Introduction

Frankenstein is a young man with an unusual dose of curiosity, particularly for things of a supernatural nature. Being the son of wealthy, kind parents, Victor had a wonderful childhood growing up in the wild forests surrounding their home. Since their family villa deep in France was often filled with children of various ages rescued from difficult circumstances by Victor’s parents, he was never short a playmate. He became very close to a girl named Elizabeth Lavenza.

As he grew, Victor’s insatiable appetite for knowledge was not satisfied by the small school near his home; instead, he turned to ancient philosophers such as Cornelius Agrippa, Albert Magnus, and Paracelsus. As he got older, Victor attempted several times to harness the strange and nearly magical sciences of these ancient thinkers but always fell short of achieving the fantastical results he sought.

When Frankenstein finally goes to college, his teachers strongly discourage him from studying the teachings of these ancient philosophers and their dark magical rites, which have no basis in science. Instead, he is pointed to the leading scientific works of his time. Thanks to his sharp mind however, Frankenstein triumphs over all forms of science and becomes a great man.

Now known as Dr. Frankenstein, he has not lost his fascination with the darker aspects of nature and how it pertains to ancient science. So, Frankenstein delves once more into these dark crevasses of knowledge, but this time he is armed with the power of modern science. It is in these dark regions that Dr. Victor Frankenstein uncovers an incredible power—a power sought by the philosophers of old, but kept out of their grasp, a power so fantastical that modern men of science indeed do not believe it to be possible. Frankenstein is not held back by either lack of knowledge or vision. Driven by his relentless pursuit of knowledge—good or bad—he discovers a supernatural force never intended for humanity: the power to create life.

The Novel

Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley and is essentially a study of what would happen should fickle man be gifted with the scientific power to create sentient life. Following the two parallel stories of Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his creation, Frankenstein is a dark novel of reasonable length that raises deep thoughts in the mind of its reader.

Frankenstein is a man driven by varying thoughts and emotions, which seem to throw him around like an out-of-control ship, a dangerous place to be, especially if you hold the power to bestow life upon lifeless matter. His thoughts and guiding principles roll up and down like the waves of the sea and remarkably encompass the majority of all of man's natural driving motives. Flipping through love, ambition, fear, loss, guilt, remorse, anger, fear again, a sense of duty and justice, back to sorrow, then hope, fear, love, and finally culminating in his final collapse, and his entire life purpose being planted on the firm path of revenge.

The story of Frankenstein’s creation is equally as intriguing. Even though it remarkably achieves the feat of being even more depressing. Frankenstein’s creation is never given a name throughout the book, and indeed no one cares enough to call him anything other than Monster epitheand Devil, which are his two prevailing adjectives throughout the story. In the writing of this, I choose to use the former. Frankenstein’s Monster describes himself as the loneliest and most abominable being on earth. Thrown aside by his creator, the Monster was bullied and subjected to cruelty at the hands of man. Originally, he sought to be good, and loved. Upon observing humans, he sees their love for one another and the joy they experience together, even in suffering. The Monster's deepest desire is indeed to experience those same emotions and to have them reciprocated. But in this, he fails; he tries fervently to find happiness among humankind but is frequently beaten, shot, and attacked by the very humans he has grown to care for, simply because of his ghastly appearance.

As tragic as this sounds, what follows is equally so. Frankenstein’s Monster grows incredibly angry, and swears revenge on the entire human race. The Monster, whom the reader previously sympathized with goes on a deadly spree killing two humans. He then sets out on a quest to find someone like him who can love him despite his appearance. For as he sees it, he is at an even lower state than the devil himself, as shown when he professes, “Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and detested.” But when his quest fails due to the fickle mind of man, the Monster goes on a rampage, killing left and right as he haunts Frankenstein with his ever-evading presence, eerie voice, and the corpses he leaves behind.

Both Frankenstein and his creation are sad creatures, each one at some point at least seeking good, but ultimately by the end being driven to revenge, one against the human race, and the latter against the former. The book is not entirely deprived of good characters, as all of Frankenstein’s closest friends and family are good people who frequently try to show him a better way to live his life. (They fail.)

Thoughts

The story of Frankenstein is a study of the human soul, and also of the relationship between creation and creator. The Monster often appeals to Frankenstein as his creator and Frankenstein indeed feels some amount of obligation towards his creation, both to make him happy and give him peace. These thoughts, however, are short-lived as they are quickly swallowed up in the parallel quest for revenge. They nonetheless are thought-provoking. And while the latter seems to me inaccurate concerning our relationship with our Creator, I can still see the logic in the book, and it certainly seems to be accurate regarding the state of the human soul without God.

The book itself is written like most classic literature, but is still fairly simple to understand. In addition to the complex story, interesting characters, creepy vibes, and thought-provoking dialogue Frankenstein offers beautiful scenes of nature captured on page that, while I can’t say they are on par with the likes of J. R. R. Tolkien, they are certainly close.

Conclusion

Frankenstein is definitely creepy. While you won’t find any jump scares, gory scenes, or even unexpected plot twists, the book seems to exude a sense of foreboding and mystery in the mere way it was written. There is something naturally repulsive and indeed terrifying about men bringing dead organs to life, and then that same creation hunting them down in the dead of night. The book was designed to be both unnerving and to cause one to think deeply. And it does both of those extremely well. And while it’s quite enjoyable for these reasons, do not expect to come out of the book feeling happy or excited, as virtually no one is alive by the end; instead, be attentive, and think deeply about how the narrative relates to the real world around you.

I personally came away from reading the book slightly disturbed but also incredibly fascinated by the storytelling and the questions it openly asks about the nature of man, creator, and creation, and what would occur with the discovery of other sentient beings. It even unintentionally led me to contemplate several things regarding the nature of God (i. e. How much better of a Creator He is.) even though the book never mentioned His name. To sum up the majority of the thoughts I had for this book I’ll say this: it reminded me of parts of the Bible (the end of Judges for instance). It’s a dark story designed to repeatedly remind you of the nature of man, and in my personal opinion, just how much we need a Savior. It never mentions God or the answers to the deep questions it asks about morality, but I’m happy to say that I already know the Answer, and He’ll never leave me. (Especially not when I’m being chased by a hideous vengeful monster through the arctic.) 

By Josiah Patrick

I am on a flight to Oregon to attend the wedding of my middle nephew and his soon to be bride. My heart is full. He was the sweetest of little guys. Full of life. Always excited for the next adventure. Affectionate. Almost always kind to his cousins. IYKYK. He came and stayed with us for a couple of nights right after he graduated from high school and we stayed up late watching movies and playing a ridiculous farming game I love on the Xbox. What a joy it was to have him all to ourselves for that short time. I am so excited for him. He loves Jesus with his whole heart and I cannot wait to see all God has in store for him and his sweet bride. 

God’s healing. It has been such a kindness in my life. Just this morning I laid on my belly and scooted under the van to retrieve dropped AirPods. Rushed through the parking garage, and the airport, with no pain. Put my own carry-on in the storage area on the plane and opened my own bottle of water. These are all things I could not have done not too terribly long ago. I will never tire of proclaiming His goodness in these ways. My heart is full.

We just flew over Mount Rainier. I never cease to be amazed at the creativity of our God. I have never been to the Pacific Northwest. From high above the earth it looks majestic. Oh man, my heart is full. I wish the entire Patrick crew had been able to come. I feel like there is lots of opportunity for adventure out here. Maybe one day. 

My heart is so tender towards those affected by the flooding in the Texas Hill Country. I don’t have words. It is not as it should be. But I believe, with all of my heart, that one day soon all will be made right. And in this waiting, I am praying for the presence of Jesus to bring peace that passes all understanding. 

One unnamed Patrick kid has been assigned the task of writing the news. Said kid has revolted, so…

1. Susanna, Nate & Seth are participating in a swim meet this weekend. Sis is excited. The boys are participating. I know we will all have fun.

2. 10 chicks hatched this spring. 9 are still living and of those 9, thus far, only 1 is a confirmed roo. We feel pretty lucky. 

3. There are 2 sweet fawns out back. They are not twins, but say what you will, I believe they are the best of friends. Quite often they are both in our backyard, right behind the house, eating every rosebud and tender shoot hanging from our strawberry plants. Good thing they are so cute. 

4. The kids caught two swarms of bees. Two. One intentionally. The other by accident. We are beyond excited. 

5. The 3 big kids have begun training for a team sprint triathlon they will participate in this October. I love that they love doing things together.

By Monica Patrick

Live like you have no time to waste. Apathy is something all Christians fall into from time to time. But ridding oneself of apathy doesn’t just mean you start to like reading your Bible, and you pray more, no, the reason we become apathetic is because we spend too much time doing wasteful things. So the only way to truly rid yourself of apathy is to be intentional with your time. If you're going to start a stronger relationship with God, then you need to start glorifying Him with your time. I love the current sign on the Sonic restaurant here in town, it says “stop pickling around and dill with it”. Though it may just be a fun pun on their new pickle add-ons, it has some spiritual truth. Stop trying to complicate apathy, stop avoiding it, and just deal with your problem. God will help you, just ask, and get it over with. No point in pickling around.

By Seth Patrick.