Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 2 (March 1818): 613-20—by Walter Scott
Scott’s thesis is essentially that supernatural or unnatural situations are permissible in literature as long as the characters still behave in human ways. "personages shall conduct themselves, in the extraordinary circumstances in which they are placed, according to the laws of probability, and the nature of the human heart."(Scott). In the story Frankenstein is portrayed as a man, who is educated, intelligent, well-liked and curious. This curiosity would lead him to create his creature as he sought to understand and control the nature of life and death.
Scott points out that as the creature becomes more educated, he becomes more human. This causes him to lose his power and mystique. He is now a sympathetic character (despite his actions) for which there are not many possibilities. He seems to recognize that while he believes that unnatural characters should exhibit human behaviors. To do so confines them into societal expectations.
Scott seems to have found the novel enjoyable and his review is generally positive, as shown in his unbiased, non-emotional review of the work. Scott especially compliments the writer, who he believes to be Mary Shelley’s husband Percy Bysshe Shelley on their use of language. He is impressed that the author stayed away from extravagant, flowery language and hyperbole, instead choosing to write in a direct, factual tone. There is also the sense that Scott sees comparisons between what is going on in the world at the time and the situation in Frankenstein.
Overall Scott did not seem to be a fan of the idea that man could act as “creator” and while he did accept that this was tempered by the fact that both Frankenstein and his creation were given human traits and motivations. His overtly religious nature saw unforgivable fault in a novel where man acted as God. He also seems to be bothered by the fact that the creature is able to gain knowledge in the way that it did saying, “That he should have not only learned to speak, but to read, and, for aught we know, to write -- that he should have become acquainted with Werther, with Plutarch's Lives, and with Paradise Lost, by listening through a hole in a wall, seems as unlikely as that he should have acquired, in the same way, the problems of Euclid, or the art of book-keeping by single and double entry” (Scott).
Creator and Created in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by Naomi Hetherington Keats-Shelley Review 11 (1997): 1-39
Naomi Hetherington joined the Department of Lifetime Learning at The University of Sheffield in 2014. Before that, she taught English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. She also taught at the University of Hertfordshire, Roehampton University, and London Metropolitan University. She has a BA in Theology and Religious Studies, MA in Victorian Literature and a PhD from Southampton University. Her writings include, “Amy Levy: Critical Essays”, co-edited with Nadia Valman, “Late Nineteenth-Century Religion and Sexuality”, and “Rethinking the History of Feminism”
Hetherington’s thesis on “Frankenstein” is that the story is not about being punished for playing God as many Christians believed but what could happen if a person had too much power. Hetherington believes that “Frankenstein” is meant to show why are powers/ abilities are limited and what could happen if we were to surpass those limitations.
Hetherington points out that this is shown in the way that Frankenstein rejects the creature as soon as it opens its eyes. Even though he had sought to create life in order to elevate himself. Going so far as to create it in his own image (like God). He realizes the moment he sees the watery eye open and the yellow skin that barely covers muscles and bone come to life that he has overstepped his bounds. This is because while Frankenstein had given the creature the most beautiful of features he could not form those features in a way that was beautiful when the creature awoke. Frankenstein then denied the creature leading to many deaths as the creature reacted to rejection and loneliness. Hetherington proves that power does not equal happiness as Frankenstein has the ability to create but his creation brings about his own misery
References
Barnaby, Paul. "Walter Scott." Index to Walter Scott's Works. Edinburgh University Library, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Hetherington, Naomi. "Creator and Created in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." The Keats-Shelley Review 11.1 (1997): 1-39. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Hetherington, Naomi. "Naomi Hetherington." Department for Lifelong Learning. University of Sheffield, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Scott, Walter. "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 2 (March 1818): 613-20—by Walter Scott." The Mary Shelley Chronology and Resource Site. Romantic Circles, Mar. 1998. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
