Frankenstein"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." A summer evening's ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine's room, and a runaway imagination--fired by philosophical discussions with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of life--conspired to produce for Marry Shelley this haunting night specter. By morning, it had become the germ of her Romantic masterpiece, "Frankenstein." Written in 1816 when she was only nineteen, Mary Shelley's novel of "The Modern Prometheus" chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth for our own time, "Frankenstein" remains one of the greatest horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind. |
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Page 52
... horror ; a cold dew covered my forehead , my teeth chattered , and every limb became convulsed : when , by the dim and yellow light of the moon , as it forced its way through the window shutters , I beheld the wretch - the miserable ...
... horror ; a cold dew covered my forehead , my teeth chattered , and every limb became convulsed : when , by the dim and yellow light of the moon , as it forced its way through the window shutters , I beheld the wretch - the miserable ...
Page 161
... horror of my employment ; my mind was intently fixed on the consummation of my labour , and my eyes were shut to the horror of my proceedings . But now I went to it in cold blood , and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands ...
... horror of my employment ; my mind was intently fixed on the consummation of my labour , and my eyes were shut to the horror of my proceedings . But now I went to it in cold blood , and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands ...
Page 195
... horror not to be described , I saw at the open window a figure the most hideous and abhorred . A grin was on the face of the monster ; he seemed to jeer , as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife . I rushed ...
... horror not to be described , I saw at the open window a figure the most hideous and abhorred . A grin was on the face of the monster ; he seemed to jeer , as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife . I rushed ...
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Common terms and phrases
affection Agatha agony Albertus Magnus anguish appeared arrived beautiful became beheld beloved bestow Clerval companion consolation cottage countenance cousin creature crime dæmon dared dark dear death delight desire despair destroyed discovered dream earth Elizabeth endeavoured endured entered expressed eyes father fear feelings Felix felt Frankenstein Geneva gentle grief hands happiness heard heart heavens hope horror human idea imagination Ingolstadt innocent John Polidori journey Justine kind Krempe labours lake lived looked Lord Byron manner marriage Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft mind miserable misfortune monster Mont Blanc morning mountains murderer natural philosophy nature never night Pandæmonium Paracelsus Paradise Lost passed passion peace perceived Percy Shelley pleasure poor possessed reflect remained resolved revenge Safie scene sensations smiles sometimes soon sorrow soul spirit strange suffered Switzerland tale tears thought university of Ingolstadt Victor voice wind wish wonder wood words wretched