Frankenstein and the Epistolary Novel Form

Q: “Examine the effect of the epistolary form of writing throughout the novel Frankenstein. Do you think the epistolary novel form of writing are an effective form of telling the story? How does the epistolary form affect plot development and character development?”

Mary Shelly, the author of the novel Frankenstein, writes Frankenstein in epistolary form which is an effective way of integrating the reader into the story, introducing writer bias [character development], and furthering the theme of communication.

The epistolary form of writing allows the reader to feel as if they are receiving an actual account of the story. This type of writing makes the reader feel as if the character is writing to them. The plot seems more realistic and more suspenseful due to the narrator not being outside of the story and so the reader is are not given an outside perspective. Through the use of letter’s to tell the story, Mary Shelly is forced to add the character Robert Walton into the mix. The addition of Walton allows the reader to contrast Walton’s outlook on life and Victor Frankenstein’s outlook. The reader is reminded that Victor Frankenstein, before creating the monster, was idealistic and hopeful just as Walton is, until Frankenstein lost all the people who were important to him. It's as if Victor's final relationship (with Walton) was sort of that last, final thread of interpersonal connection, as Victor retold his story to him.

Shelley beginning and ending the story with letters provides that outer shell of the novel, and provides an element of immersion into Victor's story.

With another narrator in the epistles that frame the main narrative, there is a voice of more normalcy to which readers can relate. In addition, Walton's s...

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... relationship with her is based wholly on correspondence. Likewise, Victor often isolates himself from his loved ones; the letters from Alphonse and Elizabeth mark attempts to connect with him. Even the monster uses written communication to develop a relationship with Victor when, at the end of the novel, he leads him ever northward by means of notes on the trees and rocks he passes.

Works Cited

Shelley, Mary W, and Harold Bloom. Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus. New York, N.Y: Signet, 1983. Print.

Favret, Mary. The Letters of Frankenstein. 1st Edition. Chicago: 1987. Web. .

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. Ed. James Rieger. New York: The Bobbs Merrill Co., Inc., 1974.

Fraistat , Neil. N.p.. Web. 30 Mar 2014. .