The novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley was published in 1818. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen years old, the first edition was published by the time she was twenty.
Three years before its release, Shelley was on a trip through Europe that would change the course of monster movies forever. Before settling in Geneva the group stopped along the Rhine River in Germany, only 11 miles away from Frankenstein Castle.
Frankenstein Castle is dramatically placed on a hilltop in Odenwald, a low mountain range in Germany. Shelley didn’t only borrow the name of the castle, she also adopted some of the folklore that surrounded this historic landmark.
In 1673 Alchemist Johann Conrad Dippel was born in Frankenstein Castle. Dippel went on to create an oil called Dippel’s Oil or bone oil. This oil is a by-product of the distillation of animal bones. In substance, it was similar to a thick tar and was also known to have a gross smell. This oil was mostly used as an animal or insect repellant. Though it was actually used briefly in World War II as a chemical weapon, meant to make wells undrinkable for the enemy. Its initial intended use was more of a ‘fountain of youth’ sort of elixir.
Because Dippel’s alchemy stirred up rumors and folktales from the locals, many believe that this castle’s history influenced Mary Shelley’s writing. However, she never mentioned this stop in Germany or anything about Frankenstein’s Castle or Dippel’s alchemy in her journals.
Soon after her visit in Germany, Shelly and her fiance Percy B. Shelley next arrived in Geneva, Switzerland. Percy. B. Shelley is thought to be one of the major English Romantic Poets, but during his lifetime he never experienced fame. At the time his poetry, social and political views were extremely radical. Shelley wanted to donate his family’s riches to help the disadvantaged.
Mary and Percy fell in love when she was 16 and he was 21. He had an estranged wife, so the pair would secretly meet at the grave of Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary’s mother, in the St Pancras Church, located in Central London. Mary Wollstonecraft was not only a writer and philosopher, but also an early advocate for women’s rights.
When Mary and Percy first met, Percy was married and his wife was pregnant. She gave birth while he was living with Mary. Mary married Percy after his wife committed suicide.
In Geneva. Percy and Mary were on vacation with Lord Byron, Claire Clairmont and John William Polidori. The group, famously kept inside due to rain, decided to put on a horror writing contest. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, and Polidori wrote a story called The Vampyre which predated Dracula by 78 years.
Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus is classified as a classic frame story. Meaning that Shelley uses the mechanic of letter writing to set the stage for the novel.
This novel is famous for many things, one of them being the duality between Frankenstein and his monster. Though the creation is seen as the monster, it is Victor Frankenstein who is responsible for its crimes. There are recurring themes of loneliness, obsession and the constant struggle to define humanity. In addition to being a gothic novel, Frankenstein is also considered the first work of science fiction. Mary Shelley’s novel has never been out of print since it was first released in 1818. It’s also rumored to have appeared in more editions than any other novel.
When first released there was much speculation about the true identity of the author, it seems some reviewers knew that it was written by a woman and some didn’t. Those who did make reference to the “feminine” nature of the author in their reviews.
There were a few adaptations of Frankenstein that predated the Universal Monster film. In 1823, only 5 years after its original release Mary Shelley and her father William Godwin sat in the audience of the English Opera House to watch the play Presumption; or the Fate of Frankenstein. Three years after that in 1826 another theatrical version called The Man and The Monster opened in London. In 1887 a musical burlesque called Frankenstein, or the Vampire’s Victim debuted.
In 1910 the first film adaptation was released, simply called Frankenstein by Edison Studios. In 1915 a second film version of the story was released, but there is no known print still in existence. And 1920 saw yet another remake.
In 1931 Universal Studios released Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff as the monster. This is the version of the story that has likely shaped modern associations with Frankenstein.
This film was not directly adapted from Mary Shelley’s novel but rather from a 1927 theatrical version of the story; by Peggy Webling. Which was of course based on the original text.
While the genre of Mary Shelley’s novel is often debated; the Universal Studios version is clearly a horror film. After the iconic creation scene with Fritz, the assistant, and Doctor Frankenstein bringing the monster to life, we see Frankenstein’s Monster out in the world, innocent but unaware of his own strength. There is an important scene where he accidentally drowns a little girl because he doesn’t understand that she cannot swim. In certain releases of this film in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York the censorship board cut this drowning scene.
Kansas requested the cutting of 32 scenes, which would have been more than half of the movie. Eventually a compromise was reached and a slightly edited version opened in Kansas.
In 1930 Universal had lost over 2 Million dollars and desperately needed a win. They found that win in Dracula starring Bella Lugosi. Because of its success they followed it up with another monster movie, Frankenstein. Lugosi was interested in playing the role of the scientist, Henry Frankenstein. But the producer instead wanted him to play the monster. After several “disastrous makeup tests” the actor left the project. A decision that is often dubbed “the worst move of his career.”
The Universal film sprouted a franchise of spin offs including; Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, and of course Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
It’s incredible that 18 year old Mary Shelley wrote such a defining and wonderfully poignant horror novel. She was “allowed” to take part in the competition between Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, almost as if they were appeasing her, but she went on to write not only one of the most popular and influential novels of all time, but also inspired a major film franchise.
Even today, we immediately know the story of Frankenstein because it is still relevant, haunting and entertaining.
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