Letters, layers and frames: Frankenstein's unusual format

Exploring why Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in the style and format that she chose.

Hello!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying reading Frankenstein. Don’t forget, we’ll be discussing the novel using the Substack chat over the weekend of the 2nd & 3rd of November. I’ll be sharing more details about this very soon!

It was great to hear from so many of you about how you’re getting on with the reading this week, and I can already see there are going to be some really interesting discussion points.

Today I just wanted to share some writing and some thoughts with you about the key structural element of the novel: the use of the epistolary format, and I hope it’s of interesting reading! There are no plot spoilers below, but I do talk about the different narrators and why they are used. Be warned!

Epistolary novels

The fancy term for to call Frankenstein an ‘epistolary novel’. Very simply, an epistolary novel is one told through a series of letters from fictional characters to create and control a narrative. While it is generally considered as using letters, the term often covers other forms of communication such as newspaper accounts, diary entries, e-mails and recordings.

Frankenstein is one of the most famous examples of this structural style. Dracula by Bram Stoker also uses this format (as well as other forms of communication like newspaper accounts), as do other novels such as Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and Carrie by Stephen King (particularly for how it uses newspaper accounts and recordings).

Why this format?

The letters in Frankenstein are one of a few structural formats that Shelley uses. The novel begins with a series of letters written by Robert Walton that are sent to his sister, Margaret. Walton’s is the first perspective we read, but not the only one.

It’s important to think about the context of the time period that Frankenstein was written in when considering why Shelley used the epistolary format. The idea of a scientific creation of this nature by modern standards would not be unthinkable. But it was in 1818. By telling the story by using a collection of letters and firsthand events, the impression to the reader is as if this is something that actually happened.

It’s a common theme among Gothic and Romantic literature. The narrative is presented as a true account, meaning that it reads with more credibility when considering the fantasy element of the events that take place. This writing approach helps to blur what is fiction and what is reality, allowing for the reader to further immerse themselves into the story.

This format also allows Shelley to develop the suspense gradually. While we start with Walton’s letters, we gradually progress through the story with alternative viewpoints but are only drip fed information. The epistolary format allows Shelley complete control for when to release key information and allows her to comfortably dictate the pacing.

Frame narratives

It’s also important to note, alongside it being an epistolary novel, that Frankenstein uses a frame narrative. This means that it is a story embedded within another story. Imagine a painting with a frame around the edge, the letters from Walton make up that frame and the art inside the frame is the actual narrative of the Frankenstein story.

With multiple characters as part of a frame narrative, we get to explore the consciousness and bias of each character who narrates the story. Rather than one narrator with consistent understanding and portrayal of the world, we are left with the individual narrator’s limitations, prejudices, motivations and so on.

The key reason for using this framing, therefore, is unreliability. Generally when reading a novel, we are forced to trust the narrator - be they first person, third person, omniscient or limited. We trust whoever is telling us the story. That we can’t do that for Frankenstein is important, and if you haven’t yet read the novel in full, will become clear as to why.

It’s broadly a technique used to tell a story second-hand, rather than directly, and is traditionally used at the start and end of a novel to add context and any other additional information that might be required.

Why are epistolary novels no longer popular?

Epistolary novels are undeniably less popular among writers and readers today than they were in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are a few reasons for this, one of the primary ones being that they rely on telling the reader more than showing them. ‘Show, don’t tell’ is a far more popular writing style and that’s much harder to pull off in the epistolary format.

Letters are also just out of date. Who sends letters in 2024? It’s extremely uncommon, certainly as a way of telling someone a story. In the modern age, we are far more likely to pick up the phone and give someone a call or send them a message. An e-mail at best. Letters are simply an outdated format of communication, as nice as it can feel to receive something written by hand.

Of course, epistolary novels exist in some format, just now they tend to be brief snippets or one-off chapters. An e-mail might comprise some of this, or a radio recording of some kind. It’s just unlikely to be utilised for a full novel.

We also just simply don’t need that sense of realism to tell stories anymore. Frankenstein, while generations ahead of its time when published, would not be considered groundbreaking today. It would just be yet another science-fiction novel among many others. We just wouldn’t need Walton’s letters to immerse ourselves in the narrative.

Do you think it’s possible for the epistolary format to make a comeback? There are incredibly few novels that seem to favour the style over at least the last decade, but could they one day make a comeback? Let me know what you think in the comments!

And thanks, as always, for reading. I’ve got more coming for you next week, and can’t wait to get to discussing the novel in just 17 days time!

Take care and I’ll see you again soon.