Frankenstein: The Autobiography of Mary Shelley? Timothy Sexton College

As a professor of psychology and the author of a host of books that examine various psychological elements at play in some of the most recognized pop culture mainstays within the science fiction genre, Sherri Ginn seems more than qualified to offer an insightful analysis of both the science fact and the science fiction to be found within the narrative of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. That insight is put on nearly full display in her essay “Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Science, Science Fiction, or Autobiography?” Ultimately, however, the essay fails in its promise to fulfill the suggestive thesis within its title. Ginn’s thesis is that all the trappings of scientific reality and fiction to be found in Frankenstein serve to disguise or distract the reader from interpreting the text within an autobiographical framework. Unfortunately, Sherri Ginn’s tantalizing title fails to deliver fully on its provocative promise by pulling back from fully committing to a view that novel can be read autobiographically. As an essayist, Ginn steadfastly refuses to make the most obvious connection by linking Mary Shelley’s biographical history with the novel’s fictional narrative.

In a classic example of anticlimax, right at the exact moment that...