Exploring Historical Events in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Introduction

Frankenstein is a novel that was written by Mary Shelley and its story revolves around the life of a particular character by the name Victor Frankenstein who becomes a scientist at a tender age. He manages to develop a strange creature via his scientific experiments after he loses his mother in order to avoid grief. The historical events in the novel are revealed by the characters and the themes that are explored in the novel by the author. For instance, the use of the monsters characters which represent gothic is a clear indication of the historical events that occurred in the past period. The purpose of this paper is to explore how the historical events that occurred in the past period are reflected in Shelley's novel, Frankenstein.

Gothic Elements and Historical Depiction

The first way the historical events in the novel are depicted is by the use of gothic. The gothic is a language that was used in ancient times. It has been used for various purposes such as exploring what it means to be human or the difference between human and other creatures. For instance, the gothic is basically to define the boundary between human, natural, divine, monstrous, and the supernatural. This is depicted in the novel by the author by the use of a creature that was developed by Frankenstein via his scientific experiments. In addition, the use of the monster that was created by Frankenstein also reflects the historical period as it is believed that these creatures used to exist in the past.

The novel, Frankenstein, was written in the Romantic period and it reflects the historical period. The time when it was written starts from around 1785 to 1830, a time that was characterized by social as well as political upheaval. It was the period which England converted from being an agricultural society to become an industrial nation. This is reflected in the novel by the development in science. The development of science knowledge is shown by Frankenstein's ability to develop the strange creature through scientific knowledge. In other words, the historical period in the novel is also depicted by the use of symbolism to represent the events that occurred in the past. In this case, Shelley has used this style to indicate this period that occurred in the past.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shelley has managed to use different styles to depict the historical themes. Among them is the use of the gothic language that was used in the past. This language was basically used to mark the border between human and other creatures such as the monster. In addition, the historical themes have also been depicted in the novel through the development of the creature that is larger than the modern man. Such creatures used to precede the modern man and this therefore shows that the author indirectly showed that she is exploring the historical events.

Works Cited

1. Bloom, Harold. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publ, 2007. Print.
2. Burt, Daniel S. The Biography Book: A Reader's Guide to Nonfiction, Fictional, and Film Biographies of More Than 500 of the Most Fascinating Individuals of All Time. Westport, CT: Oryx Press, 2001. Print.