Frankenstein at 200: Mary Shelley's Novel on AI, Parenthood, and Loneliness

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, written in 1816 and published in 1818, remains a prescient allegory for contemporary anxieties. The novel explores themes of artificial intelligence, parenthood, and loneliness. Shelley, then 18, conceived the story during a ghost story competition with Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron at Lake Geneva during the 'Year Without a Summer.' The narrative follows Victor Frankenstein, who creates life from corpses but rejects his creature, leading to tragedy. Modern adaptations, including Jeanette Winterson's 2019 novel Frankisstein and Guillermo del Toro's 2025 film, reframe the creature as a clone or AI. The novel's meditation on the responsibilities of creation resonates with current debates on AI and deepfakes. Shelley's own experiences—the loss of a child, the death of her mother Mary Wollstonecraft, and her father William Godwin's influence—inform the story's exploration of parenthood. The creature's violence is portrayed as learned behavior from Frankenstein's rejection. Loneliness pervades the novel, with explorer Robert Walton, Frankenstein, and the creature each isolated. The creature's plea for a companion and Frankenstein's neglect of family underscore the dangers of ambition without connection. The novel's structure, with nested narratives, highlights the need for human bonds.