Mary Wollstonecraft

A monster assembled by a scientist from parts of dead bodies develops a mind of his own as he learns to loathe himself and hate his creator.

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley's classic work, published when she was just twenty years old, tells the tale of eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a terrifying creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Inspired after a competition between Shelley, her husband Percy, Lord Byron and John Polidori to see who could write the best horror story, Frankenstein is in part a gothic novel and considered by some as one of the first forays into science fiction. The story takes place in the 18th century and has led to numerous spin-off works featuring 'Frankenstein's monster.'

Nica

I greatly need a friend who would have sense enough not to despise me as a romantic, and affection enough for me to endeavour to regulate my mind. 

I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it is true; but that is the poor medium for the communication of feeling. I desire the company of a man who could sympathise with me; whose eyes would reply to mine.

I bitterly feel the want of a friend. I have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to approve or amend my plans. How would such a friend repair the faults! I am too ardent in execution, and too impatient of difficulties. But it is a still greater evil to me that I am self-educated.

I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven; for nothing contributes so much to tranquillise the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.

Luca Stromann

I sickened as I read. “Hateful day when I received life!" I exclaimed in agony. “Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred."

"By degrees I made a discovery of still greater moment. I found that these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds. I perceived that the words they spoke sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers. This was indeed a godlike science […]"

Besides, I had a contempt for the uses of modern natural philosophy. It was very different when the masters of the science sought immortality and power; such views, although futile, were grand: but now the scene was changed. The ambition of the inquirer seemed to limit itself to the annihilation of those visions on which my interest in science was chiefly founded. I was required to exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur for realities of little worth.

mari🎐

Si l'étude que vous menez tend à vous éloigner de vos proches, et à corrompre le goût de ces plaisirs simples que rien ne saurait d'ordinaire altérer, concluez-en que cette tâche est très certainement illégitime, au sens où elle ne sied pas à l'esprit humain. 

nikki

“My soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone?”

“Hateful day when I received life! Accursed creator! Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred.”

''If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear.''

“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.”

Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

or, The Modern Prometheus

[…] we must continue our course with the rest and learn to think ourselves fortunate whilst one remains whom the spoiler has not seized.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein first published on January 1st, 1818.

Or, the Modern Prometheus

LIMEKI 

...yo debería ser vuestro Adán, pero, bien al contrario, soy un ángel caído, a quién privasteis de la alegría sin ninguna culpa; por todas partes veo una maravillosa felicidad de la cual sólo yo estoy irremediablemente excluido.

jasmine pérez

Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to becomne greater than his nature will allow.

Thus ended a day memorable to me: it decided my future destiny.

Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery and be overwhelmed by disap pointments, yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit, that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.

Frankenstein, Or The Modern PrometheusThe Classic 1818 TextBy Mary W. ShelleyVictor Frankenstein, obsessed with scientific theories focused on natural wonders, watches lightning strike an oak tree and is inspired to harness its power. He develops a technique to bring inanimate bodies to life, including that of a monster creature eight feet tall. But Victor is upset by his creation and what he perceives to be his failure. He rejects the monster, who is left despondent and vowing revenge.Victor has a breakdown and when he eventually returns home, he discovers his brother William has been murdered. Victor suspects the monster and tries to find peace in a mountain hideaway but the monster finds him and insists Victor hear his own story.TITLE: FrankensteinAUTHOR: Mary W. ShelleyLENGTH: 167 PagesPUBLISHER: Pearl Necklace BooksGENRE: Classic, Classics, Gothic, Horror, Books, Thriller, British

1818, the Classic

Ah! it is well for the unfortunate to be resigned, but for the guilty there is no peace. The agonies of remorse poison the luxury there is otherwise sometimes found in indulging the excess of grief.

I will watch with the wiliness of a snake, that I may sting with its venom. 

You can blast my other passions; but revenge remains--revenge, henceforth dearer than light or food! 

Alas! why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute; it only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us.

 we must continue our course with the rest, and learn to think ourselves fortunate, whilst one remains whom the spoiler has not seized.

The time at length arrives, when grief is rather an indulgence than a necessity; and the smile that plays upon the lips, although it may be deemed a sacrilege, is not banished. 

alba

las lágrimas corrían por mis mejillas y yo hallaba en el llanto un relativo consuelo.

—¡Mil veces maldito el día que me vio nacer! —gritaba con desesperación—. ¡Infame creador! ¿Por qué habéis dado vida a un ser tan monstruoso que, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘰 𝘷𝘰𝘴, apartáis de mí la mirada, llena de asco? Dios, con su misericordia, hizo al hombre hermoso y atractivo, a su imagen y semejanza; pero mi cuerpo es una abominable parodia del vuestro, más inmundo todavía debido a esta semejanza. Satán tiene, al menos, compañeros, otros seres diabólicos que le admiran y le ayudan. Pero mi soledad es absoluta y todos me desprecian.

The Penguin English Library Edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 'Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome, yet appalling hideousness' A twisted, upside-down creation myth, Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale lays bare the dark side of science, and the horror within us all. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, who plunders graveyards to create a new being from the bodies of the dead - but whose botched creature causes nothing but murder and destruction. Written after a nightmare when its author was only eighteen, Frankenstein gave birth to the modern science fiction novel. The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Hanna Rybchynska

I really loved this book. Full of meanings and made me think a lot about life and existence.

Frankenstein (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

Molly M

Obsessed with creating life itself, Victor Frankenstein plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, which he shocks into life with electricity. But his botched creature, rejected by Frankenstein and denied human companionship, sets out to destroy his maker and all that he holds dear. Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley near Byron's villa on Lake Geneva. It would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity.

Based on the third edition of 1831, this volume contains all the revisions Mary Shelley made to her story, as well as her 1831 introduction and Percy Bysshe Shelley's preface to the first edition. This revised edition includes as appendices a select collation of the texts of 1818 and 1831 together with 'A Fragment' by Lord Byron and Dr John Polidori's 'The Vampyre: A Tale'. 

Monicap

I'm actually really glad I read this book--I'd always been put off by the movie image of the creature, with screws and stitches all over the place, but that's not how he's described here, and this book doesn't feel like that at all.

The nestling narration is really intriguing--it draws the reader into one story at a time. 

Victor Frankenstein and the Creature are both morally, shall we say, gray. Interestingly, I sympathized greatly with the creature whose morality was pretty straight for most of his early 'life'. And yet, I also can't blame Frankenstein for the creature's actions. 

Really good story, highly recommended.

Giovanna

Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus (Road Classics)

Dani

Leer esta novela, me maravilló y constaté porqué es una de las obras que más ha influenciado la cultura pop. El acercamiento que hace Mary Shelly a la inocencia, a través del monstruo de Frankestein, es brutal. Nos muestra cómo el monstruo, al darse cuenta de que carece de las cualidades que los humanos valoran, se ve incapaz de integrarse con ellos y a pesar de ello, constantemente vuelve a la ternura, se maravilla de la naturaleza y de los humanos, comprendiendo que no puede vivir sin afecto ni comunidad.

Sin embargo, la humanidad continúa empujándolo a convertirse en una bestia por la forma en que lo tratan, lo humillan. Shelly habla sobre la propia humanidad, mostrando la distancia que a menudo mantenemos con aquel que es diferente. Y crear con esa diferencia un pozo sin fondo que nos alejará y nos hará juzgar al otro sin conocerlo ni entenderlo. 

Una lectura para replantearnos la codificación de la sociedad humana y repensarla antes de perder más de lo que somos capaces de dar.

i never knew that the real story was so tragic or that the monster’s creature’s name wasn’t frankenstein, it was actually the creator’s name: victor frankenstein; the creature remained unnamed. 

and you know what? justice for the nameless creature! victor had it coming!

reading, and enjoying, this book has made me more interested in mary shelley’s works.

joana

i never knew that the real story was so tragic or that the monster’s creature’s name wasn’t frankenstein, it was actually the creator’s name: victor frankenstein; the creature remained unnamed. 

and you know what? justice for the nameless creature! victor had it coming!

reading, and enjoying, this book has made me more interested in mary shelley’s works.

Charlotte Gordon

The 1818 Text

envee

I finally got the chance to read this! It’s been in my tbr for so long (as with all the other books in my tbr).

I absolutely loved the style of writing! It’s immensely descriptive, which may be a lot of people’s cup of tea (or maybe not). Personally, I adored it. If I were to describe the writing further, it’s like a story-ception. A story within a story, within another story, and then another story. That way of writing really added to the immersion since it let me view Victor in different perspectives.

Although a little tedious at some parts, it was so worth it to read through to see how the story of the monster unfolds and how he works through the complex inner workings of man. I don’t regard it as a horror story but rather, a sad one. I find myself sympathizing with the monster and thinking about what would happen if the monster had not been so alone, and had not been spurned by every human who saw him.

I see why it’s been enjoyed by many generations and would definitely recommend it to everyone. 💯

I finally got the chance to read this! It’s been in my tbr for so long (as with all the other books in my tbr).

I absolutely loved the style of writing! It’s immensely descriptive, which may be a lot of people’s cup of tea (or maybe not). Personally, I adored it. If I were to describe the writing further, it’s like a story-ception. A story within a story, within another story, and then another story. That way of writing really added to the immersion since it let me view Victor in different perspectives.

Although a little tedious at some parts, it was so worth it to read through to see how the story of the monster unfolds and how he works through the complex inner workings of man. I don’t regard it as a horror story but rather, a sad one. I find myself sympathizing with the monster and thinking about what would happen if the monster had not been so alone, and had not been spurned by every human who saw him.

I see why it’s been enjoyed by many generations and would definitely recommend it to everyone. 💯

Frankenstein
            
                Scholastic Classics

Qonita

3.8/5. I heard that the version I read has been trimmed a lot by the author's husband. I wouldn't know how both versions differ, but it does feel kinda.. neat and censored? Idk, it could be any of the two's style, but I wonder how unfiltered the original version would be without the snipping. I imagine a bit of a wild and raw touch would do the the book good,, the writing's just okay as it is. But it's kinda funny how our main character could have just dropped dead any time because of how frail he was, and the plot just snowballed while he was bedridden for 3 months or so each time. 

I also like the glimpse of what scientists were like or what people think what scientists were like in that era, and the emotional conflict between Frankenstein and the monster was poignantly reflective. People rejection towards the monster mirrors how people treat differences in real life sometimes. It pained me how not a single person found in them a heart to even just listen to the monster. I was hoping and hoping for there to be a compromise between the two sides. But it's already over when one had resorted to murder and the other one had deaths to avenge, right? But there were so many points where it could've ended differently, except everyone has also been molded by their past and experiences to react as such, and there were barely any hope for the monster from the very start.

This reminds me of Of Mice and Men when George unfortunately had to conclude that Lennie was not meant for that world, that that world won't make a place for him and he'd better off somewhere else not to suffer. Sucks when the other solution is changing their whole world that just won't commit to understand people first before punishing, while we're just audiences or powerless characters who can't do shit. And the fact that the world would definitely side with the prematurely reactionary majority?? Sigh. SIGH. Anyways, my heart was breaking slowly for that side of the story, making this a 4 for the feels.

A 'short' read that will never be a short read. One of those books you have to read a few pages of and then sit with what was said. I shall leave you with a single quote: "I am malicious because I am miserable." And yet who said it? Frankenstein or the 'monster'? 

Kiersten Hepditch

a classic indeed, although it felt a bit dragging at some points. less a horror book and more a reflection on loneliness and the evil of man

Nykky

"Beware: for I am fearless, and therefore powerful." - m.s.

Summer Joy

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this book. It was complex and full of interesting themes.

Moriah Howard

It’s interesting how many of the themes are still relevant today. It is really food for thought.

Vanessa

Beautiful. I can say anything else, it's just so beautiful.

Presents the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his obsessive experiment that leads to the creation of a monstrous and deadly creature.

Ceej Manaloto

After having read "Frankenstein", of three things I was utterly, undeniably, and irrevocably convinced:

First, that I adore Mary Shelley to the bone;

second, that the Creature, the could-have-been champion, deserved all the things he didn't get;

and third, that I'm gonna say this once (and for all) so listen up, Victor "douche" Frankenstein,

cheers to your success! Two middle fingers salute you for a job well (though horribly but still well) done.

Kritika Narula

I have always wanted to venture into classic horror, and was recently compiling a list of the best horror books, when I realised I never read the pioneers. Considering my time crunch and scanty attention-spans, a graphic novel seemed like a good excuse, and it indeed was. I finished it within a couple of hours and loved the plot. I am pretty sure there would have been scope for contemplation in the original text 9 a lot more than in this graphic edition) but the macabre quality of it was brought out well here.

Frankenstein Unabridged

Romy

nour

The California edition of the Pennyroyal Press "Frankenstein" unites the dark side of Barry Moser's art with the classic 1818 text of Mary Shelley's tale of moral transfiguration. In a vivid sequence of woodcuts, the reader witnesses the birth of the "monster" as Moser shapes him from darkness and gives him a form simultaneously ghastly in its malice and transfixing in its suffering.

With Connections

Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus

maddie

lexie

Ziggy

when god sings with his creations will [the creature] not be part of the choir?

Paper Mill Press

Frankenstein Mary Shelley Classic, , Ribbon Page Marker, Perfect for Gifting

Laurianne

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow."
Human beings are fascinating. They go to great lengths to prove their worth. When they catch a glimmer of hope, they grab and cling onto it tight, believing it is meant for them. A chance to be something greater, to gain power that will put them above their peers. Such ambitions, when becoming too excessive, not only it will endanger oneself, the risks could be fatal for the entire human race as seen from this book. 

I understand that we, as a living being with the ability to think, never stop learning. We discover something new every day and the tendency of wanting to solve every universe's mistery is embedded in ourselves. Yet there must be a line we shouldn't cross. "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world."Where there is life, there is also death. What Frankenstein did, bestowing a life on a dead matter might be perceived a brilliant idea by those driven solely from burning ardour. In fact, it is unwise to cheat death and play God when your capability is limited."A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me."Frankenstein believed he would be worshipped upon this creation of his. The idea fueled his progress and once it's all used up, he is faced with the horrid reality. It did not come to him then: how the "monster" would behave, if he would adapt to his surroundings, develop feelings, and able to procure complex thoughts. 

The rejection from Frankenstein as the monster's creator was very irresponsible in his part. I find myself (not justifying) sympathizing the monster, for Frankenstein brought this on himself. He is the cause of his own destruction.

Overall, I think it was a remarkable book. The prose is so mesmerizing that I feel like I'll be thinking of this book for a long time.

I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created.

Frankenstein

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