Early Book Reviews for Frankenstein
Early Book Reviews for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
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| Percy Bysshe Shelley |
"The novel of Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, is undoubtedly, as a mere story, one of the most original and complete productions of the age."
Percy then goes on to outline the authors use of suspense and sympathy, noting that "The pathos is irresistible and deep". He mentions that it is impossible to read this book "without feeling the heart suspend its pulsations with wonder, and the tears stream down the cheeks!" To close his review he calls the novel an "exhibition of intellectual and imaginative power", offering credit where credit is due. Now, it is easy to read this review and claim Percy's review to be the subject of bias, which I agree with. Though I can offer the same praise as Percy does, it is important to note his relations with Mary Shelley. While this review sounds genuine, Its credibility can be argued with.
There were many reasons why critics had a negative view of Frankenstein. It challenged the nature of God, and men thought Victor Frankenstein was a character meant to denounce God. However, there is nothing like the misogynist reviews Mary Shelley received once her identity was out in the open. One review, written by an anonymous critic in 1818, gives us a clear idea of how men perceived women in the early 19th century.
After giving a synopsis of the novel, the reviewer goes into explaining his gripes. He describes the novel as lacking "principle, object, nor moral". He then goes into describing the grotesque and bizarre horror of the novel and how he paused to outright laugh at what he was reading. Now, these critiques aren't necessarily misogynistic, and everyone interprets this book differently. However, it's the end of this review that we can find this critics reasoning to his reaction to Frankenstein:
"The writer of it is, we understand, a female; this is an aggravation of that which is the prevailing fault of the novel; but if our authoress can forget the gentleness of her sex, it is no reason why we should; and we shall therefore dismiss the novel without further comment."
This was one of many negative reviews that critics had in response to Frankenstein. Misogyny was different than what it is today in the 1800s. Women were expected to be obedient and to not step out of line, and women are reflected like this in the few female characters of Frankenstein. This is partly the reason why no critic suspected the author of Frankenstein to be a woman. Mary Shelley was able to subvert the misogynistic expectation of women in the 1800s and craft one of the best novel of science fiction. It is important to remember the initial public opinion of Frankenstein and how it changed when Shelley was revealed to be the author. It shows the distrust men had in women and how little they were seen. It is a stark contrast to what is of today. According to statistics from census and job openings, there are more authors that are women then there are authors that are men, by a small margin. The writing world is not a gentleman's game anymore and the influence of that change came from Mary Shelley, the author of a story so well-written, not even men's opinion could prevent its success.
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