Writers 
Picture Frankenstein in your mind. You probably see a huge creature with green skin, bolts sticking out of his neck, and a scientist standing over him shouting, “It’s alive!”
Kinda remind me of the cartoon: Igor
But here's the strange yet interesting part: the real Frankenstein is much darker because the terrifying creature isn't actually called Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is actually the scientist - not what he "created".
The story follows Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant young scientist who became obsessed with discovering the secret of life.
He studies science, anatomy and the mysteries of nature. Then he crosses a line no human being was ever supposed to cross.
Victor "created" life.
He gathered different body parts and brought them together, eventually animating his creation. But the moment the creature opened his eyes, Victor is horrified.
First thing he did? He ran away.
Think about it.
Victor spent years dreaming about creating life. Then, when his creation actually lived, he abandoned him almost immediately - and that decision is what began the nightmare.
The darkest truth about Frankenstein is that the creature wasn't born evil.
He was confused, didn't understand the world. He was alone. And everywhere he went too, people were terrified of him because of his appearance.
He eventually hid near a family's home and secretly observed them. From them, he learned the language, emotions and human behavior.
He watched them love one another and he desperately wanted the same thing. He wanted someone to love him.
But when he finally tries to approach humans, they attack him. On multiple occasions, he was brutally rejected. Eventually, his loneliness turns into anger. And his anger turns into revenge.
The creature eventually confronted Victor. But... instead of simply killing him, he asked for something surprisingly reasonable.
He wanted a companion. Another creature that was like himself. Someone who won't judge him by his appearance. Someone who won't abandon him.
Victor reluctantly agreed. But while creating the second creature, Victor becomes terrified of what might happen if the two creatures reproduced. What would happen to the human race?
Because of this, Victor destroyed her before bringing her to life and creature saw what had happened.
Then in his pain, he made a promise to Victor:
He will be with him on his wedding night.
Victor didn't fully understand what that meant.
But he would soon enough.
Few weeks later, the creature began taking revenge on Victor by destroying the people Victor loved.
His closest friend is killed.
Then Victor's bride, Elizabeth, was murdered on the night of their wedding. Victor had now lost almost everything.
The tragedy is that the creature's hatred began with something very simple: He wanted his creator to love him.
Victor gave him life but he refused to give him responsibility, companionship or acceptance.
Now the question lingering now is, who is actually the monster?
That's what makes story so unsettling.
The creature is horrifying. He killed innocent people. He commits terrible acts.
But Victor created him and then abandoned him. So where does the real evil begin?
With the creature?
Or with the creator who brought him into existence without considering what would happen afterward?
The creature becomes violent because of rejection - but his suffering doesn't excuse his crimes.
Victor's intentions may have begun with scientific curiosity, but his refusal to take responsibility creates devastating consequences.
What's even more fascinating is that Frankenstein is not just any written story to gain traction but it all started with Mary Shelley, who was only a teenager when the idea of Frankenstein began taking shape.
In 1816, she was staying near Lake Geneva with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.
The weather was unusually cold and gloomy that summer. The group spent evenings telling ghost stories.
Byron challenged everyone to write their own terrifying tale.
Mary struggled to find an idea. Then, according to her later account, she imagined a scientist bringing a dead body to life.
That nightmare became Frankenstein.
And it eventually became one of the most influential horror and science-fiction stories ever written.
The biggest horror in Frankenstein isn't really that someone created a monster. It's that someone created life and refused to take responsibility for what he had created.
Quite bad.
The creature's body makes him frightening but we should also take not that his loneliness makes him human - and that's why the story has survived for more than two centuries.
Because beneath the horror, Mary Shelley was asking a question that still feels uncomfortable today:
Just because we have the power to create something... does that mean we're ready for the responsibility that comes with it?
Like and comment. It helps.
