Mary Shelleys Frankenstein - Book Report/Review Example

Whereas Walton's letters to Margaret basically explain his expedition at sea, they also introduce Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist of the novel. "I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves, and fills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling This breeze, which has traveled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes There, Margaret, the sun is forever visible; its broad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendor.

" (Shelley, 9) Therefore, the narrative strategy adopted by Mary Shelley in this epistolary novel has been fundamental to keeping the interest of the readers to the accounts concerning Victor Frankenstein and his monster. This narrative strategy also creates the right environment for the narration of the Gothic and romantic story in an effective manner. In a reflective analysis of the narrative strategy adapted in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, it becomes lucid that the style of narration has a great influence on the overall effect of this epistolary novel.

Whereas the novelist presents the entire story in a chronological manner, the readers are given the impression that after the protagonist Victor is introduced, the narrative shifts back in time to the youth and works of the protagonist on its way back to the present time. It is mainly due to the fact that Victor's narrative leads to a flashback. Therefore, the narrative strategy of the novelist has a great effect on the readers who are immersed in the special world created by the narrator. In the first section of the novel, the author introduces the protagonist of the novel through the letters between Robert Walton and his sister and the second section deals essentially with Frankenstein's narrative which is told in his point of view.

In this second section, the readers find much action, death, and various other characters, and the monster also narrates his adventures in some of the chapters of the section. The final section of the novel deals with the death of the protagonist and the monster's portrayal as a desperate character and Robert Walton's final letter to his sister explains the leftovers of Victor's story to the readers. Most significantly, the novelist follows the patterns of an epistolary novel in an effective manner as the letters introduce the plot, followed by the plot itself, and the final letters commence the plot ends the story.

Therefore, Mary Shelley makes use of the narrative strategy of the epistolary novel in order to invigorate the story by making the readers interact with the characters of the novel. In conclusion, the narrative technique used in this novel has a great effect on the readers as they experience a level of intimacy with the characters and the events in Mary Shelley's novel, which is unlikely in other forms of narration.