Victor Frankenstein & Professor Victor Stein

These two characters, set up to be mirrors of each other, represent the idea of scientific logic taken too far and applied without morality. Each represents the anxiety of the Enlightenment -- which still exists today -- that technology might be used to ill effect and destroy the very nature of what it means to be human. The two characters are quintessential mad scientists who cannot accept death. As Mary Shelley explains, "I will call my hero (is he a hero?) Victor -- for he seeks victory over life and over death" (67). Contemporary Victor Stein plays the same role in the novel, albeit by playing with body parts and making dead hands come alive with electricity.

Claire the Sexbot

Claire the sexbot is a contemporary manifestation of Frankenstein's monster. She looks and sounds eerily human and her creators have gone to...