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Shelley’s Frankenstein calls many aspects of our class into my mind. First, I think of fairytales and how the characters are typically archetypes of the human condition. And indeed the characters of Frankenstein and his monster were all too human in this way. It would even seem that Shelley was trying extremely hard to make her characters augment these characteristics to the point of making them one dimensional. As a result of this, Shelley’s main characters are much more likely to be disliked by the reader, bringing him or her to the realization of just how detestable the human race can be.

There also seems to be an idea within this work that not matter what your circumstances in life, whether you are a creator or the created, the enemy or the victim, you are ultimately responsible for yourself and the knowledge you have acquired along your life’s journey. Unfortunately, both Frankenstein and his creation are not very good at that. Perhaps it was the zeal of the unconscious mind that dooms them. A question for the class: were Frankenstein and his monster too conscious or too unconscious?