Supernatural Horror in Literature
From "Supernatural Horror in Literature" [1927]
H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)
[T]he wife of Shelley, was much more successful; and her inimitable Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus (1817) is one of the horror-classics of all time. Composed in competition with her husband, Lord Byron, and Dr. John William Polidori in an effort to prove supremacy in horror-making, Mrs. Shelley's Frankenstein was the only one of the rival narratives to be brought to an elaborate completion; and criticism has failed to prove that the best parts are due to Shelley rather than to her. The novel, somewhat tinged but scarcely marred by moral didacticism, tells of the artificial human being moulded from charnel fragments by Victor Frankenstein, a young Swiss medical student. Created by its designer "in the mad pride of intellectuality," the monster possesses full intelligence but owns a hideously loathsome form. It is rejected by mankind, becomes embittered, and at length begins the successive murder of all whom Frankenstein loves best, friends and family. It demands that Frankenstein create a wife for it; and when the student finally refuses in horror lest the world be populated with such monsters, it departs with a hideous threat "to be with him on his wedding night." Upon that night the bride is strangled, and from that time on Frankenstein hunts down the monster, even into the wastes of the Arctic. In the end, whilst seeking shelter on the ship of the man who tells the story, Frankenstein himself is killed by the shocking object of his search and creation of his presumptuous pride. Some of the scenes in Frankenstein are unforgettable, as when the newly animated monster enters its creator's room, parts the curtains of his bed, and gazes at him in the yellow moonlight with watery eyes -- "if eyes they may be called." Mrs. Shelley wrote other novels, including the fairly notable Last Man; but never duplicated the success of her first effort. It has the true touch of cosmic fear, no matter how much the movement may lag in places. Dr. Polidori developed his competing idea as a long short story, The Vampyre; in which we behold a suave villain of the true Gothic or Byronic type, and encounter some excellent passages of stark fright, including a terrible nocturnal experience in a shunned Grecian wood.
Questions for Discussion
1. What distinguished Mrs. Shelley's story from the other stories?
A) Her version was scarier.
B) In her version, the monster kills more people.
C) She created a wife for Frankenstein.
D) Some of her scenes are unforgettable
E) Her version has an elaborate conclusion
2. What is the author's purpose in writing this review?
A) to show that a woman can write horror fiction
B) to point out how Mrs. Shelley's version is superior to others
C) to explain the story of Frankenstein
D) to show how all of Mrs. Shelley's stories were popular
E) to show how Frankenstein is a true Gothic novel
3. What is the author's tone in this review?
A) negative
B) sarcastic
C) positive
D) hostile
E) unflattering
4. Which of the following is a criticism of Frankenstein?
A) The story is one of the greatest horror-classics of all time.
B) Some of the scenes are unforgettable.
C) It has the true touch of cosmic fear.
D) The novel is tinged by moral didacticism.
E) The novel was brought to an elaborate conclusion.