by Mary Shelley
Have you ever read this book? I'm not talking about movies or TV shows or children's stories. I'm talking about the original Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, also known as The Modern Prometheus. Personally I actually like the other title better, as opposed to just using the name of the main character 'The Modern Prometheus' really explains the story and the basis of the idea she had writing this book.
Just like Prometheus stole the fire from the gods to give the humans, Frankenstein steals yet another power that is solely reserved for the gods -paying the price just as Prometheus did- the spark of life. Through the power of electroshock therapy Dr. Frankenstein creates life from a body that had never experienced life before. It is with this creation and his betrayal of the laws of God that he starts paying the price for such a power.
I'm not a religious person but I loved the idea of God in this story and the character development. Mary Shelley really creates characters that you can relate with and uses the power of night and day frequently to reveal some of the more disturbing sides of the people we come to know in this story.
A must read.
ps: As an extra bit of information. Did you know that this book was written because of a bet between Mary Shelley, Lord Byron and John Polidori on who could write the best horror story. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, one of the first Science-Fiction novels and Polidori wrote a vampire story that was completely overshadowed by its follower Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Polidori's novel was not remembered. A clear winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment