Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is a Gothic novel that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a living being from dead tissue, only to be horrified by the creature he brings to life. The novel explores themes of ambition, the quest for knowledge, isolation, and the consequences of playing God.
The story begins with a series of letters written by Captain Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville, while he is on an expedition to the North Pole. Walton’s ship becomes trapped in the ice, and while waiting for rescue, the crew encounters Victor Frankenstein, who is weak and ill. Victor tells Walton his story, which forms the bulk of the novel.
Victor Frankenstein, born into a wealthy family in Geneva, Switzerland, becomes obsessed with the idea of conquering death and understanding the secret to creating life. While studying at the University of Ingolstadt, he begins working on his experiments in secret, eventually succeeding in animating a creature made from parts of dead bodies. However, upon bringing it to life, Victor is horrified by the creature’s grotesque appearance and abandons it.
The creature, abandoned and rejected by Victor, seeks out human companionship but is met with fear and hatred wherever it goes. It becomes increasingly isolated and vengeful. After being shunned by society, the creature learns to speak and read by observing a family from a distance. It reads Paradise Lost, Plutarch’s Lives, and The Sorrows of Young Werther, and learns about humanity, its own misery, and the reasons for its rejection by people. It confronts Victor, demanding that he create a female companion for it, someone who will accept and love it.
Reluctantly, Victor agrees to create a mate for the creature, but he destroys the female before completing her, fearing the possibility of creating a race of monstrous beings. In retaliation, the creature vows to make Victor’s life as miserable as possible. The creature murders Victor’s younger brother William, leading to the wrongful execution of an innocent woman, Justine Moritz, who is framed for the crime. The creature continues its path of destruction, killing Victor’s best friend, Henry Clerval, and eventually his wife, Elizabeth, on their wedding night.
Devastated by the loss of his loved ones and consumed by guilt and rage, Victor vows to pursue the creature to the ends of the earth. The pursuit leads them both to the Arctic, where Walton’s ship encounters them. Victor, now dying from exhaustion, tells his story to Walton and urges him to abandon his dangerous quest for knowledge, warning him about the destructive consequences of unchecked ambition.
After Victor’s death, the creature appears aboard Walton’s ship, telling him that it plans to end its own life by setting itself on fire in the Arctic to destroy the evil it represents. The novel ends with the creature disappearing into the icy wilderness, leaving Walton and his crew to return home.
Frankenstein is often regarded as one of the first science fiction novels, though it also explores deeply philosophical themes about the limits of scientific knowledge, the dangers of playing God, and the human need for companionship and understanding. Victor’s tragic downfall is the result of his refusal to take responsibility for his creation, and the creature’s tragedy lies in its longing for acceptance and love, which is denied at every turn. The novel critiques the pursuit of knowledge and ambition when done without consideration for the moral and ethical consequences.