Book - Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
I recently read this as part of my ongoing resolution to read some of the modern classic novels that i've heard of and not yet read, but really think i should read. For most of the titles, I'm using the Modern Library's "100 Best Novels" list from last year, yet strangely Frankenstein doesn't make an appearance. First published in 1818, if you're under any illusion that Hollywood's phase of junking the happy ending in favour of more...ambiguous endings is an original idea, this book will show you it's anything but.
As I imagine quite a few people are aware (whether you've read the book or not) Frankenstein is actually the name of the doctor who creates the monster, and gives life to his creation. The monster itself is never named, and is referred to in varying (but always biased) terms. The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of Dr. Frankenstein, as he relates it to a stranger aboard a ship trying to navigate the northern ice. It begins rather sedately, taking the reader briefly through Frankenstein's childhood. We learn how he developed a keen interest in the sciences, particularly biology, and after some success in the academic world, he hits upon the idea of trying to create life from dead flesh. It's not just any life he aims to create, oh no, but the perfect man - as in, the perfect physical form. Tall and strong, and with a clever brain. As he concludes his work, and the monster slowly comes to life, the doctor becomes horrified by his handiwork. He panics and flees the creature, then promptly falls asleep - he was been working on the creature for 2 years, with little rest or food - and when he awakens, the beast is gone. He manages to fool himself that it was all just a nightmare, right up until the creature reappears...
It's easy to say that Frankenstein is meant to be a warning to science - particularly in light of the arguments over GM crops, and the tabloids' repeated use of the word "frankenstein" to describe science gone wrong - but I think there's a little more to it than that. About halfway through the book, we learn the story of the monster's early days, and the events that helped turn him into the twisted evil he becomes. Before he can even think properly, he is rejected outright by his own creator, and when he finally finds some people he believes may be willing to accept him in spite of his hideous physical appearance - which he himself was scared of when he first beheld his own reflection - he is once again rejected purely on his appearance, without being given a chance to say anything - he has by this point learnt a little human speech. These people who judge the monster by his appearance alone, have a hand in forming the evil that grows within him from this time onwards. "Don't judge a book by its cover" being the most fitting phrase here.