Here, Frankenstein's narrative ends and Captain Walton reassumes the telling of the story. A few days after Frankenstein finishes his story, Walton and his crew decide to turn back and go home, since they cannot break through the ice. As Frankenstein dies, the monster appears in his room. Walton hears the monster's adamant justification for his vengeance as well as expressions of remorse before he leaves the ship and travels toward the Pole to destroy himself on his own funeral pyre so that no others will ever know of his existence. The monster hears Walton outside the room, with such curiosity Waldon makes himself known to the monster in the room. He starts to flee the room then stops he discovers Waldon is still standing there and then Waldon calls for him to stay. He now knows this is his only chance to tell his life story to the first person who is willing to listen to him. He wants to let him know that he did not come from evil that he once had goodness in his heart and love and how he wanted to participate in this world to show his "excellent qualities." To see past his hideous sight, but that never happened which led him into a lonely miserable path to seek revenge on Frankenstein. He wanted to make him feel miserable, outcasted from society and to never have love and companionship again in his life. He knows has accomplished his revenge, as he sees Frankenstein lay there dead he claims him as his victim, as his hands were the cause of his "irremediable ruin." With his revenge complete he lets Waldon know that it is time die, by his own hands and not to worry no other man will die by his own hands. He then says his last farewells to Frankenstein and Waldon, which he comments he is ready end his agonies and have his soul live in peace. He jumps out of the vessel then onto his raft and rides away into the darkness towards the north pole where his ashes will be swept into the ocean.

The Wikipedia article Frankenstein is a wonderful example.

Over eight years of work, over 4,000 edits, and this is the description of the conclusion of the book:



One wonders if a tale of playing God, without having the depth to understand the soul, and how this leads to a monstrous state of being, is awfully appropriate for Wikipedia.

Please don't tell me to "so fix it". I can't fix a broken soul.

[Edit] The summary is factual, BTW. And the novel is just about this overwrought. Written in gothic by a teenaged girl, you know....

Meh. I prefer the version with Abbott and Costello.

Besides, Hollywood is into sexy teenage vampires now. Frankenstein just doesn't have that kind of appeal for the kids.

Written in gothic by a teenaged girl, you know....

The summary is factual, BTW. And the novel is just about this overwrought. Written in gothic by a teenaged girl, you know....

I'm not sure why, but plot synopses in general are about the most consistently badly written thing on Wikipedia. I'm not even convinced that that one's atypically bad.

When I discovered monster flix back in the early 60s, I also discovered the bookmobile around the same time.

If you see Talk:Frankenstein, you will see that Awadewit and Laser Brain have made it a long term project to get that article to featured status.

Well, again, to be fair, they really just have to revert this edit, and they'll be at least back to where they might have a chance at it.

Ouch... that's kind of "my bad". I honestly didn't realize that what I quoted above was a very recent edit. I swear.

WP'ers have discussed the issue of "spoiler warnings" before, but as we all know, their decision was basically to get rid of them. I don't believe they've ever seriously discussed the idea of limiting the lengths of plot synopses, though I know others have pointed it out as a problem.

A teenage girl who'd recently lost a baby, and whose own mother died giving birth to her I understand. Also hung out with Byron.

I think we can excuse her 'overwrought' style...

After the Shelleys returned to England, Fanny Imlay, Mary's half-sister and Claire's stepsister, travelled from Godwin's household in London to kill herself in Wales in early October.

Well, again, to be fair, they really just have to revert this edit, and they'll be at least back to where they might have a chance at it.

Mary W. Shelley was a bit more than that. It was certainly gothic, but also a polemic against Benjamin Franklin and his accursed modernizing, republican activities.

Wha....?

The method of the monster's creation isn't even mentioned in the novel. Franklin of electrical fame is known to have been interested in revival of apparently "dead" creatures, but then he was interested in everything, being a universal genius and all. And Galvanism was known. And Shelley is known to have known of Franklin, who was called "The Modern Prometheus" by Kant for his electrical experiments, which is the not very original subtitle of Shelley's novel. (These days every major scientist who releases some power source gets called the modern Promethius--- as with Oppenheimer, the system always eat his liver).

I don't remember any politics at all in the novel. It's mostly about the difficulty of creating "life" (Mary's miscarriages) with a subplot of abandonment, orphanage, and child abuse by neglect. Mary Shelley was motherless and her father was distant also.

Remember the author! The monster just wants to get married to Ms. Right ("Get me on e-Harmony" he says at one point) and figures a good match will solve all his problems. Victor won't create the bride, fearing a race of gollum-monsters (he can create life but doesn't think of leaving a snips out). The vegetarian monster likes reading Milton (good taste) but his lack of feminine companionship keeps him murderous. If he was human, later divorces and bankrupcies and child custody hearings would put all that in perspective, and perhaps he would discover wanking. But being an unnatural monster, he goes dramatically north to immolate himself. Apparently he CAN self-terminate.

Oh Milt, I really wish they'd made a film of Frankenstein with you as the screenwriter. That would be worth watching! Not like the other ones...

Oh Milt, I really wish they'd made a film of Frankenstein with you as the screenwriter. That would be worth watching! Not like the other ones...

Its personality, on the other hand, is something halfway between flowerchild and Trekkie-nerd. Add some anger management and abandonment issues toward the parents

But if he's never been blocked and has a few barnstars, A Nobody will gladly support his RfA.

Ben Franklin would have been a hoot on Wikipedia. As a teen he had major battles with his older brother the printer/publisher, when he sockpuppeted some letters to the editor, under a pseudonym. Later he formed many interactive societies (as interactive as you could get at the time) but was always careful to OWN THE PRINTING PRESS when he could. Unlike Wales he took publisher responsibility, what there was of it. WP certainly would have kicked out out (he was a natural rebel and innovator and hater of authority to the end of his days), but it would have done them no good-- he'd have edited there as much as he liked anyway.

A genius in all things, he was. Really. I personally think he's one of the remarkable personalities ever.

My stars, if an interesting monster can't have an interesting hairdo, then I don't know what things are coming to.

I prefer the version pronounced Fronkensteen with the Abbie Normal brain.

Meh. Shelley's monster is skin over muscle with no fat, rather like a premature baby. Not green or with bolts out of the neck, but probably more fetal and revolting.

Its personality, on the other hand, is something halfway between flowerchild and Trekkie-nerd. Add some anger management and abandonment issues toward the parents.

Boy this would make for a helluva block-buster movie. Not.