Frankenstein?

Question

Which novel, poem, short story, etc. do you think links to Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" really well? This can be anything, even contemporary literature - no limits :)

Answer 1

If you say no limits, I'm going to stretch this out to say "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. Shelley's is about a man-made monster, a being whose existence is provided by other people. Pip's fortune in Dickens's story is just as much provided to him by other people. The monster in Shelley's flees its creator, as does Pip when he discovers who has given him his fortune. The passion that Frankenstein puts forth is paralleled by that of the convict giving Pip his fortune. Both monster and Pip are unthankful. The list goes on.
More contemporary would be the Terminator movies, possibly Robocop, and most definitely Blade Runner, all of which contain cyborgs and robots that ask the same question as Shelley's: "What makes a human a human?" In more modern literature, I'd say "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, where a young boy is made into a war genius and hero.

Answer 2

Publication

Book covers for Frankenstein have taken many forms over the years which emphasize different themes of the novel such as gothic horror, science fiction, and romanticism. In this example, an historical anatomical painting of the human arm by Girolamo Fabrici (1537-1619) examines the themes of romanticism, science and art.Mary Shelley completed her writing in May 1817, and Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus was first published on 1 January 1818 by the small London publishing house of Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones. It was issued anonymously, with a preface written for Mary by Percy Bysshe Shelley and with a dedication to philosopher William Godwin, her father. It was published in an edition of just 500 copies in three volumes, the standard "triple-decker" format for 19th century first editions. The novel had been previously rejected by Percy Bysshe Shelley's publisher Charles Ollier and by Byron's publisher John Murray.

Critical reception of the book was mostly unfavourable, compounded by confused speculation as to the identity of the author, which was not well disguised. Walter Scott wrote that "Upon the whole, the work impresses us with a high idea of the author's original genius and happy power of expression", but most reviewers thought it "a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity" (Quarterly Review).

Despite the reviews, Frankenstein achieved an almost immediate popular success. It became widely known especially through melodramatic theatrical adaptations РMary Shelley saw a production of Presumption; or The Fate of Frankenstein, a play by Richard Brinsley Peake, in 1823. A French translation appeared as early as 1821 (Frankenstein: ou le Prom̩th̩e Moderne, translated by Jules Saladin).

The second edition of Frankenstein was published on 11 August 1823 in two volumes (by G. and W. B. Whittaker), and this time credited Mary Shelley as the author.

On 31 October 1831, the first "popular" edition in one volume appeared, published by Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley. This edition was quite heavily revised by Mary Shelley, and included a new, longer preface by her, presenting a somewhat embellished version of the genesis of the story. This edition tends to be the one most widely read now, although editions containing the original 1818 text are still being published. In fact, many scholars prefer the 1818 edition. They argue that it preserves the spirit of Shelley's original publication (see Anne K. Mellor's "Choosing a Text of Frankenstein to Teach" in the W. W. Norton Critical edition).

The revised edition was changed in several significant ways: any indication that Frankenstein's monster was created by vice was removed, and the text details a benevolent creator who creates the monster merely for the purposes of science. Suggestions of an incestuous relationship between Victor and Elizabeth are also removed, by making Elizabeth an adopted child of the Frankensteins.

Answer 3

The sci-fi novel Idoru by William Gibson or The movie Wierd Science :-)

Answer 4

Battlestar: Galactica (the new series)
Jurassic Park
The Tomorrow City (Monica Hughes)
Harrison Bergeron (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr)

These are 100% linked.

Answer 5

The Golem of Prague, the original Jewish tale of the golem created by Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel. It's the story of men who created a man-shaped monster of clay to protect their town, which developed it's own personality and soul.

Answer 6

Any of Isaac Asimov's robot stories. Or the story of Prometheus giving fire to Man.

Answer 7

I, Robot (Will Smith movie)

Answer 8

movie is edward scissor hands Don't know if it was a book

Answer 9

isn't he so cute?