Welcome to our final episode of Frankenstein. In this episode, Shari and Rhea revisit the nesting narrative, also called framing. They examine each frame through the lens of several different themes and motifs. They ask what ideas they see repeatedly, and how the characters express the various themes. They talk about Shelley’s exploration of love through the pairing of different characters together, and how Victor and the Creature combine in such a way that desecrates love as well as one another. They discuss the significance of names in Frankenstein, and the extra-significance of the De Lacey family at the center of the story. And they circle back around on earlier discussions about creators and creations, not taking responsibility for what we make, not “killing our darlings” when we should, and the ways we end up with monsters of our own making.
Journal Prompts for Frankenstein:
Rhea had some excellent reflective questions we didn’t have time to discuss. I (Shari) would like to offer them here as journal prompts in case you’d like to do some final noodling over Frankenstein.
* On Creation: What does Shelley want me to notice about creation? About my relationship with creation? My responsibility to creation? My responsibility to what I create?
* On Companionship: What does Shelley want me to notice about companionship? About my expectations about companionship? My responsibilities within companionship?
* On Love: What does Shelley want me to notice about love?
We’d love to hear your thoughts or discoveries on any of the above. And if Frankenstein spurred you on to consider other big ideas, please share these, too!
Our next slow read is Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner. We will be reading it over four weeks. Our first episode will drop March 10th. No new episodes will air between now and then. Great time to catch up on your Middlemarch reading!
If you need a refresher of our 2026 reading list, you can find it here:
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