In her author's note, Mary Shelley recounts the motivation that lit the spark for what would become one of the most famous novels of all time. Interestingly, Frankenstein was the result of a bet between four well-known writers of the time: Mary (of course), her husband Percy Shelley, Lord Byron, and John Polidori. They all agreed to write a ghost story, and of the four Mary was the only one to finish it. He writes that he wanted a story that rivaled all other ghost stories. He said he wanted to write a story that "...speaks of the mysterious fears of our nature and awakens a thrilling horror..." (Shelley, XXIII). Indeed, if one were to take into consideration English author M.R. James' points about what makes a true ghost story, then Frankenstein is a perfect ghost story. There are five points he emphasizes: 1. it must have a claim to truth, 2. No bloodshed or gratuitous sex, 3. No "mechanism explanation", 4. the setting must be of the writer's time, and 5 “A pleasant terror.” It is this last point that James says is “the real purpose of the ghost story.” Shelley, before starting to write, was determined to make this the main purpose of the novel. The result of his labors is a novel that explores the question of Nature vs. Culture through its two main characters, Victor and the Monster, creating them in the image of the two main topics of the human condition in the 18th and 19th centuries. On one side there is Victor. He is very easily described as an ambitious and brilliant young man, both positive attributes of his character. However, both these factors contribute to his arrogance, as after discovering the "cause of generation and life" (Shelley, 37 years old) he distances himself from society, closing himself in a "s...... middle". of paper... to scratch the surface of Frankenstein. We think about it all the time. We see a killer on the evening news and think to ourselves, "What if it's me?" These fears we have of our nature are always present and we always hope that we are never presented with a situation where they might reveal themselves. It could be the fear of being a coward and deciding to save yourself, or of being a hero to someone else if a horrible tragedy ever occurs. Mary Shelley, no matter how good a writer she is, would never be able to weave all the fears we have of ourselves, or others, into one book. They are stacked on top of each other, like a leaning tower, threatening to crash down on us when the situation is at its most dire. Frankenstein's creation is unable to hide these traits within himself, he accepts them for what they are and has no qualms about causing pain to others.