It was a dark and stormy night ...听Nineteen-year-old Mary Shelley was writing Frankenstein on a dare. Two hundred years later, the classic horror novel of the anguished, misunderstood creature still captures the imagination of generations of readers.
Shelley鈥檚 monster came alive on the page, thus launching what has been argued to be the first true science-fiction-horror novel that has inspired countless writers.
With the publication of Frankenstein, Shelley extended the fringe science of her time to one logical extreme鈥攖hat you can create life from a stitched-together corpse, said Stephen Graham Jones, a creative writing professor at CU Boulder and author of horror novels. Shelley鈥檚 story of recklessly pursuing and exploring knowledge at all costs strongly resonates today.
鈥淎 large part of this novel鈥檚 enduring appeal is the dynamic relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淭hat push and pull makes for a gripping story. But, once Mary Shelley鈥檚 gotten you hooked on that struggle, she works in some real horror that still resonates: that our actions have consequences we could have never guessed. Sure, she鈥檚 dramatizing the anxiety of her time鈥攊s all this scientific progress going to help us or hurt us?鈥攚hich is still a concern today, but more than that, she鈥檚 warning us that we鈥檙e never just tipping a single domino over.鈥�
Assistant Professor Rebecca Kuglitsch, who heads the Gemmill Engineering, Mathematics and Physics Library, calls it a generative book.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a cool story to inspire college students,鈥� Kuglitsch said, 鈥渂ecause Mary Shelley was just 19, on a vacation with friends, during bad weather with nothing to do, and got dared to write a scary story. The book鈥檚 appeal touches on so many aspects of the human experience.鈥�
Shelley wrote a story that, she explained, 鈥渨ould speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror鈥攐ne to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart.鈥�
Frankenstein is relevant in today鈥檚 brave new world as science tackles ethical questions about the use of stem cells, animal-to-human organ transplants, and blurring the boundaries between artificial intelligence and human interaction.听
March marks the 200th听anniversary of 贵谤补苍办别苍蝉迟别颈苍鈥檚 publication. University Libraries is daring CU undergraduates to craft their own Frankenstein creation.
Students are invited to submit a creative work in any medium: story, dance performance, short film, visual art, sculpture or computer game. They are encouraged to explore the themes Shelly touched on, such as creation, scientific responsibility, gender roles, consequences of innovations, science and religion, science and community, or resurrection. The Frankenstein Bicentennial Creative Contest is for students in any discipline to get creative with the novel鈥檚 themes.
University Libraries will host a March 13 event to announce the winners. Students鈥� creative works will be displayed and the top three submissions will be awarded a prize.
In addition to the creative contest, a yearlong series of activities is being planned.
鈥淔rankenstein is a great text for showing intersections of a variety of disciplinary areas,鈥� said Juliann Couture, interdisciplinary social sciences librarian. 鈥淭here are components of women and gender studies, history of science, artificial intelligence, and ethics. We invite students to explore and play with genres and stories the way Shelley did. Have fun with it.鈥�
The submission deadline for the Frankenstein Bicentennial Creative Contest is Feb. 16. Winners will be announced during the event on March 13. For more information, go to the .
