...Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Key facts full title · Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus author · Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley type of work · Novel genre · Gothic science fiction language · English time and place written · Switzerland, 1816, and London, 1816–1817 date of first publication · January 1, 1818 publisher · Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones narrator · The primary narrator is Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein’s first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster’s first-person narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor. climax · The murder of Elizabeth Lavenza on the night of her wedding to Victor Frankenstein in Chapter 23 protagonist · Victor Frankenstein antagonist · Frankenstein’s monster setting (time) · Eighteenth century setting (place) · Geneva; the Swiss Alps; Ingolstadt; England and Scotland; the northern ice point of view · The point of view shifts with the narration, from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein’s monster, then back to Walton, with a few digressions in the form of letters from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein. falling action · After the murder of Elizabeth Lavenza, when Victor Frankenstein chases the monster to the northern ice, is rescued by Robert Walton, narrates his story, and dies tense · Past foreshadowing · Ubiquitous—throughout...
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...Frankenstein Essay Assignment For this essay, you will choose a focus in the novel, Frankenstein, and create an original argument based on it. Your writing may be strictly literary analysis or it may take the form of a compare/contrast essay that works to connect an aspect of the novel to concepts or events outside the book. You are free to choose whatever focus you like in the novel. A good starting point is to consider what aspects of Frankenstein interest you most as you read it; for example you might be particularly drawn to the monster’s development, the relationship between Victor and Walton, Victor and the monster, the role of women, the nature vs. nurture debate, the importance of companionship, or the role of nature in the book. Here are some topic ideas that you may choose if you would like to connect the novel to outside sources: 1) Psychology/Identity formation- research child development, nature vs. nurture, and connect what you find to the monster’s development in the novel. What does Shelley’s novel seem to suggest about how identity is formed? Compare and contrast Shelley’s views with your research. 2) Philosophy- Shelley was heavily influenced by Locke and Rousseau, two major philosophical thinkers. Read excerpts of their works, and apply concepts from their writings to the novel. 3) Shelley’s biography- If you are interested in learning more about the writer behind the story, this is a good option for you. It won’t take you long to see...
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...Romanticism in Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, is well known throughout the world as a classic piece of gothic literature with elements of disturbing and macabre imagery. It is easy then to overlook the many ways in which Frankenstein is a primary example of Romanticism due to the characteristics of the way it was written and the time period in which Mary Shelley lived. Shelley’s Frankenstein is not meant to be looked at as a purely gothic piece of literature but rather a literary work of Romanticism that masquerades as a horror story. To start with, the monster created by Frankenstein is paramount to the representation of Romanticism in the novel. The monster is a Romantic hero because of the rejection it must bear from normal society. Wherever he goes, the monster is chased away because of its hideous appearance and its huge size. Shelley makes an effort explaining how often that people in conventional society reject that which is out of the ordinary or that which is unnerving and disfigured treading on the borders of our society. It’s hard to blame the monster for what happens to him, and Shelley provokes from the reader a sympathetic response for a creature that has been established as a misunderstood and lost soul in a world it was never meant to live in. The monster tries to fit into a regular community, but because it is grotesque to look at and does not know the social norms, he can never become part of mainstream society. The monster's response is to...
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...Examine some of the ways Gothic horror is presented in Frankenstein showing how your understanding of Mary Shelley’s techniques has been illuminated by your reading of Poe’s short stories Firstly, Shelley uses the setting of her novel in order to create an unsettling atmosphere in various chapters. Factors such as time, weather and architecture all play an important role in bringing horror to life in both Frankenstein and Poe’s short stories. Mary Shelley aligns Victor with the Romantic Movement, which emphasised a turn to nature for experiences like hope and happiness. The natural world has notable effects on Victor’s mood. He is moved and happy in the presence of the scenic beauty of Switzerland. In return this also reminds Victor of his guilt, shame and regret. “The rain depressed me; my old feelings recurred, and I was miserable”. This enables the weather to foreshadow Victor’s emotions throughout the novel. The theme of nature also reappears in the monster’s narrative. Whereas Victor seeks the high cold hard world of the Alps for comfort, as if to freeze his guilt, the monster finds solace in the soft colours of a spring time forest. This symbolises his desire to reveal himself to the world and interact with others. The architecture of the early nineteenth century was typically gothic and of a medieval revival style. It is this gloomy and frightening scenery, which sets the scene for what the audience should expect. Likewise, Poe uses the setting to convey...
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...Of Monsters and Men: How Humanity Incites Monstrousness in Grendel and Frankenstein All too often on a daily basis do people judge others based on their physical appearance or other superficial criteria. Generally, close-minded individuals perceive anything foreign or a deviation from the norm as offensive or even as a threat. We would like to think that we are not prone to such a fault, but this foible is ingrained in human nature. Literature has examined this aspect of humanity on a magnified scale by using monsters as a metaphor for those we judge; the novels Grendel by John Gardner and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley are as much character studies on humanity as they are stories about monstrousness itself. The monsters in each novel certainly...
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...The Reality of Rejection An innocent mother and child are killed by a thief for only a laptop and some jewelry. A man is battered in a dark alleyway for the change in his pocket. A fight between a meth abusing teenager and his dad ends in violence. What do these events have in common? They are crimes- reckless acts of malevolence-that no one could ever have any excuse or valid reason for; or could they? In the gothic thriller Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, themes of rejection, morality, and the human experience are explored through the woeful tale of Victor Frankenstein and his monstrous creation. Specifically, a poignant story of a created being experiencing abandonment from his creator-heavily influenced by biblical themes- emerges. This...
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...Frankenstein Notes ------------------------------------------------- Some Interesting Points * There is a chilling logic in the creature's arguments. Why should he not respond in kind to the way that he has been treated by both his maker, who should have cared for him and looked after him, and by mankind as a whole? If the creature is inhuman, it is only because he is imitating the inhumanity of the human species. Therefore, I think that the novel presents Victor as being more inhuman. * Victor is alien in his society in the way that he removes himself from others, for example when he goes about creating the daemon/creation. Victor is very secretive and seems to like it that way... he doesn't really try to understand people like the creation does. The creation tries again and again to belong in the community, its his greatest desire. With Victor, on the other hand, there seems to be a gulf between him and the rest of society. * Justine’s trial testifies to the inhumanity of man. What is important to note is the way this links in to a vital theme of the novel, which is the presentation of the creature himself. He starts off innocent and wanting a relationship with his maker. It is the way that he is shunned by his maker and by humanity and treated cruelly that forces him into cruelty, but this cruelty is only paralleled by the monstrous nature of humanity as displayed in incidents such as the trial of Justine. We cannot expect the creature to be good when...
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...and causes long-term conflict. The novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, illustrates the struggle between a father and a son that occurs in all societies and time periods. In the novel, the father-son connection that is most crucial to the theme of the book: the impact of abandonment in a beings life. The relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his metaphorical son, the monster, demonstrates the horrors that come out of selfishness and ignorance in Victor’s disregard of his creation. The violence in Frankenstein stems from the original abandonment...
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...Scientific Morality in Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a late nineteenth century novel about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who creates a living person from dead body parts and gives it life through the power of magic and alchemy. It serves as a cautionary tale that sheds light on the ethical boundaries of scientific experimentation and the potential consequences of ignoring those boundaries for the sake of knowledge alone. Although science is not inherently good or evil, it can be used as a tool for both in the hands of imperfect humans. Victor Frankenstein betrays the scientific code of ethics when he creates a man that society can never accept. Victor, as a scientist, follows the very same path which elementary school children follow today when learning the scientific method; observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion. Victor Frankenstein observes the power of nature through the destructive force of lightning. He sees the potential of such energies and develops a hypothesis based on his studies of Agrippa and Magnus (German scholars and philosophers), who he looks to as mentors. His hypothesis is that through the power of nature, he can reanimate organic tissue with the use of alchemy which his chosen mentors have claimed to achieve. Victor Frankenstein’s experimentation requires a form, which leads him to the charnel houses to claim tissue from the deceased. His hypothesis proves true, and a monster is born. Throughout the process...
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...Introduction Frankenstein was Mary Shelley's (1797-1851) first published novel, written when she was only eighteen years old in 1818. In her preface to the 1831 edition, Mary Shelley tells the reader that she was asked by her publisher: "How I, then a young girl, came to think of, and to dilate upon, so very hideous an idea?" Explaining where and why the idea for Frankenstein came to Mary Shelley could answer it Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (living with but unmarried to the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley); Shelley; George Gordon, Lord Byron; and Dr. John Polidori spent the summer of 1816 in Switzerland. According to a 1 June 1916 letter by Mary Shelley, "almost perpetual rain confines us principally to the house." Lord Byron (a friend of Shelley's) and his physician John Polidori, resided nearby at the Villa Deodati. Persistent heavy rains kept them indoors, the four finally resorted to telling familiar and recently published horror and ghost stories. For days they told tales which included gothic elements: graveyard and convent, burial vaults, mysterious trap doors and passages, wild locations, secluded spots, and pursuits by moonlight. Finally, one evening at Byron's villa, they made a pact to see who could write the most frightening ghost story. Both Percy Bysshe Shelley and George Gordon, Lord Byron, had earned widespread fame; even Mary had first published a book at the age of eleven (Mounseer Mongtongpaw). Each undertook the task eagerly. It is said that Mary had a nightmare...
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...In Chapter 24 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein decides to leave Geneva and its painful memories after his entire family is destroyed. After searching for the monster for months, Victor eventually runs into Robert Walton and tells him his story. At this point of the novel, Walton regains control of the narrative and continues to send letters to his sister, Margaret. He begins to tell his sister that he asked Frankenstein how to create a monster and bring it to life. To that, Victor replied “are you mad, my friend . . . or whither does your senseless curiosity lead you? Would you also create for yourself and the world a demoniacal enemy? Peace, peace! Learn my miseries, and do not seek to increase your own.” Victor’s outburst raises the question of whether or not knowledge is dangerous. Knowledge is in fact dangerous when it is either broad, or far beyond our need in life. “Such words, you may imagine, strongly excited my curiosity; but...
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...Victor Frankenstein should consent to the monster’s request and create a female companion for the monster, as it will make him happier, less violent, and allow him to better enact his genuinely good intentions, while having the closest thing that he can have to a family. One reason Victor should create a female companion for the monster is so the monster will be happier and not have to suffer alone. When he is expressing his desire for a companion to Victor, the monster says “If any being felt emotions of benevolence towards me, I should return them an hundred and an hundredfold;” (Shelley 105). This reveals that the monster will be kind to his companion and he be happier, because he will have someone who he can care for, that will also care...
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...Frankenstein Science AO2 Unrestrained scientific desire: ‘they penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding places’ • ‘they ascend into the heavens’ ‘new and almost unlimited powers’ ‘penetrate’ ‘command’ ‘mimic’ • ‘with fervour’ • ‘performed miracles’ • ‘unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation’ • ‘secret’ ‘hidden laws’ • How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge’ Power: ‘as if my soul were grappling with a powerful enemy’ • ‘like a hurricane’ ‘pour a torrent of light’ • ‘pursued’ ‘unremitting ardour’ ‘clung’ ‘dedicated myself’ ‘secret toil’ ‘tremble’ ‘tortured’ • ‘one pursuit’ • ‘tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man’ • ‘I preferred glory’ • ‘until from the midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me- a light so brilliant and wondrous’ Lack of Morality: Transgression against God he mocks the power of the creator ‘torrents of light’ ‘a new species would bless me as its creator and source’ ‘many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me’ • ‘eyes insensible to the charms of nature’ • ‘Labours’ scientist in being able to mimic and usurp traditional creation methods; existence of an immortal soul? • Responsibility for creation image reinforced ‘inarticulate sounds’ Pursuit: ‘deeply smitten with the thirst for knowledge’ • ‘Pursuit for discovery and wonder’ attracted to the tree of knowledge ‘eternal light’ back to biblical times, tree of knowledge...
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...FRANKENSTEIN Study Guide Homework: Please write your answers on separate paper. Letters 1-4 1. Who is writing Letter 1 (and all the letters)? Robert Walton 2. To whom is he writing? What is their relationship? Mrs. Saville, his sister 3. Where is Robert Walton when he writes Letter 1? Why is he there? What are his plans? St. Petersburg, Russia. He is hiring a crew for his ship. He intends to sail to the North Pole and discover magnetism. 4. What does Robert Walton tell us about himself? He is passionately committed to discovery and adventure. He wishes he had a friend with the same sensibilities and he says he is self-taught. 5. Where is Walton now? What do you think of Walton's question "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man"? Walton is out to sea, sailing north. The quotation establishes the Romantic idea of the power of emotion over reason. 6. How much time has elapsed between Letter 3 and Letter 4? What "strange accident" has happened to the sailors? One month has lapsed. The accident is the ship is trapped in ice and fog. 7. Why does the man picked up by the ship say he is there? What shape is he in? The man says he is “seek[ing] one who fled from me” (11) and he asks which direction the ship is sailing. He is near death, weak and emaciated. 8. What sort of person does he seem to be? How does Walton respond to this man? The man remains silent and this creates a sense of mystery around him. Walton finds...
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...FRANKENSTEIN Study Guide Homework: Please write your answers on separate paper. Letters 1-4 1. Who is writing Letter 1 (and all the letters)? Robert Walton 2. To whom is he writing? What is their relationship? Mrs. Saville, his sister 3. Where is Robert Walton when he writes Letter 1? Why is he there? What are his plans? St. Petersburg, Russia. He is hiring a crew for his ship. He intends to sail to the North Pole and discover magnetism. 4. What does Robert Walton tell us about himself? He is passionately committed to discovery and adventure. He wishes he had a friend with the same sensibilities and he says he is self-taught. 5. Where is Walton now? What do you think of Walton's question "What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man"? Walton is out to sea, sailing north. The quotation establishes the Romantic idea of the power of emotion over reason. 6. How much time has elapsed between Letter 3 and Letter 4? What "strange accident" has happened to the sailors? One month has lapsed. The accident is the ship is trapped in ice and fog. 7. Why does the man picked up by the ship say he is there? What shape is he in? The man says he is “seek[ing] one who fled from me” (11) and he asks which direction the ship is sailing. He is near death, weak and emaciated. 8. What sort of person does he seem to be? How does Walton respond to this man? The man remains silent and this creates a sense of mystery around him. Walton finds...
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