Abstract
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the Creature in itself is not what is the most terrifying. Indeed, in her dream and in the novel afterwards, if Doctor Frankenstein is afraid at the sight of his creature, it is also its coming to life which creates fear: how can an amount of bones, skin, muscles- a dead body- actually ' come to life'. Does it have a soul or at least, a conscience of itself? The very question, here, is: where does life come from? This must be the essential questioning of mankind. Even stronger than our wish to know what comes after life, is our curiosity about where we come from. We want to know where we come from, where conscience appears, and where it all starts. The fear of what we see plays a part in fantastic literature, but it is not the main factor: the unknown has a much greater power. As a matter of fact, it creates a terror which is rather felt than directly perceived by sight or otherwise. Of course, our five senses participate in this perception of fear but we can only catch a glimpse at the unknown, otherwise it would be called horror.
