Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a work of literature that has been deeply ingrained into society. It was the first novel of its kind, and started a new genre of Gothic literature. It has been remade and parodied multiple times, and Frankenstein’s monster has become a universally recognizable figure. The themes and symbolism in Frankenstein will always be relevant to society during any time period, and explain why Frankenstein has become such a well known novel.
The pursuit of knowledge is one of the most obvious themes in Frankenstein. Shelley explores the dangers of going beyond accepted human limits and trying to learn more. This is seen in both Victor and Walton, Victor with is monster and Walton with is quest to the North Pole. This pursuit of knowledge proves dangerous for Victor as his obsessive hatred for the monster he created eventually drives him to his death. Walton’s pursuit of knowledge also proves dangerous for him, but ultimately he discovers how destructive continuing down that path can be. The quest for knowledge is a part of humanity that will never go away. Society is always trying to make more and make it better, and to discover their place in this world. Frankenstein has become such a well known work because it has a core theme that will always so applicable to humans.
Alienation is also a central theme in Shelley’s work. Frankenstein explores how alienation is both a cause of evil and a punishment for it. The monster explains how being alienated was directly related to him wanting revenge. Alienation and treating people or groups of people as “other” has always been a part of society too. People seem to naturally fear others who are different from them, and seem to prefer alienation to trying to understand those differences. While this mindset hopefully seems to be starting to change, Shelley still managed to capture a core societal theme. The relatability of these themes and many others in Frankenstein are what helped to make it such a central work in life.
