This is a critical reading of Frankenstein by Mary Godwin, later Shelley, which aims to encompass the writer, her intentions and literary antecedents, the complexities of the novel itself and the relevance of all the hideous progeny that her monster has called forth into popular culture. The book is particularly concerned with the ways in which Frankenstein, his monster and the implications of the monster's birth and creation can be seen in numbers of different ways, mirroring, duplicating, overlapping, superseding and overtaking each other. The book is organized into four sections, covering an introduction to the book, a critical section, a theoretical section and a conclusion dealing with the infiltration of the myth of Frankenstein into literature and life.