“I have heard it said that when any strange, supernatural, and necromantic adventure has occurred to a human being, that being, however desirous he may be to conceal the same, feels at certain periods torn up as it were by an intellectual earthquake, and is forced to bare the inner depths of his spirit to another.”

Though ‘Frankenstein’ was her most famous work, Mary Shelley was also the author of other novels including ‘The Last Man,’ several biographies, and a number of short stories. In ‘Transformation’ three of those short stories are brought together, the first two in particular fulfilling the supernatural and gothic promise associated with the author’s name.

The title story, ‘Transformation,’ is a gothic masterpiece that in some respects resembles ‘Faust’ as well as James Hogg’s ‘The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.’ The narrator, Guido, is an arrogant, unsympathetic youth who would not be out of place today, abusing those who try to help him, generally living a debauched life, while hoping to marry Juliet, the girl who promised herself to him when they were children. But Guido’s behaviour brings about his ruin, and not only once, but several times. Juliet’s father attempts to help him, but at this point, Guido is hardly worth the effort. Alone, his friends gone, he finds himself depressed on a beach. Out at sea, a ship is about to be dashed on the rocks. He watches in horror as those on board are condemned to a watery grave. But there is one survivor, a ”misshapen dwarf, with squinting eyes, distorted features, and body deformed, till it became a horror to behold.” This being is sitting on top of a chest of treasure. The creature encourages Guido to confide in him, and after he does so, an offer is made which Guido can’t resist. They will exchange bodies for three days. During those three days, Guido has the chest of treasure. Of course, the creature, now in Guido’s handsome form, does not return, and Guido, foretelling where the dwarf has gone, seeks out his former betrothed. Sure enough, the creature has charmed her and they are about to get married. Horrified, Guido, in his new misshapen form, attacks his enemy, prepared to die himself in the attempt. Stabbed, when he returns to consciousness he is back in his own body and the creature is gone. The experience naturally changes his character, leading to greater humility and an eventual reputation as “Guido the Kind-Hearted.”

Of course, this is a story where a character takes on the outer embodiment of their ugly character. In his handsome form, Guido can charm people, in his transformed form, he experiences a different reaction from people. The charming, insinuating creature residing in his body is really a projection of his own personality. In that respect, the novel resembles ‘The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner.’ There, another ambiguous character, part supernatural, part alter-ego encourages the narrator to become a serial murderer. The Hogg novel though rests on the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. The being, Gil-Martin, in ‘Confessions of a Justified Sinner,’ convinces the narrator that he’s already destined to go to heaven, and therefore no action he commits in life can change that. He’s free to act as he will.

‘Transformation’ is somewhat different. Being a short story, the theme of the story is more concentrated. The transformation of the title is both a physical one and a psychological one. But the latter comes out of the experience of the former. In a sense, the character has to see himself from the outside, as a charming, beautiful monster, as well as experience being seen as a hideous outsider, before he can transform himself into a better person.

‘The Mortal Immortal’ on the other hand is a more tragic story, where a 323 year old man recounts the truth behind his longevity. In some respects, it bears slight comparison with Anne Rice’s first novel, ‘Interview With the Vampire’ though ‘The Mortal Immortal’ is not in any sense a vampire tale. Here, the narrator, an assistant to the famous alchemist Cornelius Agrippa, drinks a potion Agrippa has been working on for years. The narrator is in love with a woman and wishes to be cured of that love. He drinks the potion believing it will cure him. In fact, it is the elixir of life. Agrippa never finds out, believing instead that the potion was simply spilled. It’s years before he can come up with another.

Since he is not cured of his love, the narrator marries Bertha. But, of course, over the course of time, as she ages, he remains the same. The tragedy of immortality is then revealed. Their relationship is threatened, they have to move away to a new place where people don’t know them. He watches as his wife ages and dies. Since he spilled part of the potion and only drank half, he hopes that longevity is all he’s been given. He searches for signs of aging in the hopes that it will come. He sets out to die, to undertake an expedition that will put immortality and his body to the test. Three hundred years on from drinking the fateful dose, he seeks nothing more than death.

It’s worth asking how much of this story relates to Mary’s grief for Percy Shelley who had died almost a decade before, still young. Shelley would always be young, Byron too, in the public’s imagination. Two of her three children also died in infancy. And Mary herself was aging. She never married again.

‘The Evil Eye’ is the last story of the collection. In spite of its title, it’s less supernatural than the previous two, and relies more on fateful coincidence and superstition. Dmitri’s wife is killed and his daughter abducted. Almost dying in the attempt to find her, he is saved by a man, Ziani, and they are bound together in friendship. With no sign of his daughter, Dmitri’s character turns dark, his glance becoming associated with The Evil Eye. Years later Ziani comes to him for help. His father has died and left his fortune to another son, though Ziani is the eldest. Ziani wants Dmitri to help him seize his inheritance back. This involves a child abduction not unlike the first, but this time involving a boy. But Dmitri grows attached to the boy. Ziani snatches him away. With Dmitri and the boy’s father and grandfather on the trail, the child is eventually rescued. It’s only then that it’s revealed that the boy’s mother is Dmitri’s long-lost daughter, and the grandfather, the man who snatched her. There’s a kind of mirroring in this story with the two abductions. In both cases, the two men responsible are ultimately redeemed. Again, it’s tempting to wonder how much the snatching of two children (and the death of Dmitri’s wife) reflects Mary Shelley’s own experience of personal loss.

The three tales come in a slim volume, together with footnotes and a short biographical note on the author. ‘Transformation’ is a worthwhile read not just for fans of Mary Shelley and ‘Frankenstein’ but for all who are interested in the rich history and literature of the gothic tradition.

Kara Kellar Bell is a film and media graduate from the West of Scotland, with a passion for European novels, French films, silent cinema, and Brazilian music (everything from Daniela Mercury and other pop stars through to bossa nova). As a writer, she likes to have room to move around creatively, so she’s not located in one genre. She writes realism and also stories of a more fantastic nature, usually grounded to some extent in the real world. She also takes delight in writing across the sexual spectrum, and as a bisexual, considers it important to remind people that things are not always black and white, either/or, in sexuality or in gender. She is currently completing her first novel. For a selection of Kara’s writing on the Showcase section of this site, click here

© 2004 Laura Hird All rights reserved.