The amaranthine abomination: A study of the enduring quality of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how, after two hundred years since the composition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the tale endures in popular imagination to the current day. To do this, I will be separating my analysis into three chapters. Chapter one will look at the life of Mary Shelley leading up to the composition of her novel, an overview of the horror genre itself, as well as a brief discussion on the psychological aspects of horror, drawing on the theories of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. In chapter two I will look at adapting Mary Shelley’s original tale, using adaptation theory as a foundation for my studies. Since Frankenstein films popularised the story from the early days of cinema, I shall be using the 1935 James Whale film Bride of Frankenstein as a case study, looking in detail at how the film manages to take the central message of Shelley’s novel and transform some of its aspects. The third and final chapter of this thesis will examine how Frankenstein continues to be a relevant part of our culture today. In doing this, I will be looking at how not only the story but the creature itself have become icons of popular culture, not only in film, but in television, music, and advertising. Then, I shall be discussing how Mary Shelley’s story can be used as a moral guide for our contemporary scientists and researchers, who are pioneers in the advances in new branches of science, such as artificial intelligence and bio-engineering. Finally, I shall be looking at how others have taken Shelley’s story, taken it apart and, much like Dr. Frankenstein, stitched it back together to create a new story. Ahmed Saadawi’s Frankenstein in Baghdad is a good example of this. All of the sections of this thesis function similarly to the various parts that make up Frankenstein’s monster: alone, they perform individual functions. Together, they work in conjunction to hopefully prove that Mary Shelley’s novel has endured over the last 200 years, to continue to be a relevant part of horror culture to this day.