LIFE
•
The
daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, both believers in the Enlightened
power of reason.
•
She
eloped to France
with the Romantic poet Percy B. Shelley.
•
The
writing of Frankenstein took place at Villa Diodati
on the banks of Lake Geneva.
PLOT
• Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist, creates
a human being by joining parts selected from corpses.
• The result of the experiment is ugly and revolting.
• The Monster becomes a murderer.
• At the end he destroys his creator.
• The story is introduced by a series of letters written by Walton,
a young explorer on an expedition voyage to the North Pole, to his sister,
Margaret Walton Saville.
The latest
scientific theories of chemistry and electricity influenced Mary Shelley
àThe protagonist of Frankenstein is the first embodiment of
the theme of science
à He creates a human being through the use of electricity and
chemistry
INFLUENCES
• Romantic interest in the effects of
science on man
• Horrific and macabre of gothic tales
• The myth of Prometheus à Frankenstein is an example of overreacher.
• Rousseau à The Monster is a noble savage.
• Locke à The Monster’s self-awareness and his education.
• Gothic stories read by Mary and Percy B.
Shelley.
• S. T. Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner à Both the novel and the poem are stories of a crime against
nature.
• Science substitutes the
supernatural.
THEMES
The most important themes are
• The quest for forbidden knowledge (Walton and Dr
Frankenstein) is related to the theme of the overreacher.
• The double (Dr Frankenstein and the Monster).
• The overcoming of natural and divine rules à the creation of a human being without the participation of a
woman.
• Social prejudices à the
Monster as an outcast.
• Education and experience à the Monster’s intellectual and emotional development.
A philosophical
romance and a gothic novel
Elements of the tale of terror : emotional language
Atmosphere
of suspence and danger
Missing elements of the tale of terror: castles/medieval
or exotic trappings
Two interpretations scientifically
updated version of Faust
Symbol
of the isolation of the individual, scientific counterpart of romantic
dark hero, the outcast of society for no fault of his.
Epistolary form Walton’s
letters
Frankenstein’s
autobiographical account of his life
The
monster’s report, explaining the reasons for his monstrous behaviour
The
interplay provides a modern shifting of the point of view.
