Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelly in 1818. The novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a scientist who creates a monster from body parts of dead people. Frankenstein is considered to be one of the first horror novels ever written.
Despite being nearly 200 years old, Frankenstein remains popular today and has been adapted into numerous films and television shows. However, one of the main criticisms of Frankenstein is that it lacks verisimilitude – that is, it does not realistically portray the world we live in.
For example, the characters in Frankenstein often speak in an overly formal way, and the setting is often described in great detail even when it is not necessary to the plot. Additionally, many elements of the novel are simply unrealistic, such as the Frankenstein monster itself.
Suspend belief throughout many crucial sections of the story in Mary Shelly’s gothic novel Frankenstein, as they occur in this book. There are also many minor inconsistencies in the tale. Today’s readers may notice the lack of realism, but nineteenth-century readers were too frightened by the narrative to notice how unlikely many of the events were. For example, when Frankenstein gave life to the lifeless form of his creature, he stayed rooted to his spot while the enormous monster walked away.
Frankenstein later spends months tracking down his creation, and when he finally does find him, the monster has already killed Frankenstein’s brother. In another inconsistency, Frankenstein has little concern for the public after creating such a monster and yet, when he is confronted by the being, he faints out of fear. Finally, Frankenstein’s death at the hands of the monster is also highly improbable. Given all these inconsistencies in the story line, it is clear that Frankenstein lacks verisimilitude.
Frankenstein was written over two hundred years ago, and so it is understandable that some of the inconsistencies may have been overlooked by readers at the time. However, even taking this into account, there are still many problems with the plot that make it difficult to suspend disbelief. Frankenstein is a novel that should not be taken too seriously; rather, it should be viewed as a work of fiction that uses horror to entertain its audience.
Then, for nearly two years, the monster does not hear from Frankenstein again. The author assumes that the creature has the capacity to bring life to inanimate objects; how, then, do we explain this creature’s acquired behaviors? It would have been unable to stand without previously having done so if Frankenstein had given his monster a hundred lives’ worth of energy, just like it would be unable to speak, reason, or assess.
Frankenstein never intended to create a living being, and the experiment fails miserably because of this. The novel lacks verisimilitude because Frankenstein’s creature is not feasible.
Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is a novel that tells the story of a man who creates a monster. Frankenstein never intended to create a living being, and the experiment fails miserably because of this. The novel lacks verisimilitude because Frankenstein’s creature is not feasible. Frankenstein’s creature does not have any features that would make it believable as a real character.
Victor does not claim that he can give it mental capabilities and life, but when it is a year old, we see it reading Werter, Plutarch, and Volney. These incongruities abound throughout the creature’s development. After emerging from Frankenstein at nightfall, the monster wanders in the woods for a time before settling down in a shed near to a home.
Frankenstein, who had been living in Ingolstadt, comes to visit his creature about two months later. Frankenstein is amazed that the creature has learned to speak fluently and read German in so short a time.
Frankenstein also tells the creature that he had traced him to the cottage; however, there is no mention of the cottage’s owner or how Frankenstein found out where it was. The creature responds:
“To these words I made no answer, but I resumed my walk through the forest. Frankenstein followed me, and said, ‘You must return with me to my laboratory; I have already selected your abode.’ I replied that I would rather reside in the woods than among men.” (Shelly, Mary, Frankenstein. Chapter 5)
The creature’s words and Frankenstein’s response do not make much sense. Why would the creature rather reside in the woods than among men, when Frankenstein had just told it that he had found it and was taking it back to his laboratory? If the creature is afraid of Frankenstein, as it later says it is, why does it not run away when Frankenstein first tells it that he is going to take it back to his laboratory? The dialogue in this section seems more like a plot device to create tension than something that could actually happen.
In addition, there are other inconsistencies in the novel. For example, when Frankenstein creates the creature, he sews its eyes shut because he is afraid that it will be too hideous for people to see. However, after Frankenstein releases the creature, it stumbles around in the darkness and falls into a river, and its eyes become infected. Frankenstein does not mention how the creature can see if its eyes are still sewn shut.
These inconsistencies create a lack of verisimilitude in the novel, which makes it difficult to suspend disbelief and accept the story as being true.
When the snow melts, the children discover a panel in the wall. It is an adult-sized creature with no head and two arms that allows him to climb through any gap from outside. When he notices them, it remains or many months without inhabitants knowing, and he learns to talk and read by watching them through a hole in the wall.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein has very little verisimilitude as shown in my examples. I’ve provided you with examples of just the monster; however, these unlikenesses run throughout the narrative as well. This isn’t unusual for a science fiction or gothic novel since suspending one’s belief is often required in order to achieve authorial intent.
Frankenstein, however, takes this to another level. Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818. The novel is about a scientist who creates a monster from parts of dead bodies. The monster is brought to life, but is rejected by Frankenstein and the rest of society. He is angry and hurt by this rejection, and begins to seek revenge on Frankenstein and his loved ones. Frankenstein is considered to be one of the first science fiction novels ever written, and it has had a major influence on the genre.
Despite its influence, Frankenstein is often criticized for its lack of verisimilitude. Critics point out the many plot points that are unrealistic or unlikely, such as the monster being able to learn to talk and read in a matter of months, or the Frankenstein family being able to have a conversation completely in secret without anyone noticing.
However, it is important to remember that Frankenstein is a work of fiction. It is not meant to be realistic, but rather to evoke an emotional response in the reader. Frankenstein is a Gothic novel, and as such it relies on suspense and horror rather than realism. Shelley was able to create a classic novel despite its lack of verisimilitude, and it remains one of the most popular science fiction novels ever written.
