In 1815, the eruption of Mount Tambora plunged parts of the world into darkness and marked a gloomy period that came to be known as The Year Without a Summer. So when Mary and Percy Shelley arrived at the House of Lord Byron on Lake Geneva, their vacation was mostly spent indoors. For amusement, Byron proposed a challenge to his literary companions: who could write the most chilling ghost story?
Godine 1815. erupcija vulkana Mount Tambora obavila je dijelove svijeta tminom i obilježila početak sumornog razdoblja poznatog kao „godina bez ljeta“. Stoga, kad su Mary i Percy Shelley stigli u kuću lorda Byrona na Ženevskom jezeru, većinu odmora proveli su u zatvorenom. Byron je za razonodu predložio svojim književnim drugovima izazov: tko će napisati najjeziviju priču strave?
This sparked an idea in 18-year-old Mary. Over the next few months, she would craft the story of “Frankenstein.” Popular depictions may evoke a green and groaning figure, but that's not Mary Shelley's monster. In fact, in the book, Frankenstein refers to the nameless monster's maker, Dr. Victor Frankenstein. So tense is the struggle between creator and creature that the two have merged in our collective imagination. Before you read or reread the original text, there are several other things that are helpful to know about Frankenstein and how it came to assume its multiple meanings.
Tako se rodila ideja u osamnaestogodišnjoj Mary. U sljedećih nekoliko mjeseci oblikovala je priču o Frankensteinu. Premda je u popularnim prikazima zeleni lik koji stenje, to nije čudovište Mary Shelley. Zapravo, u knjizi ime Frankenstein nosi tvorac bezimenog čudovišta, dr. Victor Frankenstein. Borba između stvoritelja i stvorenja tako je grčevita da su se njih dvojica stopili u našoj kolektivnoj mašti. Prije nego što (ponovno) pročitate izvorni tekst, postoji nekoliko drugih stvari koje je korisno znati o Frankensteinu i o tome kako je to ime poprimilo višestruka značenja.
The book traces Dr. Frankenstein's futile quest to impart and sustain life. He constructs his monster part by part from dead matter and electrifies it into conscious being. Upon completing the experiment, however, he's horrified at the result and flees. But time and space aren't enough to banish the abandoned monster, and the plot turns on a chilling chase between the two.
Knjiga prati dr. Frankensteina u uzaludnom pothvatu stvaranja i održavanja života. On stvara svoje čudovište dio po dio iz mrtve tvari i pretvara ga u svjesno biće strujnim udarom. Međutim, po završetku pokusa užasnut je rezultatom i bježi. No vrijeme i prostor nisu dovoljni da bi se prognalo napušteno čudovište i zaplet prerasta u strašnu potjeru između njih dvojice.
Shelley subtitled her fireside ghost story, "The Modern Prometheus." That's in reference to the Greek myth of the Titan Prometheus who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. This gave humanity knowledge and power, but for tampering with the status quo, Prometheus was chained to a rock and eaten by vultures for eternity. Prometheus enjoyed a resurgence in the literature of the Romantic Period during the 18th century. Mary was a prominent Romantic, and shared the movement's appreciation for nature, emotion, and the purity of art. Two years after Mary released “Frankenstein,” Percy reimagined the plight of Prometheus in his lyrical drama, "Prometheus Unbound." The Romantics used these mythical references to signal the purity of the ancient world in contrast to modernity. They typically regarded science with suspicion, and "Frankenstein" is one of the first cautionary tales about artificial intelligence. For Shelley, the terror was not supernatural, but born in a lab.
Shelleyjeva je svojoj razbibrižnoj priči strave dala podnaslov „Moderni Prometej“. Aluzija je to na grčki mit o titanu Prometeju, koji je bogovima ukrao vatru i podario je čovječanstvu. Time je ljudima dao znanje i moć, ali zbog uplitanja u status quo Prometej je prikovan za stijenu gdje ga vječno jedu strvinari. Prometej je doživio preporod u književnosti romantizma 18. stoljeća. Mary je bila istaknuta romantičarka i s pokretom je dijelila divljenje prema prirodi, osjećajima i čistoći umjetnosti. Dvije godine nakon što je Mary objavila „Frankensteina“, Percy je reinterpretirao Prometejeve nedaće u lirskoj drami „Oslobođeni Prometej“. Romantičari su se koristili mitskim aluzijama kako bi prikazali kontrast između čistoće antičkog svijeta i modernog doba. Obično su sumnjičavo gledali na znanost, a „Frankenstein“ je jedno od prvih djela koje upozorava na opasnosti umjetne inteligencije. Užas za Shelleyjevu nije nešto natprirodno, već nešto stvoreno u laboratoriju.
In addition, gothic devices infuse the text. The gothic genre is characterized by unease, eerie settings, the grotesque, and the fear of oblivion— all elements that can be seen in "Frankenstein."
Usto, gotički motivi prožimaju tekst. Gotički žanr karakteriziraju nelagoda, jeziv ambijent, groteska i strah od zaborava – svi ti elementi vidljivi su u „Frankensteinu“.
But this horror had roots in personal trauma, as well. The text is filled with references to Shelley's own circumstances. Born in 1797, Mary was the child of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. Both were radical intellectual figures, and her mother's book, "A Vindication of the Rights of Women," is a key feminist text. Tragically, she died as a result of complications from Mary’s birth. Mary was haunted by her mother's death, and later experienced her own problems with childbirth. She became pregnant following her elopement with Percy at 16, but that baby died shortly after birth. Out of four more pregnancies, only one of their children survived. Some critics have linked this tragedy to the themes explored in "Frankenstein." Shelley depicts birth as both creative and destructive, and the monster becomes a disfigured mirror of the natural cycle of life.
No taj horor vuče korijene i iz osobne traume. Tekst obiluje aluzijama na životnu situaciju Mary Shelley. Rođena 1797., Mary je bila dijete Williama Godwina i Mary Wollstonecraft. Oboje su bili radikalni intelektualci, a knjiga njezine majke „Obrana ženskih prava“ ključni je feministički tekst. Nažalost, umrla je odmah po Marynu rođenju zbog komplikacija pri porođaju. Majčina smrt proganjala je Mary, koja je kasnije i sama iskusila probleme prilikom porođaja. Zatrudnjela je nakon bijega s Percyjem kad joj je bilo 16 godina, ali je dijete umrlo ubrzo nakon rođenja. Od još četiri trudnoće, samo im je jedno dijete preživjelo. Neki su kritičari povezali tu tragediju s temama kojima se bavi „Frankenstein“. Shelleyjeva prikazuje rađanje i kao kreativan i kao destruktivan proces, a čudovište postaje izobličenim odrazom prirodnog životnog ciklusa.
The monster, therefore, embodies Dr. Frankenstein's corruption of nature in the quest for glory. This constitutes his fatal flaw, or hamartia. His god complex is most clear in the line, "Life and death appear to me ideal bounds which I should first break through and pour a torrent of light onto our dark world." Although he accomplishes something awe-inspiring, he has played with fire at his own ethical expense. And that decision echoes throughout the novel, which is full of references to fire and imagery that contrasts light and dark. These moments suggest not only the spark of Prometheus's fire, but the power of radical ideas to expose darker areas of life.
Čudovište stoga utjelovljuje iskvarenu prirodu dr. Frankensteina u potrazi za slavom. U tome leži njegova kobna mana ili hamartija. Njegov kompleks boga najočitiji je u rečenici: „Život i smrt činili su mi se zamišljenim granicama koje ću prvo prijeći pa izliti bujicu svjetlosti u naš tamni svijet.“ Iako njegovo postignuće izaziva strahopoštovanje, igrajući se vatrom odrekao se vlastite etičnosti. A ta odluka odjekuje cijelim romanom, koji je prepun aluzija na vatru i kontrasta svjetlosti i tame. Ti trenutci podsjećaju ne samo na iskru Prometejeve vatre, već i na potencijal radikalnih ideja u osvjetljavanju mračnijih sfera života.