Narrative Instability in Frankenstein
Class
Article
Department
English
Faculty Mentor
Shane Graham
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
When reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's important to consider the organization of its three main narratives. In my paper, I explore the ways in which each of the three primary narrators of Shelley's Frankenstein undermines his own narrative. By analyzing the narrative strengths and weaknesses of Frankenstein, Walton, and the creature, I attempt to resolve whether we can viably argue for one coherent meaning to the book. My paper explores the interplay between the three narratives and considers how each undermines any meaning we might have been able to glean from the story. The significance of my paper is asserting that there isn't one consistent way to read Frankenstein; its narrative fidelity cannot be reduced to one answer, or one man whose voice is "correct." Thus the novel's virtue lies, not in the stories the men are telling, but rather in the organization and interaction of those stories within the braided network of their narratives. As the concept of the authoritative or omniscient narrator becomes harder to maintain in the Gothic fiction tradition, the emphasis falls upon a narrative-or combination of narratives-like Frankenstein's, told in the unreliable voice of a complex character.
Start Date
4-9-2015 11:00 AM
Narrative Instability in Frankenstein
When reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, it's important to consider the organization of its three main narratives. In my paper, I explore the ways in which each of the three primary narrators of Shelley's Frankenstein undermines his own narrative. By analyzing the narrative strengths and weaknesses of Frankenstein, Walton, and the creature, I attempt to resolve whether we can viably argue for one coherent meaning to the book. My paper explores the interplay between the three narratives and considers how each undermines any meaning we might have been able to glean from the story. The significance of my paper is asserting that there isn't one consistent way to read Frankenstein; its narrative fidelity cannot be reduced to one answer, or one man whose voice is "correct." Thus the novel's virtue lies, not in the stories the men are telling, but rather in the organization and interaction of those stories within the braided network of their narratives. As the concept of the authoritative or omniscient narrator becomes harder to maintain in the Gothic fiction tradition, the emphasis falls upon a narrative-or combination of narratives-like Frankenstein's, told in the unreliable voice of a complex character.