Princeton professor Susan Wolfson on why we love 'Frankenstein' two centuries later

Summary

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NPR's Book of the Day

Episode Summary:

Princeton Professor Susan Wolfson on Why We Love 'Frankenstein' Two Centuries Later
Date: October 28, 2025
Host: Rachel Martin (with intro and outro by Andrew Limbong)
Guest: Susan J. Wolfson, Princeton English professor and co-editor of a new annotated edition of Frankenstein

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Episode Overview

This episode explores why Mary Shelley's Frankenstein continues to captivate readers and inspire countless adaptations two centuries after its publication. Princeton professor Susan J. Wolfson, editor of an acclaimed annotated edition of the novel, discusses with NPR’s Rachel Martin the cultural legacy of Frankenstein—how the book's themes, imagery, and misinterpretations have permeated society, and why it remains relevant today.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cultural Pervasiveness vs. Direct Experience

• [01:04] Rachel Martin opens noting that Frankenstein is so embedded in popular culture that many believe they've read it, even if they haven’t.
  • “There are some books that have saturated themselves so deeply into our culture and consciousness, we tend to believe we've read them even when we haven't.” (Rachel Martin, 01:04)

2. The Original Story vs. Pop Culture Adaptations

• [01:19] The popular image of Frankenstein—bolts, lightning, green skin—is quite different from Shelley's more ambiguous and psychological tale.
  • Rachel Martin highlights that the novel lacks the iconic “lightning bolt” moment. Instead, the “creation” scene is understated (“infuse a spark of being”).
    • “But in the book, no lightning bolt, no thunder...Instead, Victor Frankenstein describes the moment...‘that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.’” (Rachel Martin, 01:37)
  • [02:08] Wolfson clarifies: “We don't really know exactly what is happening other than that infusing of a spark. We assume that it's electrical.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 02:08)

3. Impact of Film and Technology

• [02:21] The “electric spark” has inspired real scientific innovation—Wolfson shares that the inventor of the pacemaker, Gene Rosenbaum, was influenced by the 1931 movie’s take on Frankenstein’s creation.
  • “The American doctor Gene Rosenbaum...saw the James Whale 1931 film as a child. And it stayed with him powerfully...Electricity. Infusing a spark into a dead body and bringing it to life. That's amazing.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 02:21)

4. Physical Appearance and Creator’s Disgust

• [03:08] The annotated text and Wolfson’s commentary highlight Victor’s revulsion at the creature’s physical form, despite the attempt at beauty.
  • “His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath. His hair was a lustrous black and flowing…” (Rachel Martin, quoting novel, 03:02)
  • “Which is not bad in itself, right?...Victor Frankenstein has designed this creature to be a beautiful man, and it hasn't turned out that way.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 03:08 & 03:11)

5. Representation of the Creature

• [03:24] Wolfson’s favorite visual is not from pop culture but from the first published illustration:
  • “When you look at the creature...he is recognizably human looking. And that, I think, is a much deeper disturbance than...the kind of cultural processing...in which the creature very much looks like a deranged, horrifying, scary, dangerous madman.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 04:01)
  • The original creature is “dazed, confused,” not the green-skinned monster pop culture depicts.

6. Legacy and Symbolism of “Frankenstein”

• [04:54] The term “Franken-” has entered the language as a catch-all prefix for the unnatural, out-of-control, or hybrid (e.g., Frankenstorm).
  • “That's a kind of default prefix for any horrifying, alarming development in weather, in science, in fashion, in food, technology. And everybody knows what that means.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 05:09)

7. Moral of the Story: Consequences and Idealism

• The ongoing legacy stems from Frankenstein being a cautionary tale: “The way in which idealism may not think through consequences. A human creation that has gotten out of control.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 05:23)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• [01:16] Susan J. Wolfson imitates the famed movie line, “It's alive, it's alive, it's alive.”
• [03:45] Wolfson describes the very first visual image of Frankenstein’s creature—human, not monstrous.
  • “I've seen undergraduates on Monday morning who don't look as good. He's, you know, he's dazed, he's confused. He is recognizably human looking.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 04:01)
• [05:09] On the “Franken-” prefix’s cultural power: “Everybody knows what that means.”

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Key Timestamps

• 00:02 – Andrew Limbong’s intro; sets up the relevance due to a new Frankenstein film.
• 01:04 – Rachel Martin introduces Frankenstein's ubiquity in culture.
• 02:08-02:21 – Discussion of the ambiguous “creation” scene and its scientific inspiration.
• 03:02-03:11 – Exploring the original creature’s description and the theme of unmet expectations.
• 03:34-04:01 – Wolfson’s favorite image of the creature; discussion of visual adaptations.
• 04:54-05:23 – The word “Frankenstein” in common usage and as a symbol of unintended consequences.

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Tone & Closing Thoughts

The conversation is accessible, witty, and insightful, blending scholarly analysis with pop culture touchpoints. Wolfson’s humor—comparing Frankenstein’s monster to undergraduates on a Monday morning—and Martin’s curiosity make for an engaging dialogue.

Summary Quote:
“The way in which idealism may not think through consequences. A human creation that has gotten out of control.” (Susan J. Wolfson, 05:23)

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For listeners and non-listeners alike, this episode offers a thoughtful reflection on why Frankenstein endures—not as a simple horror story, but as a rich, cautionary meditation on creation, humanity, and unintended consequences.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. There's that new Frankenstein movie directed by Guillermo del Toro, about to come out on Netflix. It's got a pretty stacked cast. Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth Jacob Elordi is playing the monster. And it's worth wondering, what is it about this story that draws people to it, even today? Well, back in 2012, English professor Susan Wolfson edited an annotated version of Mary Shelley's original book. And she spoke with NPR's Rachel Martin about that exact question. Their conversation after the break.

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[Rachel Martin]

There are some books that have saturated themselves so deeply into our culture and consciousness, we tend to believe we've read them even when we haven't. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is one of those books.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

It's alive, it's alive, it's alive.

[Rachel Martin]

The Gothic horror tale written in 1818, is the story of Victor Frankenstein. He's an ambitious scientist in a quest to create life. And in that quest, he inadvertently creates a monster, the creature, in the name of God.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

Now I know what it feels like to be God.

[Rachel Martin]

Frankenstein, in its multiple incarnations in film and TV is all about the stuff that makes for a good tale on Halloween, the dark and stormy night, and of course, the terror unleashed at the moment of the monster's creation. But in the book, no lightning bolt, no thunder. Instead, Victor Frankenstein describes the moment this I collected the instruments of life around me that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

We don't really know exactly what is happening other than that infusing of a spark. We assume that it's electrical.

[Rachel Martin]

That's Professor Susan J. Wolfson. She edited a new annotated version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

And one of the notes that we had fun writing was about the inventor of the pacemaker, the American doctor Gene Rosenbaum, who saw the James Whale 1931 film as a child. And it stayed with him powerfully. And he thought, oh, electricity. Infusing a spark into a dead body and bringing it to life. That's amazing. The next paragraph I think is really gripping because it describes the extreme disgust of the creator for his creation. And the disgust has to do with an unacceptable physical appearance.

[Rachel Martin]

His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath. His hair was a lustrous black and flowing.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

Which is not bad in itself, right?

[Rachel Martin]

No, it sounds pretty good.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

His teeth of pearly whiteness that you can see that Victor Frankenstein has designed this creature to be a beautiful man, and it hasn't turned out that way.

[Rachel Martin]

Do you have a favorite representation of this story?

[Susan J. Wolfson]

You mean visual representation?

[Rachel Martin]

Favorite Frankenstein movie or TV representation?

[Susan J. Wolfson]

Actually, I like the very first published image of Frankenstein. Let me see if I can find that for you. We have it. Here it is. It's on page 31.

[Rachel Martin]

Okay.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

And this was the first illustration when you look at the creature. Yes. There's a skull on the floor. There's a book open, but the creature has a ripped above.

[Rachel Martin]

He looks nothing like the green monster with the bolts in his neck.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

He's not a monster. I've seen undergraduates on Monday morning who don't look as good. He's, you know, he's dazed, he's confused. He is recognizably human looking. And that, I think, is a much deeper disturbance than, say, the kind of cultural processing of the creature, in which the creature very much looks like a deranged, horrifying, scary, dangerous madman. And that tells you what happened to the imagination of this creature across almost a century.

[Rachel Martin]

I mean, reading this book with these notes, they just provide amazing texture to the experience. Most people know Frankenstein through its representations in popular culture, TV and movies.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

Absolutely.

[Rachel Martin]

Even jokes. I mean, right now on the east coast, where we are, we're starting to feel the effect of what some people have dubbed the Frankenstorm. So what do you think is the legacy of Frankenstein at this point?

[Susan J. Wolfson]

Well, I'm glad you mentioned the Frankenstorm, because that's a kind of default prefix for any horrifying, alarming development in weather, in science, in fashion, in food, technology. And everybody knows what that means. The way in which idealism may not think through consequences. A human creation that has gotten out of control.

[Rachel Martin]

Susan J. Wolfson, She's a professor at Princeton University. She and Ronald Levow edited a new annotated version of Frankenstein.

[Susan J. Wolfson]

That's Frankenstein.

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, Andrew here, The host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast. And, yeah, I love new books, but there's just something about rereading an old favorite. On our new limited series, Books we've Loved. We're revisiting some classics from Pride and prejudice to Dune to everything in between and talking about why they're worth reading. Listen to NPR's Books We've Loved right on this podcast feed every Saturday on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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