The Father of Science Fiction is a Woman
Though I cannot quite recall the age at which I discovered the author of Frankenstein was a woman, I know it was much later than my awareness of the novel itself. I can, however, clearly recall when I realized that the book might actually interest me.
Because it was last year.
Despite finding the movie Young Frankenstein hilarious, I suspect it, along with the many other parodies and adaptations of the monster I had seen in pop culture, contributed to my aversion. The story seemed to be totally outside of what would compel me. I assumed it had no character development, thin plot, and an oversized dose of horror. By the time I learned the author was a woman, my ignorant opinion on the matter was fully formed and unassailable; that the monster’s father was actually a woman meant nothing.
And so Mary Shelley, Dr. Frankenstein, and their creature found themselves absent from every annual reading list I made. It most likely would have stayed that way had I not queued up a Close Reads podcast episode on the novel. I felt so certain I would never read the book that I was unconcerned with spoilers. My logic was that I might as well listen to the synopsis and get an idea of the actual story (as opposed to satires) so I could speak somewhat knowledgeably about the classic novel all the while confirming my stout rejection of it.
Boy was I in for a surprise.
Hardly one episode in and I raced to Gottwals Books to pick up the 1818 and 1831 editions. Frankenstein is that different from what it seems. The book is thought provoking, interesting, unique, beautifully written, creative, and meaningful. And what’s more than all that, this book written by a 19-year-old girl in 1816 sowed the seeds for what would later come to be known as the Science Fiction genre.
Since there are those that inevitably will cast doubt on this claim, let us define the genre. According to Brittanica, “science fiction, abbreviation SF or sci-fi, [is] a form of fiction that deals principally with the impact of actual or imagined science upon society or individuals.”
As I read the book, I was amazed. Her genius pours out of every page, made only more impressive by her youth. In Frankenstein, the protagonist pushes the bounds of what is believed to be possible with scientific breakthroughs. In Shelley’s time, harnessing electricity was new on the scene. Scientists like Galvani, Volta and Aldini were racing to prove their theories, some involving the potential impact of electricity on the human body. Through this novel, Shelley explores a scenario in which a man discovers the key to reanimation of a corpse through electricity. This discovery is seen as a step on the road to immortality.
The tale of this mad scientist is enclosed within another tale, that of explorer Robert Walton’s expedition to the North Pole. Like Dr. Frankenstein, Walton is obsessed with his mission of discovery. The dreams of both men are reached for amid inevitable human casualties. This intersection of personal ambition with power gained through scientific advancement is the foundation not only for Shelley’s story, but for many stories that would come to follow.
What surprised me most about Frankenstein is the personality given the creature, or monster. The creature is eager to learn and connect with humans. He is hopeful, articulate, independent, loving. More than anything, the creature longs for companionship and his creator, Dr. Frankenstein, rejects and refuses him. When the creature is only an idea, Frankenstein loves him. When he is a living, breathing reality, Frankenstein hates him.
And while there may be many who can identify with that feeling of being appreciated only as an idea, removed from a will or thoughts of one’s own, I suspect for Mary Shelley, a young woman in the early 1800’s, that feeling was acute. At the time of its writing, Shelley had been shunned by her father for running off with a married man (Percy Shelley), experienced the death of their newborn and left to grieve mostly in solitude, and is believed to have witnessed Percy Shelley’s flagrant affairs with her stepsister all the while. At such a young age, she had experienced enough life, loss, and loneliness to write a story that would outlive her for hundreds of years. Her experiences as a woman in that society directly influenced the story she fought to tell through Frankenstein. In fact, I believe this genre-defining story of Creature Seeking Love could only have been written by a woman.
In her attempt to convey the woman’s experience in a world that seemed built to use and abuse them, Shelley turned to science. She used corpses and lightning and the dream of a crazy scientist to create her avatar, the monster. Through this creature, she appeals to the reader to empathize with her. She knew a female protagonist would never gain the attention or understanding of a male audience. She instead created an entirely new being and, in the process, planted the seeds of Science Fiction.
And if Mary Shelley is the seed planter, or father, who then is the mother that gave birth?
I will let fans of Jules Verne and HG Wells fight over the title of mother, though they both receive ample credit for their roles in the Sci-Fi genre. Despite being often perceived as a man’s world, Science Fiction is actually riddled with women writers. It can be difficult to identify sometimes because it isn’t uncommon that they published under a male pseudonym. That women continue to use the unknown to explore human nature, comes as no surprise to me. Like Shelley shows us, sometimes an idea can best be communicated through an imagined scientific breakthrough.
Epilogue
Sci-Fi has long been a genre that held little interest for me. After being so taken with Frankenstein, I resolved to give Sci-Fi a better chance. I started this year’s reading challenge with one that had been on my shelf a while now, The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. True to form, it is a captivating world and a compelling story. I followed that closely by reading Octavia Butler’s beautifully written Dawn, the first in a series I am eager to consume completely. If you are considering giving Sci-Fi a go, I highly recommend beginning with one of these. If you have any favorite Sci-Fi books, let me know in the comments below; I am on a kick.