Two Lives of Frankenstein: Text and Moral Compass

Two Lives of Frankenstein: Text and Moral Compass

While the critical heritage of Frankenstein acknowledges it as one of the progenitors of the science fiction genre, this paper will argue for a new reading of the text as a moralisation of modern science and in doing so allow for a redefinition of the genre itself. The first life of Frankenstein was insignificant, with only 500 copies being sold initially. However, Frankenstein and his creature quickly became catchphrases for playing God. The text again evolved when Mary Shelley redrafted it for the 1831 edition; influenced both by how the text had been received and her own experiences in the intervening years. This new edition evidences the living nature of the text and this life continues in today’s reinterpretations of the work. The second life of Frankenstein is as a pioneer of the science fiction genre. Mary Shelley was uniquely positioned to write this watershed novel: an unprecedented confluence of personality, place and time. Hers was not a Gothic horror but rather something new - a narrativising of the science of the day. Victor Frankenstein’s creature became a symbol of the dangers of playing God in an increasingly Godless world. Shelley’s novel then is not only a narrativisation of science, but also a moralisation - she does not so much ask, what if? as she does, should we? And it is this new moral space that gives Frankenstein a unique heritage as the first genuine science fiction text, both creating and redefining our understanding of the genre as a whole.

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