Frankenstein

[Aa01]

Is Frankenstein a true modern horror novel? If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know.

[kempie]

Depends on which definition of 'modern' you are using:

1. since the Middle Ages
2. contemporary
3. advanced: ahead of the times

[Aa01]

most likely to be advanced.

[jno]

It was one of the earliest horror novels,a d I'm not sure that it still horrifies anyone. Notions of what counts as horror change (you can see the same thing happening with films); part of Frankenstein's story is to do with man challenging God, which was shocking in the 18th century but isn't now. Modern horror often seems to deal with the supernatural - though more likely satanic than God - and with the frailty of the body; though I'm not an expert, and other users may be able to set me straight.

[sophieb]

hi. im doing this novel at university at the moment. jno is right with the challenging god bit. im told that it is a sort of "science vs Creation" theme. It is also considered by many critics to be the first book to be written in the genre now known as science fiction.When it was originally written in 1818 Europe was in the first stages of Industrial Revolution although this didnt really take off til later. Also at the time there was medical discovery in Europe that claimed the dead could be brought back to life using a process called galvanisation. Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein in Geneva while on the Grand Tour of Europe (a kind of gap year in its time!). Sorry for the long winded answer but hope it helps a wee bit.

[Morrisonker]

I'm doing a uni course called 'Romanticism' and the 1818 version of Frankenstien is on the reading list. It was part of the romantic literary movement, which clearly didn't just include books about love. Check out Sparknotes if you need more insight, they'll probably help a bit.

[jno]

Mary Shelley wrote the story during a stay at Lake Geneva in 1816; one of the other guests in the same house, John Polidori, wrote a story called The Vampyre, a precursor of Dracula. So two of the great classical horror myths emerged at the same time. It's in a slightly barmy Ken Russell film called Gothic.

[Piper-AK]

Just to add to the above post re Polidori, he was Lord Byron's doctor during that particular jaunt. There is a book called 'A Summer with LB' based on Polidori's diary which is has to be one of the most hysterically funny books I've read, just in case any one fancies a good read.

[kaktus]

oh jno and sophie since you guys brought it up... I've heard the following, not sure if it's true or not, but it's a good story. I think the story was in the foreword to my edition of Frankenstein, I can't find it though and that most certainly doesn't make it true anyway, but here goes:

She was there with her husband, who was also a writer, and several other writers. They had a competition one evening, where they had to tell the most horrific story they could come up with. Shelley's stroy was considered the best and all the men were qutie embarrased that a woman had beaten them. :)

[jno]

you're right kaktus. Byron the poet was one of the people there, but I don't think he wrote anything. Percy Shelley - another poet, Mary's husband - was there too. Odd that the two least known people produced the most enduring fiction.