Dissecting Frankenstein

On a dark, chilly night some 200 years ago, a dreary rainstorm kept 18-year-old Mary Shelley and her friends stuck indoors. They passed the time reading ghost stories to one another. One member of the group, the poet Lord Byron, challenged the others to write spooky tales of their own.

That friendly competition gave rise to one of the great horror stories of all time: Shelley’s Frankenstein, in which the young student Victor Frankenstein fulfills his obsession of bringing the dead to life. Using human and animal body parts, he builds a human-like form. Seeing his creation awaken, he is horrified and abandons it. Lonely and rejected, the creature kills everyone Victor loves and then runs away to die at the North Pole.

It was a dark, chilly night some 200 years ago. A gloomy rainstorm kept 18-year-old Mary Shelley and her friends stuck indoors. They passed the time reading ghost stories to each other. The poet Lord Byron was one member of the group. He challenged the friends to write spooky tales of their own.

One of the great horror stories of all time came from that friendly contest. It was Shelley’s Frankenstein. In this story, the young student Victor Frankenstein is determined to bring the dead to life. He uses human and animal body parts to build a human-like form. When he sees his creation wake up, he is horrified and leaves it. The creature feels lonely and rejected. It kills everyone Victor loves. Then it runs away to die at the North Pole.

At first, Shelley struggled to come up with an idea for her scary story. While mulling over what to write, she and her friends discussed some recent science experiments that had captured their attention.

One area of research they talked about was the role of electricity in animals’ bodies. About 40 years earlier, in 1780, Italian scientist Luigi Galvani had found that when he applied an electric spark to the legs of dead frogs, the muscles twitched and moved. By the early 1800s, scientists like Galvani’s nephew Giovanni Aldini took the experiments further, applying electricity to the dead bodies of larger animals like oxen to observe their movements. Eventually, they even tested the effects of electric current on the bodies of deceased humans.

Shelley tried hard to come up with an idea for her scary story. She and her friends thought about what to write. They discussed some recent science experiments they had heard about.

Scientists were doing research on electricity in animals’ bodies. That was one thing the friends talked about. The Italian scientist Luigi Galvani had done experiments about 40 years earlier, in 1780. He sent an electric spark into the legs of dead frogs. The muscles twitched and moved. By the early 1800s, Galvani’s nephew Giovanni Aldini and other scientists took the experiments further. They sent electricity into the dead bodies of larger animals like oxen. Then they watched their movements. After some time, they even tested the bodies of dead humans.

The research led people to debate whether it might be possible to bring dead animals or people back to life. “Mary Shelley had a good grasp of the emerging science of the time,” says William Gannon, the director of research ethics at the University of New Mexico. Gannon evaluates whether scientific research is conducted responsibly and fairly, and he also teaches young scientists to think about the ethical implications of their own research. He discusses Frankenstein in courses he teaches. “To people following the experiments with electricity by Galvani and others, it made sense to wonder if one could literally spark new life,” he says.

After Mary Shelley and her friends talked late into the night about electricity and questions of life and death, she went to bed. But Shelley couldn’t sleep. She saw an image in her mind of a scientist assembling a strange creature and bringing it to life. That vision formed the basis for her now-famous tale.

The research made people wonder. Could it be possible to bring dead animals or people back to life? “Mary Shelley had a good grasp of the emerging science of the time,” says William Gannon, who works at the University of New Mexico. He’s the director of research ethics. He looks at whether scientific research is done responsibly and fairly. He discusses Frankenstein in courses he teaches. “To people following the experiments with electricity by Galvani and others, it made sense to wonder if one could literally spark new life,” he says.

Shelley and her friends talked late into the night about electricity and questions of life and death. Then she went to bed. But she couldn’t sleep. She saw a picture in her mind. It was a scientist putting together a strange creature and bringing it to life. The image was the start of her now-famous tale.

Frankenstein remains closely linked to science in the public imagination, says Finn. It introduced ideas we still draw upon today. Take Victor Frankenstein, the researcher at the center of the novel. He may be the original “mad scientist”—an experimenter driven by extreme ambition or curiosity whose work is dangerous or disturbing.

But the word “scientist” never appears in the book. In fact, it didn’t even exist yet. The term first appeared shortly after the novel’s publication. “The Frankenstein myth is so powerful in part because it emerged just as the idea of a scientist was first coming into public awareness,” says Finn. “Before we even had a word to describe a professional researcher, we had this deeply flawed depiction of one.”

Frankenstein is still closely linked to science in the public imagination, says Finn. It presented ideas we still use today. Take Victor Frankenstein, the researcher in the book. He may be the first “mad scientist.” That’s an experimenter who is extremely determined or curious, but whose work is dangerous or disturbing.

But the word “scientist” isn’t in the book. It didn’t even exist yet. The word first appeared shortly after the book’s publication. “The Frankenstein myth is so powerful in part because it emerged just as the idea of a scientist was first coming into public awareness,” says Finn. “Before we even had a word to describe a professional researcher, we had this deeply flawed depiction of one.”