"Frankenstein: The 1818 Text"  by Marry Shelley

Reading blog: back dated 10/24/2025

Not really a review, more like a ramble.

Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein between the ages of 18-20. Here's just some of her trauma that she experienced during that time:

Mary Wollstonecraft died from infection 10 days after giving birth to Mary Shelley. At 17, Mary Shelly would give birth to her premature daughter Clara who died 2 weeks later. Mary has a dream involving her daughter coming back to life when warmed by the fire. She gives birth to her son Will at 18, who lives (for now). At 19, her sister died of suicide by laudanum overdose. The same year, her boyfriend’s pregnant wife dies. They get married while Mary is also pregnant with their 3rd child who lives (for now).

So, Mary Shelly, traumatized by the horror of maternity, decided to make it everyone's problem by writing Frankenstein.

When I read Frankenstein, Victor’s refusal to take responsibility for his child/creation frustrates me. My initial reaction to it is “a woman would never.” I try to keep in mind that this book is literally the manifestation of Mary’s own baggage with childbirth, but it's hard. The truth of the matter is that Mary deeply loved her children, which is evident in her private journals and letters. Her grief when they died is profound.

But Victor did not love his child. The child HE WANTED. Victor isn’t out here getting knocked up with an unwanted pregnancy. His desires and ambitions drove him to birth Adam. And yet, he abandons his child. Even if Victor decided he didn’t want this child anymore, he refuses to abort it. Victor’s inaction is SO FRUSTRATING. I literally hate this character so much. “Ugh all these horrible things are happening to me, I’m so full of sorrow.” My guy this is literally YOUR FAULT. PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Of course, our bouncing baby boy Adam didn’t ask to be born. He believes that he is due the love of his father (understandable). When that fails he seeks it out in mankind (that goes badly). Adam’s father refuses to love him and mankind refuses to love him. So he demands that a woman be created to love him. The idea that a woman should be created for the sole purpose to love a man is just distrusting to me. It all reminds me of "The Will to Change" where Hooks asks men to work on themselves and achieve the ability to love authentically, patriarchy creating the barriers that stops them from loving authentically. But the monster puts the burden of love on a woman, creating her for only that labor which Victor/mankind refuses to do. Honestly the only horror here is the patriarchal idea that a woman should exist only to serve for men’s emotional needs

And there it is. Mary’s trauma of childbirth is looking us right in the face. No one asks to be born and yet it is the duty of women to bear children and love them unconditionally no matter the circumstances. Victor’s inability to love is portrayed as something monstrous, but it’s also deeply connected to the gender dynamics of his time. The idea that men cannot love authentically, as a woman does, is the horror of the novel. Victor's failure isn’t just personal, it's a systemic issue rooted in patriarchy’s inability to allow men to embrace love fully and freely. And nothing in this world frustrates me more like a man who is controlled by the patriarchy.

I feel absolutely no sympathy for this absolute idiot of a man. He is a whiny, insufferable, little prick. This was a re-read for me. I hated Victor the first time I read this and I hate him more now. One Star. I can not find any love in my heart for this classic, sorry. 

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