Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Discuss the extent to which one of the following novels is informed by contemporary social issues: Great Expectations Fathers and Son, Frankenstein.
The novel I have chosen to discuss is Frankenstein. Written in 1818 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is classified as a gothic novel, however, Shelly uses both realist and non-realist techniques. I will be looking at her reasons for writing the novel and what influenced her, as well as the realist and non-realist techniques used. I will be looking at some of the contemporary social issues that affected Shelley’s life at the time she wrote her novel. These will include Nature versus Nurture and Love and Responsibility. Frankenstein was written after Mary Shelley and a group of her friends were challenged by Lord Byron to each write a ghost story. The idea for her novel came to her after she had listened to a conversation between Lord Byron and her husband Percy Shelly in which they discussed ‘The experiments of Dr Darwin’ They also discussed ‘galvanism’ ‘Perhaps a corpse would be reanimated’ (Frankenstein p195) Later that night she dreamed of her monster and was awakened with fear and so it began. Shelly was undoubtedly influenced by what she read. She mentions literary works that she drew upon for her ideas ‘The Iliad, the tragic poetry of Greece-Shakespeare, in the Tempest (It is easy to see the parallels with the character of Caliban, who is viewed as monstrous, educated and betrayed by Prospero) Midsummer Night’s Dream – and most especially Milton, in Paradise Lost.’ (preface) There are parallels with the story of Frankenstein and the bible story of Satan. ‘Satan is an angel who has fallen from a blessed and God- given state because he has pride enough to think he can rival God’ (The Realist Novel p70). Victor Frankenstein could be viewed as Satan because he too is trying to be a creator of man. This dark image of Frankenstein necessitates the use of the gothic.
Frankenstein is a hybrid; a mixture of
The novel I have chosen to discuss is Frankenstein. Written in 1818 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is classified as a gothic novel, however, Shelly uses both realist and non-realist techniques. I will be looking at her reasons for writing the novel and what influenced her, as well as the realist and non-realist techniques used. I will be looking at some of the contemporary social issues that affected Shelley’s life at the time she wrote her novel. These will include Nature versus Nurture and Love and Responsibility. Frankenstein was written after Mary Shelley and a group of her friends were challenged by Lord Byron to each write a ghost story. The idea for her novel came to her after she had listened to a conversation between Lord Byron and her husband Percy Shelly in which they discussed ‘The experiments of Dr Darwin’ They also discussed ‘galvanism’ ‘Perhaps a corpse would be reanimated’ (Frankenstein p195) Later that night she dreamed of her monster and was awakened with fear and so it began. Shelly was undoubtedly influenced by what she read. She mentions literary works that she drew upon for her ideas ‘The Iliad, the tragic poetry of Greece-Shakespeare, in the Tempest (It is easy to see the parallels with the character of Caliban, who is viewed as monstrous, educated and betrayed by Prospero) Midsummer Night’s Dream – and most especially Milton, in Paradise Lost.’ (preface) There are parallels with the story of Frankenstein and the bible story of Satan. ‘Satan is an angel who has fallen from a blessed and God- given state because he has pride enough to think he can rival God’ (The Realist Novel p70). Victor Frankenstein could be viewed as Satan because he too is trying to be a creator of man. This dark image of Frankenstein necessitates the use of the gothic.
Frankenstein is a hybrid; a mixture of
References: Allen Richard, Chapter Three, reading Frankenstein, The Realist Novel, The Open University (1995) Butler Marilyn, Edited notes and Introduction, Frankenstein, 1818 Text, Oxford University Press. Byron Glennis, York Notes Advanced, Frankenstein 1831 edition. Shelley Mary, Frankenstein, 1818 text, Oxford University Press.