Frankenstein
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Science Fiction is a branch of literature that explores the possibilities of human scientific advances, especially technological ones. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (published in 1818) was a sign of the sort which was established by Jules Vernes novels of the late 1800s. HG Wells at the turn of the twentieth century brought more scientific strictness in his works, such as The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds. Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke are among the most familiar writers of science fiction of the modern era (Cambridge Encyclopaedia, 1994). However, works from an earlier time, Frankenstein and I Robot have had a profound influence on thinking about science and its relationship to humanity and the world we live in. This essay explores the cultural legacy of these two
works and seeks to explain why they have been so influential.
Frankenstein explores many issues related to science and humanity. Behrendt has identified
some of the themes as individual and class alienation, social conditioning, gender
stereotyping, conflict between rational intellect and intuitive emotion and the revisionist
Romantic view of the relation between God and humanity (1990). Alienation is seen in the
fact that Frankenstein left community to do his experiments, and refused to share with others
what he had found; at the same time he utterly abandoned the life that he created (Madigan
2000, cited in Penner nd). Gender stereotyping is noted by Johnson (1987) who sees the
novel as the story of a man who usurps the female role by physically giving birth. Alienation
and gender are linked in the fact that the monster becomes a premeditating murderer only
when Victor destroys the half-finished female.
The context in which the novel was written seems to have been an important
influence. Critics believe that Shelley was reacting to the science of her time when
scientists studied the elusive boundary between life and death, through experiments
which tried to restore life to persons who had recently died by using electricity (US
National Library of Medicine 2002). The model for Frankenstein may be the Scottish
scientist James Lind, a school menot
r to Shelleys husband; Mary became intrigued
with tales of his experiments (SMH 2/5/02). Tim Marshall (1995) gives a different
perspective: just after the publication of Frankenstein the science of anatomy aroused
controversy because of the infamous case of Burke and Hare [found guilty in
Edinburgh of murdering at least 15 people to obtain bodies for dissection]. In 1832,
the Anatomy Act granted anatomists access to unclaimed bodies from the
workhouses. Before this time, dissection was a feared and hated punishment for
murder but the Anatomy Act, according to Richardson (1989, cited in Marshall 1995)
successfully redefined poverty as crime. The ensuing publicity made Frankenstein
even more popular.
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Behrendt from next reference
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reference b ecause it is not controversial
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it is an opinion.
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Relation between God and humanity is another issue. Joyce Carol Oates (1987)
believes that no one in the novel is evil. The universe is emptied of the concept of
God and assumptions of good and evil, and this constitutes the novels modernity. The
monster is Frankensteins deepest self and hints at his secret wish for self-destruction.
It is no wonder that many people believe that the monster rather than his creator is
called Frankenstein. Madigan (2000, cited in Penner nd ) believes that Shelleys novel
is not condemning creative science but pointing out that scientists should be aware of
what they are creating. If scientists decide to “play God” in the interests of
compassion and the search for an understanding of the whole of life, there would be
no problem.
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, published in 1886, is another work which
emphasises the duality of human nature. It is one of the most horrific depictions of the human
potential for evil ever written and the names Jekyll and Hyde have become synonymous
with the idea of split personality. Like Frankenstein, it depicts a creature turned diabolic as
the result of rejection and hatred. Hyde is never an angel but not originally a devil either
(Eigner 1966, p.161). It is a rewriting of the Frankenstein myth in another way: the
misguided scientist is eventually destroyed by his own creation. But there is an important
difference. Frankenstein and the monster are separate being but Jekyll and Hyde are the one
person; by committing suicide Jekyll kills Hyde as well (Hammond 1984).The novel is also a
profound study of hypocrisy: by adopting the mask of Hyde, Jekyll