A Cultural Studies Approach to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

 A Cultural Studies Approach to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

This blog is part of the Thinking Activity assigned by Dr. Dilip Barad Sir as a part of our Cultural Studies module. It explores Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein through the lens of Cultural Studies, connecting the novel’s revolutionary ideas with its modern cultural influence. The blog is divided into two parts  Revolutionary Births and The Frankenpheme in Popular Culture  to examine how the novel reflects and continues to shape political, social, and philosophical discourses from the 19th century to the digital age.

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 Introduction: Frankenstein as a Cultural Text

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) is not merely a Gothic horror story  it is a cultural text that reflects the anxieties, ambitions, and contradictions of the modern world. Born out of the revolutionary spirit of the early 19th century, it intertwines the Romantic fascination with imagination and the Enlightenment’s obsession with reason.

Through the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and his Creature, Shelley raises profound questions about science, ethics, class, race, and human identity. What makes the novel extraordinary is its timelessness  it continues to echo in the age of artificial intelligence, cloning, and digital technology.

As cultural theorist Timothy Morton suggests, Frankenstein has evolved into what he calls the “Frankenpheme”  a recurring cultural phenomenon that adapts to new contexts while maintaining its core questions about humanity and creation.

Part 1: Revolutionary Births

1. The Creature as Proletarian: Class Struggle and Social Exclusion

Mary Shelley lived during an era marked by political upheaval and social unrest. Her parents  William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft  were radical thinkers who inspired her to question authority and privilege. The Creature in Frankenstein can be viewed as a symbol of the proletariat, the oppressed working class yearning for recognition and equality.

“I am malicious because I am miserable; am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?”

The Creature’s paradoxical nature  innocent at birth yet driven to vengeance by rejection  mirrors society’s treatment of the poor and disenfranchised. Like the revolutionary masses of Shelley’s time, he becomes a threat only when denied compassion and inclusion.

From a Cultural Studies perspective, this reflects Karl Marx’s later ideas about alienation and revolution. The Creature’s suffering and revolt symbolize the anger of the marginalized, while Victor represents the elite ruling class  privileged yet morally bankrupt.

Reflection:

Shelley’s narrative warns that when society fails to embrace the oppressed, it gives rise to rebellion. The Creature becomes both a victim and an avenger, embodying humanity’s fear of revolution and its sympathy for the suffering masses.

2. “A Race of Devils”: Race, Empire, and the “Other”

Shelley’s Frankenstein also engages deeply with the 19th-century anxieties surrounding race, colonialism, and the concept of the “Other.”

Victor Frankenstein’s horror upon seeing his creation reflects the colonial fear of the racialized Other  beings perceived as “monstrous” or “inferior.” When he calls the Creature “a race of devils,” it mirrors the imperial mindset that dehumanized non-European peoples.

“His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath.”

Through this lens, Frankenstein can be read as a critique of Western imperialism and its moral contradictions. Victor’s act of creation giving life only to abandon it  parallels how empires created colonies and then exploited them, leaving behind ruin and resentment.

Reflection:

In today’s context, the novel’s engagement with race and privilege remains strikingly relevant. The Creature’s plea for empathy echoes the modern global discourse on racial justice and postcolonial identity. Shelley’s narrative reminds us that the “monster” is often a mirror of the creator’s prejudice.

3. From Natural Philosophy to Cyborg: Science, Ethics, and Human Hubris

Shelley’s novel bridges the gap between natural philosophy and modern science, anticipating debates about biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and transhumanism.

Victor’s obsession with mastering nature reflects humanity’s desire to play God. His tragic downfall warns against unchecked ambition and the ethical dangers of creation without responsibility.

In the 21st century, Shelley’s cautionary tale resonates in discussions about:

• Cloning and genetic modification
• Artificial Intelligence and robotics
• Designer babies and transhumanism

Films like Ex Machina and Blade Runner 2049 continue Shelley’s legacy, exploring the blurred boundaries between creator and creation.

🎥 Suggested Viewing:

Blade Runner (1982) – Film Trailer

Reflection:

Modern science has made Victor Frankenstein’s dream a near reality. Yet, Shelley reminds us that knowledge without empathy leads to destruction. The moral lesson remains: creation demands compassion and accountability.

Part 2: The Frankenpheme in Popular Culture

1. The First Film Adaptation and Popular Retellings

The Frankenpheme, as coined by Timothy Morton, refers to the enduring cultural life of Frankenstein  a narrative retold across film, television, politics, and even food (“Frankenfoods”).

The First Adaptation:

The first Frankenstein film was produced in 1910 by Thomas Edison Studios. It transformed Shelley’s novel into a moral fable about ambition, making it accessible to a new technological era.

Watch: Edison’s 1910 Frankenstein 

Over the decades, Frankenstein has inspired:

• The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – exploring gender and creation.z
• Young Frankenstein (1974) – parodying scientific hubris through humor.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994) – restoring emotional depth to the Creature.

• Blade Runner (1982) – reimagining the Creature as an android in a dystopian world.

These retellings transform Shelley’s message for new audiences. They engage with technological fears, identity crises, and posthuman anxieties, showing the novel’s adaptability and cultural vitality.

Every new version of Frankenstein reflects its own age. While Shelley’s original questioned Enlightenment rationality, today’s versions interrogate digital power, AI ethics, and human alienation.

2. The Creature’s Education: Power of Words and Alienation

In the novel, the Creature learns to read by observing a family and studying texts like Paradise Lost and Plutarch’s Lives. His literary education gives him language  the power to reason, feel, and articulate injustice yet it also deepens his isolation.

 “I learned of the division of property, of immense wealth and squalid poverty.”

This tension between empowerment and alienation mirrors modern debates about media literacy and cultural power. Knowledge can liberate, but it can also intensify self-awareness of exclusion  a core issue in Cultural Studies.

Reflection:

Shelley’s Creature becomes the “educated subaltern,” similar to what Gayatri Spivak discusses in Can the Subaltern Speak? His voice is intelligent but unheard  a symbol of the silenced Other in modern societies.

3. From “Frankenfoods” to Political Metaphor

The Frankenpheme extends beyond fiction into everyday discourse. The term “Frankenfoods” is used for genetically modified crops, suggesting public fear of “unnatural” science. Politicians often invoke Frankenstein to critique technological excess or moral decay.

For example:

• AI chatbots are called “Frankenstein’s monsters” by critics of automation.
• Political leaders accused of creating uncontrollable movements are said to have “created a Frankenstein.”

 This shows how Shelley’s story remains embedded in cultural consciousness  as a metaphor for the unintended consequences of power, creation, and control.

Conclusion: Frankenstein’s Cultural Legacy

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is more than a Gothic novel  it is a cultural text that bridges revolutions: political, scientific, and technological. From the industrial age to the AI era, its questions remain urgent:

• What happens when creation outgrows its creator?
• Can humanity coexist with its own inventions?
• How do power, privilege, and prejudice shape our notion of the “monster”?

The novel’s enduring adaptability  the Frankenpheme  proves that it is both revolutionary and oppositional. It warns against human arrogance while celebrating the creative spirit that defines us.

Shelley’s genius lies in creating not just a story, but a mirror of humanity  one that continues to reflect our fears, ambitions, and ethical dilemmas across centuries.

References

Barad, Dilip. “(PDF) Thinking Activity: A Cultural Studies Approach to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” ResearchGate, www.researchgate.net/publication/385485826_Thinking_Activity_A_Cultural_Studies_Approach_to_Mary_Shelley’s_Frankenstein. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

Guerin, Wilfred L., et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Oxford University Press, 2007.

Levine, George, and U. C. Knoepflmacher, editors. The Endurance of Frankenstein: Essays on Mary Shelley’s Novel. University of California Press, 1979.

Morton, Timothy. Routledge Literary Sourcebook on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Routledge, 2002.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus. Project Gutenberg, 1993. www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/84.

Smith, Johanna M. “’Cooped Up’ with ‘Sad Trash’: Domesticity and the Sciences in Frankenstein.” Frankenstein: Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical, Historical, and Cultural Contexts, Bedford Books, 2000.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Three Women’s Texts and a Critique of Imperialism.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 12, no. 1, 1985, pp. 243–261.