FRANKENSTEIN IS A "MULTIVALENT TEXT WITH POSSIBILITIES OF

PLURAL READINGS WHOSE COMPLEXITIES CANNOT BE UNRAVELLED BY

ANY SINGLE TOOL." DISCUSS.

It has been around two centuries since the Frankenstein was first published in 1818, but its

popularity has only increased with time. The novel has been taught worldwide and interpreted

differently by different critics, it has been adapted into every possible art form, infused into

popular culture and used to kick-start conversations on themes ranging from religion to law,

from science to art. This multivalent nature of the novel is primarily due to an ambiguity, an

ambivalence that runs throughout the narrative and the empty signifier of the Monster, which

makes it difficult to rely on a definite interpretation. The text can be read under the light of

some major themes i.e. Birth and Creation; Nature vs Nurture; Alienation /Isolation; Fear of

sexuality; Rebellion; Domestic Affection; The overreacher; The double or the doppelganger,

to get a broad overview of this multi-layered text.

Birth and creation are usually associated with a Woman and God (the creator) in our minds

but we do not find the same in Frankenstein as neither a woman nor a God can be seen, and a

secret life-form is given birth/ created by a man. So, Frankenstein in a way tries to steal the

role of both God and Woman, by creating this Monster, which is often read as a parody of

Biblical myth of creation. It is also observed that Victor intentionally tries to usurp the role of

God as he says: ‘A new species would bless me as its creator and source…’. But rather than

being blessed he’s cursed by his creature. He tried to imitate the divine act of creation and

become God by doing so, and hence suggests that going against the force of Nature will be

destructive. Also, if seen from feminist perspective, novel points to what happens when a

man tries to produce without a woman and similarly, the novel concerns with the natural as

opposed to the unnatural modes of birth and creation.

Victor not only tries to assume the role of God but also tries to displace woman from the

process of creation. The Psychoanalytic Criticism of the novel point toward a Fear of normal

Sexuality in Victor’s mind and therefore, a fear and revulsion for the normal process of birth

and maybe, the reason of his horrific nightmare just after he finished his creation. He dreams

of meeting Elizabeth on the street, but she turns into a corpse of her dead mother when he

tries to kiss her. This particular incident indicates the readers and critics that beneath Victor’s

‘noble’ exterior lurks his incestuous desires and he’s frightened of these. But his creation, the

Monster becomes the embodiment and an externalisation of all of Victor’s repressed sexual

desires