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Frankenstein, a la Shmoop. Science has brought us some pretty incredible

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things...

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...the artificial heart...

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...cell phones...

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...a creature made up of the sewn-together body parts of dead people...

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All right... so Victor Frankenstein's scientific work in Mary Shelley's novel, is a tad...

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fictional.

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But within the world Shelley creates, the good doctor pretty much represents science.

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So, with that in mind... how exactly is science portrayed in the novel?

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How did Shelley want us to feel about those people in lab coats, who insist on... playing

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God? Consider that this book was written right

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around the beginning of the Industrial Revolution...

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...when the world was becoming obsessed with innovation and advancement.

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Heck, even the random guy at the end of your street had a dozen patents.

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Was Frankenstein an attack on science?

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After all, everything that happens to poor Dr. Frankenstein... not to mention for the

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monster himself... goes terribly wrong. Victor's brother and fiancée are murdered...

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...the monster's bride-to-be gets... unassembled...

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...and both men wind up sad and alone.

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Doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement for the reanimation of dead tissue.

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However, Shelley was clearly fascinated by science, just like her peers...

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...could it be that she was applauding man's ability to create...

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...but with it, issuing a stern warning that we should be careful?

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It's not like her book condemns scientists...

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...just the ones who are... on the irresponsible side.

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Maybe if Victor had worked with a team of qualified professionals...

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...and his experiments had been performed in a controlled environment...

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...things wouldn't have gone so screwy. Although... maybe Shelley wasn't trying to

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say anything about science at all.

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Maybe science was just the background...

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...an innocent bystander in this whole affair. Perhaps she was just trying to make a point

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about human nature...

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...about us needing to feel a sense of belonging...

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...about love, and friendship, and betrayal, and all that good stuff.

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And the mad scientist angle was just intended to... sell some copies...

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What kind of rap do you think science gets in Frankenstein?

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Is it condemned?

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Is it condoned?

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Or is Mary Shelley turning in her grave, wishing we were asking a different question?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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