious battle as Darwin and his fellow biologists and geologists contended with theologians and staunch religious congregations over evolution and creationism.[1] From Samuel Wilberforce’s scathing review of Darwin’s theories to Edgar Allan Poe’s lamentations in “Sonnet – To Science” that science will eradicate human imagination, popular figures and the common man joined the heated conversation consuming the era.[2] Although Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published over four decades before Darwin’s work and the controversy it ignited, many have clustered it into the debate due to its strong themes regarding the limitations of science; however, as some literary scholars maintain, the exploration into scientific man’s attempts to play God (a central issue present in even the most casual adaptations) is just one of the many factors addressed by the timeless novel.[3] Indeed, the narrative, particularly the relationship between Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his creation, also comments on childbirth and parenthood, the frustrations of the creative process, and the responsibilities of the artist to both his artwork and the society in which he displays it.[4]

Works Referenced

Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species. 1859. New York: Dover Publications, 2006.

Davis, Paul, Gary Harrison, David Johnson, Patricia Clark Smith, and John Crawford, eds. The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Nineteenth Century, 1800-1900. Vol. 5. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. 26-28.

Poe, Edgar Allan. “Sonnet – To Science.” The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 1992. 28.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 1818. New York: Dover Publications, 1994.

Wilberforce, Samuel. “Review of On the Origin of Species.” Quarterly Review (1860): 225-264.

 

Zimmer, Carl. Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.

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[1] Zimmer, 32-67.

[2] Davis, Harrison, Johnson, Smith, and Crawford, 382-383.

[3] Davis, Harrison, Johnson, Smith, and Crawford, 383.

[4] Davis, Harrison, Johnson, Smith, and Crawford, 383.