A few years ago, we celebrated frankenstein's 200th birthday. This famous book, written by Brilish novelist Mary Shellcy (1797-1851), is rightly known as the first work of science fiction. Frankenstein is the name of a doctor who creates a creature from human body parts. The doctor's ambitions for his work are noble, but his experiment has disastrous results.
Shelley was writing in an age when science was beginning to have a great impact on the world. People had different attitudes toward science back then. Some found it inspiring—they thought of the progress medicine was making in curing common illnesses. But others found it a little frightening—it was changing life, making it a lot less familiar.
Science plays a bigger part in our lives than it did two centuries ago. Today, science has brought us great things like the internet, but also nuclear weapons, which, if used in large numbers, could kill off our species. Science still therefore creates the mixed feelings it did in Shelley's day. It's because Shelley saw both the promise and the danger of science that she's still an influence today.
In fact, he subtitle of the book, The Modern Prometheus (普罗米修斯), shows how important myth (神话) was to the writer. Prometheus, a figure from classical Creek mythology, written by ancient Creek playwright Sophocles, steals fire from the gods and gives it to people, an act for which he is terribly punished.
Shelley's husband, the famous poet Percy Shelley, wrote about him in Prometheus Unbound. In the poem, he is a revolutionary hero, who triumphs over the gods. In Mary Shelley's book, however, her modern Prometheus, Dr Frankenstein, is a highly controversial figure, who sacrifices his home and life for his crazy addiction to his creation.
In short, Mary Shelley's book is not just a scary and moving slory, but a philosophical tale that, even after 200 years, still speaks to modern readers.
