Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus is one of the earliest examples of Science Fiction. Mary Shelley began the novel when she was only 19 years old, and it was first published (anonymously) when she was 21, in 1818. The idea came to Mary in the form of a dream after her, her husband Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Poidori decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. The novel takes place in Geneva, an area Mary had travelled through where occult ideas such as galvanism (the contraction of a muscle that is stimulated by an electric current) had become favorite topics of conversation. The novel tells the story of Doctor Victor Frankenstein, who has become obsessed with theories of science that focus on achieving natural wonders. He witnesses an oak tree split in half by lightning and is inspired to capture its power while developing secret techniques to infuse life back into inanimate bodies. Victor is forced to construct a larger creature because he finds it difficult to replicate small parts of the human anatomy. His creature therefore becomes hideous compared to the ideal beauty he was striving for. After bringing the creature to life, Victor is repulsed by what he has done and flees the laboratory leaving the creature behind, abandoned and hopelessly sad and full of Daddy issues. The two lives, Victor’s and the creature’s, are now intertwined until they are ultimately their own undoing, dragging everyone connected to them into the horror, including Victor’s fiancé Elizabeth. Since the novel’s publication it has spawned incredible popularity and a whole new genre of horror, not to mention its contribution to Science Fiction.

There are some strong lines drawn in the novel, as you have a scientist at the top of his profession, using all the latest technology creating something that before was left to God(s)or Nature. The subtitle is The Modern Prometheus. Prometheus was the later Greek Titan who created humankind at the request of Zeus from clay into an image of the Gods. He then teaches humankind how to hunt, read, heal the sick, but Zeus kept fire from them. Prometheus, feeling rebellious and defying the Gods, stole fire and gave it to humankind, an act which enables the progress of civilization. When Zeus discovers this, he naturally over-reacts, sentencing Prometheus to be eternally punished by fixing him to a rock where eagles would peck out his liver, only to be regrown the next day and pecked out again. Prometheus becomes a figure who represents humankind’s quest for scientific knowledge and progress at the risk of overreaching with unintended consequences. In the end Victor Frankenstein is destroyed by the unintended consequences of his creation, his repulsion and the creatures desire to have a companion. This is often interpreted as a popular symbol of the risks and dangers of science and progressive modernization, which inevitably ends with dystopia, a community or society that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. This can be summed up as “messing with Nature” or “playing God.” This can be seen throughout science fiction, from Monster Island, Skynet, Jurassic Park, to Androids Dreaming of Electric Sheep. In each case the unwise use of Science or Technology leads to dark futures or situations that threaten our very existence. Is this subtle, or is this science fiction actually anti-science?

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein also leans heavily on Gothic Fiction, as the Shelley’s were themselves heavy contributors to its Romantic movement. You have the castle, the dark atmosphere, overwrought emotions, and the woman in distress, in this case Victor’s wife Elizabeth who is caught between two powerful, impulsive tyrannical men (Victor himself and the Creature). Perhaps more importantly the elements of the supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events and of course horror and the protagonists fall from grace. Could the science and technology in the novel be filling in for the component of inexplicable events? Given a natural explanation using the power of lightening, but to the reader remaining very mysterious under the cloud of processes not fully understood at the time. Shelley takes galvanism, a new concept of the time that must have been seemingly inexplicable but natural in occurrence, and advances it to a new level of horror as it reanimates dead tissue bringing the grotesque monster to life. And as genres tend to be defined by their early examples, could these Gothic elements be bound into the greater works of Science Fiction with future stories leaning on this same theme. That these story lines in Science Fiction aren’t demonizing Science or Scientists but are rather old connections to Gothic literature and cautionary tales.

And that’s why this makes for this month’s Sci Fi Smackdown! Does Science Fiction in some forms present Anti-Science sentiment, which as some claim provides a framework for popular culture to critically evaluate actual Science? Do you believe there are good reasons to be suspicious of scientific advances? Or are these anti-modernist themes of Science Fiction misunderstood without their Gothic roots? These plot devices are actually relics of earlier forms of conflict resolution, as very popular franchises like Star Trek show a future brightened by Science and Technology. That is for you to decide.