Book Description

Mary Shelley, the woman writer pioneered with her novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus at the age of nineteen, in a genre, which is utterly male dominated. Frankenstein was published in the year 1818. That was the time when society expected much from science, people were in a path of constant search for knowledge. It is witnessed even in the protagonist of the novel. In her work, Shelley questions the thoughtless development of science. In Frankenstein, the male characters were of primary focus. The narrator Robert Walton, the protagonist Victor Frankenstein, Victor's father Alphonse Frankenstein, and brothers William and Earnest, Henry Clerval -his best friend, and finally the monster that Victor Frankenstein creates, are all male figures. Shelley did a wonderful job of portraying women of that era, where they were seen as possessions for men, protected by men, diligently carrying out their duties of mother, daughter, wife and sister. In what is considered to be the first novel in the genre of science fiction, Shelley used Caroline Frankenstein, Justine Moritz, Elizabeth Lavenza, Safie, Mrs. Saville, and not to forget the female monster that Victor begins to create as mere voiceless beings....” I was delivering this lecture on Mary Shelly and her first major work in front of a handful of Science Fiction enthusiast engineering students. And it all started in that January afternoon, when I asked my students, all in their early twenties, to write a short story each. They wrote and read it out in the classroom. I noticed that some of those stories were really good. I asked them to write again keeping in mind the juxtaposition of the Indian milieu in their stories. This process went on for almost four months. And finally, we are ready. From the shelves devoted to Frankenstein in a bookstore to the possible Artificial Intelligence revolution in Ex-Machina in a multiplex theatre, science fiction has travelled some distance. Till date the exact definition of science fiction remains contested. This genre is still exploring the potential of retelling a fictitious tale of time, space, genetics, technology and experience. In fact, science fiction as a genre of literature distinguishes itself from others by its portrayal of a world of imagination-utopia/ dystopia. This genre plays an important role in society as it talks about an alternative world of possibilities, possibility of an equal world, where one can critique gender roles, traditions and values.