FRANKENSTEIN.

An edition of Mary Shelley´s novel

On a wet, inclement evening of the rainy summer of 1816 one of the most popular literary myths of all time was about to be born. We refer to Frankenstein´s Monster. Four poets were spending that summer in a house in the region of Geneva, Switzerland. They were Lord Byron (the best-known of Romantic poets), John W. Polidori, Percy B. Shelley and his wife, Mary W. Shelley.

Portrait of Mary Shelley, the creator of a myth.

Confined to the house by  bleak weather, they decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After several weeks thinking about what her possible storyline could be, Mary Shelley had a dream about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made. This was the starting point for probably the first science-fiction novel of all time and no doubt one of the best horror novels ever.

Dr. Frankenstein and his assistant in the 1931 film
 giving birth to the monster

Published in 1818, the complete title is Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. This was the name in Greek Mythology of the Titan who created mankind and finally defied Zeus while trying to improve men´s existence. He would be punished eternally due to this fact and Mary Shelley made her hero, Doctor Victor Frankenstein a modern Prometheus, whose life resulted in tragedy after looking desperately for scientific knowledge and the power to create life.

One of the most curious things is that since the novel was published, the name of the "creator", Frankenstein, started to be used by mistake to name "the creation". This usage, though erroneous, has come to be well-established and it is unanimously accepted nowadays. In the novel, the monster is identified with words such as "creature", "fiend", "wretch", "vile insect", "daemon", "being" and "it".

Boris Karloff is perhaps the most popular image of the monster

Mary Shelley´s novel has influenced popular culture for at least 100 years. It has inspired numerous films, television programmes, video games and derivative works. The character of the monster has become one of the most recognised icons in horror fiction.

Robert De Niro was the monster in Brannagh´s fim in 1994.

We are paying special attention to two of the most popular portrayals in films of the monster, that of Boris Karloff in three films of the thirties(starting with Frankenstein, 1931) and the 1994 movie Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein with Robert De Niro as the monster. They have been probably the most influential portraits of the monster to create the current iconic form he has in popular imagery.

The Frankenstein monster as a symbol for cloning: Cartoon
on stem cell research by Dick Wright (2001)

One clip and the trailer of Frankenstein (1931),

 directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff

Kenneth Branagh directed

Mary Shelley´s Frankenstein in 1994

Mel Brook´s Young Frankenstein was a parody

 of the films about the Monster: "Abby Normal...?"