Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This summer I took a 2-month long academic writing course. The course taught me how to do college-level writing and centered around the topic of monster culture. A part of our studies was done by analyzing Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Frankly, when I first read the book, it didn’t interest me very much. I’m not used to focusing on elaborate metaphors, and most of the themes went over my head. Yet, over the course of 6-8 weeks, my view has completely flipped.

Now, I have written 3 short essays, 2 major essays, and many shorter analyses on Frankenstein; I have read the whole book 2-3 times and some sections more than a dozen times. Every hour I have spent dissecting the book has increased my appreciation for its intricate detail and thematic patterns. Two interesting themes I explored in Frankenstein are race and political community.

Race is most relevant in the Creature (Frankenstein’s creation). By his description - yellow skin, beardless face, and black hair - many scholars believe he is Mongolian. These details are important considering that Frankenstein was written in Britain when imperialism was likely embedded in daily life. Biological racism was gaining traction with early ideas of social Darwinism and white superiority. Thus, many scholars argue that Shelley’s 19th century readers would easily recognize the Creature as Mongolian. (See Anne Mellor’s “Frankenstein, Racial Science, And The Yellow Peril” for more information).

The second theme I will mention is political community. There are multiple great essays (for example: Colene Bentley’s “Family, Humanity, and Polity”) dissecting this subject, but to summarize, the two families in the book represent European political communities. They are both surprisingly permeable, easily accepting strangers (except the Creature). Thus, the question arises: who can be a citizen of these communities? Which political boundaries define these communities?

My point in bringing up these two themes is: writing an analysis of a book can uncover ideas that are completely overlooked by simply reading it. This is likely not a new revelation for most people – nor was it for myself. Still, the difference in my opinion and understanding of Frankenstein has changed so radically that it surprised me. This is a lesson that I will carry with me for my future books and blogs. While I can't do a similar scale analysis of every book, analyzing themes and details can greatly improve my learning and blogs.