Why is Frankenstein still important today?

One of the most significant reasons that Frankensteinis still important today is that it raises questions about medical and scientific ethics that we still grapple with, even now. For example, one might feel that Victor Frankenstein goes too far with his experiment. Arguably, his intentions are good; he wants to find a way to render human beings incapable of any death but a violent one. He wants to find a way to eradicate the...

One of the most significant reasons that Frankenstein is still important today is that it raises questions about medical and scientific ethics that we still grapple with, even now. For example, one might feel that Victor Frankenstein goes too far with his experiment. Arguably, his intentions are good; he wants to find a way to render human beings incapable of any death but a violent one. He wants to find a way to eradicate the detrimental effects of disease on humanity. It isn't clear, however, how creating a person from pieces of dead bodies would actually accomplish this, and Victor seems to violate many legal and ethical codes in his quest.  He illegally digs up dead bodies in order to use them for parts, and he tampers with live animals in an attempt to understand how life happens. On the other hand, since he does these things in the interest of science, some might say he is justified, a scientific pioneer even. Where is the line between right and wrong here? Does Victor go too far? At what point does he trespass beyond the bounds of ethical behavior? These are the kinds of questions that we still do not have hard and fast answers for, and Frankenstein remains important and relevant to our world because it, too, attempts to explore them.