Too Obscure?

[McKenna]

Title: McFrankenstein
Location: the northern ice
Profile Pic: a ship locked in ice

Was I too obscure? I was attempting to reference Mary Shelley's book.


http://ai-depot.com/Book/Frankenstein.jpeg


It's been years since I read it, but the opening scene still stays with me. Anyone else a fan?

 

[3113]

I'm a Frankenstein fan--I know a lot of obscure facts about Mrs. Shelly and her family and I did a paper once on William Godwin's writings compared to Frankenstein--very interesting thematic similarities!

As a wirter, however, I've never been a fan of the opening which was one of those things that Mr. Shelly urged on Mrs. Shelly. My problem with it is that it makes the story a story-within-a-story. "This guy Frankenstein told me this...." says the ship captain. AND THEN, when you get the monster's story, it's this unweildy story within a story within a story "Let me tell youwhat this guy said to me about what this monster told him...."

Not that Mrs. Shelly really lets that interfere with p.o.v., but why bother?

Mrs. Shelly originally opened her book as inspired by the dream she had: With the Frankenstein waking up to see the monster leaning over him. An excellent beginning to a short horror story and one that keeps it all between Frankenstein and his monster.

The ship trapped in ice may be evocative, even, to some extent, thematically on the nose, but it is a little awkward and over the top stylistically (IMHO).

And in answer to your question--it's not obscure to me, but not many people read the original Frankenstein. For most folk it's a little hard to slog through. There are many pages to go, the ship trapped in ice included, before the reader gets to the making of the monster and that scene with Frankenstein waking up to see his creation looming over him.

 

[McKenna]

This should have been a poll. :sarcasm:


Edited Bit:
I'm editing this because my statement above might be construed as sarcasm towards 3113, which it is not. I appreciate the views that have been shared concerning the book. I just think it's sad that the subsequent movies have become more popular than the original tale. Sure it's hard to slog through, but then, sometimes that's what makes it that much better. I call it "engaging my brain." And yes, sometimes I have to read with the dictionary handy to look up words.

grmbl