Title: The Workshop of Filthy Creation
Author: Robert Muller
Date of First Publication: 1994
Place of Publication: The Frankenstein Omnibus
Type: Short Fiction
Characters: No Character
Themes: MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER; ANDROID; WOMEN WRITING MONSTERS
Critical Summary: Howard Lawrence is a writer whose current work requires him to research the life of Mary Shelley. He travels from England to Switzerland while accompanied by his wife: Elsbeth, and his eighteen-year-old daughter, ironically named Mary. After a stay at the “sinister” Villa Diodati (the same place where Percy Shelley, Byron, and Mary all swapped terrifying stories), the family ends up at an alpine inn called Gasthof Ritterhof. The abode is owned by the seemingly polite Herr Hubert and Frau Minna. Although everything seems to be in order, Howard can’t help but feel like the spirit of Villa Diodati has taken residence in him. Howard even finds himself reading Shelley’s Frankenstein, trying to understand the strange implications of the old story. His discomfort is worsened by the fact that the Huberts have few visitors, and that their only source of income is provided from a marionette show. One day, Howard sees an old, decrepit hand mysteriously shut a door. After this, he is ready to leave, but his daughter convinces him to stay for her nineteenth birthday, which is the following day. During the party, the Lawrence family attends the marionette show, and to their complete dismay, it is revealed that the puppets are actually reanimated corpses. The Lawrence family escapes the horror show and retires to their room. Not long after, they are disturbed by a creature entering Mary’s room. Hubert and the owner of the ‘old, mysterious hand’ are able to subdue it, but not before the entire family is traumatized forever. Lawrence is unable to explain what he’s seen and heard, but he will never is convinced that Frankenstein relates true events.
This work takes the idea of a reanimated monster from Frankenstein. The “marionettes” at the finale of the story are revealed to be corpses from a nearby cemetery. Like Victor, the characters in this story use body parts to create a new being. The beings, like the Creature, are also “startlingly life-size,” stagger around, and can’t be kept under control. The characters are also not simply “like Victor;” it is insinuated that both Hubert and the Old Man are direct descendants of Victor Frankenstein. “The Workshop of Filthy Creation” also discusses both the writer of the infamous novel, Mary, and her colleagues, Percy and Byron. The blend of reality and fiction between the real-life people and places of this piece allows for a truly unsettling story. The story includes a brief connection to women writing stories with Howard’s daughter, Mary. “The Workshop of Filthy Creation” alludes to a link between the two Marys and the writing of their personal experiences. The story also presents the idea that Shelley wrote about her true experiences. In Howard Lawrence’s opinion, Mary had stayed at this inn, and she had also witnessed the show. This story attempts to answer a burning question about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: What inspired this young woman to write such a fantastical piece of literature?
Administrative Notes: Lexi Lopez, CSUF; Adam Shelley (editing)