The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White Karen Coats White, Kiersten The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. Delacorte, 2018 [304p] Library ed. ISBN 978-0-525-57797-3 $28.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-525-57794-2 $24.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-525-57795-9 $11.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9-12 By situating Elizabeth Lavenza, the orphaned ward of the Frankenstein family who later weds the doctor, at the heart of this retelling of Mary Shelley's tale, White moves the locus of power to a teenage girl, as Shelley herself was. In White's account, Elizabeth is rescued out of an abusive situation by Victor's mother to be a companion for a son she has already learned to fear. Young Victor is clearly a sociopath, but Elizabeth, rather than being a moral compass that would reorient his conscience, is herself a master strategist. She teaches him tricks she herself deploys to ensure her continued presence in the Frankenstein household, namely, how to soothe situations and cover over antisocial impulses with the right kind of words and smiles. [End Page 99] Unable to truly love her, Victor nonetheless becomes dependent on Elizabeth as well as wildly possessive; Elizabeth, for her part, believes that she needs to keep his worst instincts and habits from being discovered if she wants to secure her financial future. When she seeks him out in Ingolstadt, she uncovers the gruesome truth of what he has accomplished and inadvertently sets his creation free, and here the tale, while mostly adhering to the events of the original plot, changes Victor and Elizabeth's motivations and sources completely. Shelley herself appears as Mary, a bookseller who becomes an ally of Elizabeth, and poor Henry Clerval … well, to reveal his fate would spoil an ingenious twist. While most readers will have at least some familiarity with the cultural mythology of Frankenstein, those who know the original more intimately will appreciate this most fully; nonetheless, anyone who enjoys psychologically dark feminist fiction will find this compelling. KC Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois