Frankestein - Epistolary form of writing

An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. The epistolary form can add greater realism to a story, because it mimics the workings of real life. It is thus able to demonstrate differing points of view without recourse to the device of an omniscient narrator.

Mary Shelley employs the epistolary form in her novel Frankenstein. Shelley uses the letters as one of a variety of framing devices, as the story is presented through the letters of a sea captain and scientific explorer attempting to reach the north pole who encounters Victor Frankenstein and records the dying man's narrative and confessions.

The epistolary form of writing allows the reader to feel as if they were receiving an actual account of the story. This type of writing makes the reader feel as if the character were writing to them. The plot of Frankenstein seems more realistic and more suspenseful due to the letters given by Robert Walton to his sister, Margaret Saville. Through the use of letters, Mary Shelly is forced to add the character Robert Walton into the mix. The addition of Walton allows the reader to contrast Walton’s outlook on life and Victor Frankenstein’s outlook. The reader is reminded that Victor Frankenstein, before creating the monster, was idealistic and hopeful just as Walton is, until Frankenstein lost all the people who were important to him. Moreover, with the inclusion of the character of Walton, readers more readily identify with the themes of isolation and alienation. Walton's final decision to turn back after listening to his crew also mitigates the harshness of Victor Frankenstein's story.

Epistolary narratives often create a disconcerting atmosphere that provokes uncertainty and the unknown. In Frankenstein too, the letters create a dark sense of foreboding, as he creates chilling suspense for Victor and the reader. Shelley deliberately structures Elizabeth’s letters in accordance to significant, horrific scenes regarding the creature. Shelley uses letters in Frankenstein to create suspense in the mind of the readers, “to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart”.

To sum up, the epistolary structure of the novel and the subsequent use of multiple narrators forces the reader to judge for themselves what is true and what is dramatized from the letters. Due to the story being retold from the point of view of Victor, the reader is more likely to understand why Victor and Walton deem the monster a malevolent and insensitive brute.

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