Audiences already know the story of Frankenstein. The gothic novel — adapted dozens of times, most recently in director Guillermo del Toro’s haunting revival now available on Netflix— is embedded in our cultural DNA as the cautionary tale of science gone wrong. But popular culture misreads author Mary Shelley’s warning. The lesson isn’t “don’t create dangerous things.” It’s “don’t walk away from what you create.” This distinction matters: The fork in the road comes after creation, not before.