ThAct: CS and Frankenstein

A Cultural Analysis of Frankenstein

Thinking Activity: A Cultural Studies Approach to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

click here for view task

Cultural Studies in practice: Frankenstein

→ Preface:

          Mary Shelley’s Sci-Fi adventure, thriller and dramatize the novel in that one can do the thing which challenging the God’s creation, the cultural sign and its major aspects. In this novel we come across with mythical story or we can say culture tale like “Prometheus”, “Narcissus” and “Paradise lost”. Mary Shelley has presented very fruitfully and with appropriate facts. Her novel has morphed into countless forms in both height brow and popular culture. Her creation teaches us not to underestimate the power of youth culture. It is truly captivating powerful novel that analyzes ‘Monstrosity’ with regard to ‘humanity’. However without a sound understanding of the context, in which the text was written one couldn’t completely comprehend the themes, ideas and references did not present nor can the apparent link between monstrosity and humanity be completely fathomed.

          In the novel Victor Frankenstein is the first character, who makes a cultural discourse and who occupies our attention, a character for whom his desire to create life is everything while to accept that life is not important. For him the creation ‘Monster’ is not his child and responsibility now. In below given quote we can see his hunger for knowledge and to create a life through that knowledge:

“The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine. Curiosity earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were earliest sensation I can remember”

                Humanity which sees the moral or ethical consent of the novel and by this I also want to prove my point that why Marry Shelley wants to create a male monster? But by this regard I can say through observing all aspect the aspects of novel and its study that I have, and naturally this clear when its shows the power of men and in other hand the ugliness of the monster that she wants to show and also we can say in cultural studies of this novel that, “A message on the Irony and Danger in the Quest for power” cause the generation is what that creates or challenge.

Revolutionary Births:

Hardly a day goes by without our seeing an image or illusion to Frankenstein, from CNN descriptions of Saddam Hussein as an “American-created Frankenstein.” Born like its creator in an age of revolution, Frankenstein challenged accepted ideas of its day. As it has become increasingly co modified by modern consumer culture, one wonders whether its original revolutionary spirit and its critique of scientific, philosophical, and political and gender issues have become obscured instead its continuing transformation attests to its essential oppositional nature. Hardly a day goes by without out seeing an image or allusion to magazine articles that warn of genetically engineered “Frankenstein”, test-tube babies, and cloning.

Revolutionary Births: Exploring the Modern Relevance of Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, born from an era of social and political upheaval, captures revolutionary ideas and critiques of the scientific, philosophical, and political beliefs of her time. Today, as we see Frankenstein reimagined in countless forms, it's worth asking: Has its revolutionary edge been softened by commercialization, or does its adaptability reflect a persistent ability to challenge norms? Here, we explore a few key themes and their relevance in modern conversations.

1. The Creature as Proletarian

Shelley wrote Frankenstein amidst significant political tension, influenced by radical thinkers like her parents, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and contemporaries like Thomas Paine. The Creature, often marginalized and misunderstood, can be seen as representing the plight of the oppressed—a symbol of the struggle between classes and the pain of the exploited.

Reflect: The Creature’s complex nature—as both innocent and vengeful—mirrors society’s fears of rebellion. His story invites us to question how societies can create their own “monsters” when they deny individuals justice, belonging, and compassion. How does the Creature's journey reflect a call to empathy for the suffering, and what does it reveal about society's tendency to fear those who challenge the status quo?

2. A Race of Devils

The Creature’s portrayal also taps into deep-rooted anxieties around the "Other," whether defined by race, class, or difference. Victor Frankenstein’s relentless ambition and guilt may reflect the mindset of colonial dominance, where fear and control are often directed toward those seen as "outsiders."

Reflect: Shelley's narrative engages with themes of race and imperialism, exposing issues of privilege and the harms of alienation. These issues resonate today as we examine global conversations about race, power, and privilege. How does Frankenstein urge us to reflect on the human cost of “othering,” and what can it teach us about inclusivity and respect in a multicultural world?

3. From Natural Philosophy to Cyborg: Ethics of Creation

In our world of genetic engineering, AI, and biotech, Frankenstein feels more relevant than ever. Shelley’s cautionary tale highlights the moral and ethical boundaries of scientific advancement, warning of the potential consequences of unrestrained ambition.

Reflect: Today, our scientific pursuits—cloning, genetic modification, AI development—carry similar ethical concerns. Frankenstein challenges us to consider the responsibilities that come with creation and innovation. What lessons can we learn from Victor’s hubris, and how might they inform our approach to new technologies that have the power to shape our future?

Frankenstein and Today’s Lens: Irony, Power, and Reflection

In today’s world, Frankenstein represents both the awe and irony of human creation. To understand its layers, it helps to see Frankenstein as a story born from the Industrial Revolution—a time when science and technology promised power but also brought unexpected consequences. Shelley's novel explores these themes, suggesting that human intervention, even with good intentions, can lead to monstrous outcomes. Just as Victor’s ambition leads to the creation of the Creature, humanity's own inventions can turn against them if not handled responsibly. In Frankenstein, it's ultimately the actions and choices of humans that push the Creature toward darkness, not its inherent nature.

Shelley’s world was full of scientific pursuits that aspired to surpass human limits, echoing Victor Frankenstein’s ambitious experiment. Influences like John Milton’s Paradise Lost appear throughout the novel, deepening its themes. If we know Paradise Lost, we can see how Frankenstein draws parallels between Victor and the rebellious Prometheus—a figure punished for reaching beyond the natural order, much like Victor suffers for creating life.

Victor’s rejection of the Creature also reflects a universal irony: he loathes what he has created, as if looking at a distorted image of himself. It’s as if he’s condemning his own flaws, much like someone who preaches morality in public but hides secret vices. The Monster, in this way, becomes a reflection of Victor’s loneliness and inner darkness—a symbol of his own “evil side” made visible. Victor’s “creation” was not just scientific; it was the offspring of his own isolation and inner conflict.

But why did Mary Shelley write such a novel? In part, Frankenstein grew from the culture and darker sides of her own society—a society fascinated by scientific advances but also full of social inequalities and moral contradictions. The story opens with a set of letters from Robert Walton, an explorer writing to his sister, Margaret Saville, about his ambitious journey to the North Pole. Walton dreams of a “great purpose” for himself, either by finding a new sea route to the Pacific or by stepping into undiscovered lands. These letters set the stage for the themes that Shelley weaves throughout the novel: ambition, isolation, and the relentless pursuit of the unknown.

A Race of Devil:

Frankenstein may be analyzed in its portrayal of different “races”. Though the creature’s skin is only described as yellow, it has been constructed out of a cultural tradition of the threatening ‘other’ or giant, gypsy or Negro.

        Though the abolitionists wished to portray the black man or woman as brother or sister, they also created an image of the African as a childlike, suffering and degraded being. To turn him (the slave) loose in the manhood of his physical strength, in the maturity of his physical passion but in the infancy of his uninstructed reason. The labors are not educated people and this concept we can see in the present novel.

From Natural Philosophy to Cyber:

       Today in the age of genetic engineering, biotechnology and cloning, the most far-reaching industrialization of life forms to date. Frankenstein is more relevant than ever. Developments in science were increasingly critical to society during the Romantic period when a paradigm shift occurred from science as natural philosophy to science as biology, a crucial distinction in “Frankenstein”. Mary Shelley attended public demonstrations of the effect of electricity on animal and human bodies, living and dead. Has science gone too far? According to cultural critic Laura Kranzler, Victor’s creation of life and modern sperm banks and artificial wombs show a “masculine desire to claim female productivity” (Kranzler 45). 

‘Luigi Galvani's frog leg experiments’

Actually today we are constantly confronted with new developments in fertility science and new philosophical conundrums that result from genetic engineering, in vitro fertilization, cloning and the prolongation of life by artificial means. Couples taking fertility treatments sometimes have to face the difficult choice of “selective reduction” or the possible adverse results of multiple premature births. People wonder, has science gone too far? According to cultural critic, victor’s creation of life and modern sperm banks and artificial wombs show a masculine to claim female reproductively”. “Frankenstein” and its warnings about the hubris of science will be with us in the future as science continues to question the borders between life and death, between viability and selective reduction between living and life support. We can take example of a doctor who lives in Anand. He knows about the surrogate mother.

Archetype of Frankenstein in popular culture:

Timothy Morton uses the term Frankenstein, drawn from sonic elements of language, as used in structural linguistics and visual elements as “elements of culture that are derived from “Frankenstein”. We end with a quick look at some of the thousands of retelling, parodies and other selected Frankenphemes as they have appeared in popular fiction, drama, film and television. 

Fiction:

           Frankenstein’s fictions peter Haining, editor of the indispensable Frankenstein omnibus has called Frankenstein “the single greatest horror story novel ever written and the most widely influential in its genre”. The first story about a female monster is French author Villiers de Lisle Adam’s “the future Eve”, an 188 novelette not translated into English until fifty years later, in which an American inventor modes on Thomas Edison makes an artificial woman for his friend. Jack London’s early story, “A thousand Deaths” (189), is a gruesome science fiction tale of a scientist who stays at sea on his laboratory ship, repeatedly killing then reviving his son, until the son has enough and kills his father.

“Frankenstein” on the stage:

From his debut on the stage, the creature has generally been made more horrified and victor has been assigned less blame. Most stage and screen versions are quite melodramatic, tending to eliminate minor characters and the entire frame structure in order to focus upon murder and Mayhem. Dramatist would not want to try for all of the complexities of the novel. In stage versions only a few key scenes, the creation of the creature are used. On the nineteenth century stage, the creature was a composite of frightening makeup and human qualities. He could even appear clownish, recalling Shakespeare’s Caliban.

      The first theatrical presentation based on “Frankenstein” was “The fate of Frankenstein” by Richard Brinsley Peak; performed at the English Opera House in London Mary Shelley herself attended the play and pronounced it authentic. But this “serious” drama immediately inspired parodies, first with “Frankenstein” in 1823, a burlesque featuring a tailor, who as the “Needle Prometheus” sews a body out of nine corpses.

Film Adaptations:

          In the “Frankenstein omnibus” readers can study the screenplay for the 1931 James whale film “Frankenstein”, the most famous of all adaptations. It was loosely based on the novel with the addition of new elements, including the placing of a criminal brain into the monster’s body. Thomas Edison in 1910, a one, however produced the first film version of “Frankenstein” –reel tinted silent. Early German films that were heavily influenced by this “Frankenstein” were the cabinet of Dr.Caligari (1920). The golem (1920) and Metropolis (192). In whale’s “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935) there is a return to the frame structure but this time we begin with Mary Shelley discussing her novel with P.B.Shelley. She is played by Elsa LAN Chester, who also plays the female creature, with her during black eyes an queen; this one tends toward comedy, parody and satire rather than pure horror.

Television Adaptations:

“Frankenstein has surfaced in hundreds of television adaptations, including “Night Gallery, The Addams family, The Munster, star trek. The next generation, notable television creatures have included Bo Swenson, Randy quad, David Warner and Ian Holm. Perhaps the most authentic television version was “Frankenstein” The true story (192) with script writing Christopher Isherwood and acting by James Mason.

♀ To be Conclude

            I just want to say that it’s really interesting to study with the purpose of cultural facts and the result is as we discussed a lot and we get the decode of this novel’s study with Cultural aspects.

Thank You 

Henley, Michael. “Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) – Time-Traveling Film Critic.” by Michael Henley, 8 May 2011, https://ttcritic.wordpress.com/2011/05/08/maryshelleysfrankenstein/. Accessed 8 November 2024.