Introduction Very often, novels have become a reflection of the anxieties, ideas, and advances that have marked the period of time in which their authors have written them. This is the result of the social and cultural atmosphere in which the author was immersed and...
In the very act of composing a novel, a writer sets out on a quest, in many ways, to discover some fraction of their true self, whether large or small. Within each novel readers indulge in attempting to uncover these shreds of the authors actual...
The creation of life is a cautionary metaphor for the advancement of science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Today, however, this type of life-generating science is commonplace. It does not take place in the laboratory of a mad scientist, but in sterile and advanced research facilities....
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein reveals the uncanny defamiliarization of the natural part of the general public. The creature, a making of Victor Frankenstein’s frenzy is utilized to affirm this. The monsters ghastly appearance is the reason of society’s loath towards it, thus it is addressed with...
Frankenstein consists of various literary devices and describes different qualities and social perspectives. The tale intensely rotates around various individual aspects in Mary Shelley’s life. Perusing the novel through a women’s activist lense, it’s intriguing to break down how this perspective identifies with Mary Shelley’s...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, written in the 19th century tells the story of a monster created by Victor Frankenstein who is abandoned at birth. When examining this novel from the lens of a feminist literary perspective, we can clearly read how the novel shows us the...
Different authors have different intentions for authoring their books. Whereas some write to expand literature and demonstrate literal techniques, others write to communicate on a specific issue either directly or indirectly. In a way, therefore, although writing is an art it is more or less...
Author Mary Shelley uses the creature in her book Frankenstein to depict the dangers of humans creating artificial intelligence. Shelley presents these ideas through using Victor Frankenstein as a creator of a new species of life, and the creature as a naive, fiendish artificial intelligence....
As a professor of psychology and the author of a host of books that examine various psychological elements at play in some of the most recognized pop culture mainstays within the science fiction genre, Sherri Ginn seems more than qualified to offer an insightful analysis...
In the early 1800s, tense relationships between Europe and the rest of the world greatly impacted modern world history. In 1803, the newly formed United States nearly doubled its domain after purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France. Soon after, in 1804, Haiti won its independence...
For many, it is hard to think of the world of science and the art of literature working in tandem. In the 1800s, the discipline of natural philosophy rapidly changed due to the Enlightenment, moving toward formal sciences. Romanticism served as a backlash to the...
A branch off of feminist movements gender criticism is a literary approach that explores ideas about men and women can be influenced by cultures that attempt to correct the impression of a paternal society. The novel Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, provides numerous examples of...
The struggle of communication is common within society and can provoke unintentional behaviour and inadvertent situations. Such complications occur in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones as many characters demonstrate their inability to connect with others. In Shelley’s Gothic novel, the...
In the wide spectrum of humanistic characteristics, that of desire is one of the most prominent. It is an emotion that is challenging to resist, as it tends to control many aspects of life because of the strength it possesses. In the realm of non-human...
Victor Frankenstein, a young doctor, creates a monster out of dead body parts. Shattered by his mother’s death, he becomes consumed with the idea of bringing the dead back to life. He creates a monster with no plan to take care of it, so he...
Romanticism was a school of thought that Mary Shelley was evidently familiar with. It is probable that the way in which her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley expressed his devotion to the philosophies attached to its many notions, inadvertently influenced her perception of existence and the...
From its outset, Frankenstein establishes a link between the procuring of knowledge, or the uncovering of secrets, and evil. Walton’s sister’s ‘evil forebodings’ that surround his attempt to reach the North Pole, pointed out in the very first sentence, signal immediately not only the dangers...
Forgiveness is to grant pardon for or remission of. Forgiving is key to a happy and unregretful life. Some people lack the ability to forgive, which can make them depressed, isolated, regretful, or even suicidal. In Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, the monster’s lack of forgiveness...
In Mary Shelley’s classic horror story Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein is an ambitious scientist who is fascinated by the creation of life. In his studies, he discovers “the secret of life.” Dr. Frankenstein makes a scientific breakthrough in his creation of the monster, but at what...
As the subtitle of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein implies, the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein and his creation takes elements of classical myth and reinterprets them through the advances of “modern” science. Against the backdrop of the Scientific Revolution, Shelley’s novel confronts perennial dilemmas that have...
Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein follows one man’s dangerous obsession with reanimating the dead. In his efforts to create a living human, Dr. Victor Frankenstein ironically loses his humanity. He becomes obsessed, cruel, and treats his own creation with contempt and hatred. Dr. Frankenstein never...
To create a living being, one must teach and guide them through life. Victor Frankenstein put together parts from formerly living people to create a new life form. Throughout the book, the monster is getting constantly pushed away from society getting put further into isolation...
Exclusively raising opposition to commonplace phenomena can only go as far as just that: talk of a new contrary, and usually unwanted, opinion. The crucial ingredient in making a significant impact with a foreign idea is to make a claim so inconspicuous, that a person...
Humans are emotional and fears, anxieties, desires, and ultimately become monsters. In all societies, people organize themselves and others into groups or categories based on the social classes, physical features, languages, religions, etc. Along with categories, society comes with a set of social norms as...
Frankenstein, the name of a monster, we do not know who the monster is. Frankenstein is a novel written by British writer Mary Shelley in 1818. Frankenstein is a biologist with a passion for the origin of life. He haunts the morgue with a criminal...
More often than not, an author’s personal life translates into their stories. Whether it is done subconsciously or on purpose, their experiences paint a more colorful, vivid picture, and thus convey a stronger message to the reader. Perhaps, Mary Shelley’s own troubled family experience translates...
Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was destined to be an enigma. She was born August 30, 1797 in Somers Town, England to two highly intellectual, unorthodox, but profoundly influential parents. Her father, William, was a historian, journalist, and philosophist. He was a champion of utilitarianism, an advocate...
The story begins when a sea captain named Walton saved Victor Frankenstein’s life, then Victor Frankenstein starts remembering in flashback what happened to him. As a young man, Victor left his home to achieve his aspiration in studying science. During his studies, he decided to...
The moment in which Frankenstein attempts to conceive his own creation is a fundamental allegory within the novel. This passage – the conception of Frankenstein’s monster – in fact represents Victor’s botched attempt at bypassing the role of women in society. Similarly, his fear of...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was a real breakthrough during the 19th century and classed as a great modern horror story. There are many themes presented and initiated by Mary Shelley throughout the novel, however, in my opinion the themes of Feminism and religion are those mostly...
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction.
Works
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s best-known book is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818, revised 1831). She wrote several other novels, including Valperga (1823), The Last Man (1826), The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck (1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837), and a travel book, History of a Six Weeks’ Tour (1817).
Themes
Mary Shelley makes full use of themes that were popular during the time she wrote Frankenstein. She is concerned with the use of knowledge for good or evil purposes, the invasion of technology into modern life, the treatment of the poor or uneducated, and the restorative powers of nature in the face of unnatural events.
Legacy
Although she endured a hard life and witnessed many deaths, Mary Shelley influenced the world with her famous novel Frankenstein, her dedication to popularize her husband's work, her other great novels and writings and her independent and unconventional nature.
Quotes
“No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.”
“The beginning is always today.”
“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos.”
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