Is Frankenstein a ‘modern myth’?

QUIZ

• How old was Mary Godwin Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein?

• How many narrators does the novel have? • What was the first film adaptation of the story? • Who played ‘Frankenstein’ in James Whale’s 1931 film

version? • What show tune do Victor and the creature perform

together in Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein? • What is the name of Tim Burton’s animated cartoon version

of the story (2012) – and who are the two central characters?

Answers• How old was Mary Godwin Shelley when she wrote

Frankenstein? (19; published when she was 21)• How many narrators does the novel have? (Three: Victor, the

creature and Captain Robert Walton, the explorer).• What was the first film adaptation of the story? (1910)• Who played ‘Frankenstein’ in James Whale’s 1931 film

version? (Colin Clive; Boris Karloff was the creature/monster)

• What show tune do Victor and the creature perform together in Mel Brooks’ 1974 comedy? (Puttin’ on the Ritz)

• What is the name of Tim Burton’s animated cartoon version of the story (2012) – and who are the two central characters? (Frankenweenie; a boy and his [dead] dog).

‘Frankenstein Food’ and other stories

• ‘One of the most important myths of modernity ... the governing myth of modern biology' (Jon Turney, 1998)

Why ‘Myth’?

1. As narrative that is told and retold over many generations -- absorbing new sources and containing many layers of meaning

2. Articulating enduring or deep truths that continue to fascinate us -- authoritative ‘trope’ or metaphor in public imagination

Elements of Myth (1)

• Gods• Beginnings• Creation of a universe• Expressive of religious values and norms• Related to cults and rites• Order out of chaos• Re-enacts a putative historical event in order to effect

binding power now• Primeval world order becomes exemplary

(Lauri Honko, 1984).

Elements of Myth (2)

Dynamic, evolvingBinding, definitive, world-building (Paden)Relating to gods and supernatural?Or a ‘secular’ myth:• Victor as Everyman• Reflecting the birth of modernity: science, industry,

social engineering

Myth as ideology: frozen in time, inhibiting new thinking

Is Frankenstein a modern myth?

What does Frankenstein mean to you, today?Is ‘myth’ a helpful way of understanding how our cultural imagination works?Does myth reflect or shape attitudes?Are there other powerful enduring myths in our society?