This book sat on my shelf for four years before I finally picked it up last year, and even then, it took me another year to actually finish it.
To be honest, the book had a pretty slow start, and I struggled to keep up with it at first. But after watching a movie adaptation on Netflix, seeing the creature's isolation and loneliness played out on screen made me want to go back and sit with Shelley's own words. When I did, I finally understood why this story is considered such a masterpiece.
It is famous for being one of the very first science fiction novels, but the science is almost beside the point. What it's really about is what that science does to the people involved. It is a story of one man's passion and the immense suffering that follows when his own creation becomes the instrument of his ruin. At the same time, it's the story of the creature: someone with the appearance of a devil, but a heart that deeply yearns for love and acceptance. He is created, then abandoned, then hated by his own maker and everyone else he meets.
One line that really stuck with me, and I keep thinking about "But alas! What sort of freedom would I enjoy? The freedom a peasant enjoys when his family members have been massacred before his eyes, his cottage burnt, his lands laid waste, and he is turned out, homeless, penniless, and alone—but free." It's a haunting reminder of the true cost of the life the creature is forced to lead. That single line stayed with me long after I closed the book, and I think it's what made the whole story finally click into place for me.
Co-piloted by Kitaaben AI companion from readers’ notes