"Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed."

"'And do you dream?' said the daemon ... "

- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

IN HER "INTRODUCTION" to Frankenstein, author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley recounts how one summer evening after reading a selection of German horror stories aloud, she, her husband (the poet Percy Shelley), and two friends (the poet Lord Byron and Doctor Polidori), each agreed to write a "ghost story" of his or her own. Mary was the only one who completed the task, and the result was much more than a simple ghost story.

Frankenstein is one of the most enduring stories ever written in the English language, its continued presence at the forefront of popular imagination stemming from the variety of ways it can be read. To be sure, it can be treated as an entertaining "ghost story." But it can also be read as a sophisticated and subtle commentary on a variety of things Mary Shelley observed around her in early 19th century Europe.

One important theme in the book is the notion of difference or "the Other," something we have been discussing for the past several weeks in our conversations about "East and West" and in our examination of close encounters between western and non-western cultures.

This week we begin our own reading of Frankenstein with these issues in mind. Prior to class, you should read Volumes 1 and 2 of Frankenstein, thinking especially about what the story says about what it means to be an insider and an outsider, about the divisions society throws up between us and others, about human preoccupation with appearances, and about the way different peoples treat each other.

When you have finsished reading Volumes 1 and 2, please click here for your online exercise. We will complete our reading of Frankenstein with Volume 3 later in the semester. Please also remember that we will be meeting tomorrow night to watch the 1931 film rendition of Frankenstein as noted on your activities schedule.