The Main Ideas In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Intro: Frankenstein also known as prometheus is a classic Gothic and Romantic Novel, with a concern for the “overreaching” of scientism in the Industrial Revolution. This novel is written by one of the most prominent figures in the English literature Mary Shelley. The origin of Frankenstein is almost as mysterious and exciting as the novel itself. Mary Shelley came up with the idea to write her novel in Switzerland, Frankenstein was published two years later in 1818. It all began back in the summer of 1816 at the famed Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Mary Shelley spent most of that summer together with her future husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, her stepsister Claire Clairmont, Lord Byron and Dr. John Polidori, Byron's
physician. Inspired by a reading of the Fantasmagoriana, a collection of German ghost stories, on June 16 they decided to try their hands on supernatural stories themselves.
Thesis: When writing this book, Mary was influenced by the French revolution and industrial revolution of that time, which broth new era of scientific possibilities.
Body 1: Mary Shelley was born into a world of scientific, artistic and political revolution.
Her father and husband were famous radical thinkers and writers, and both of them (along with other important philosophers of the day) had a large influence on Mary and her novel. One of her father's main ideas was that everyone should act only for the good of mankind; otherwise, selfishness would lead to the breakdown of society. This view influenced Frankenstein in that Victor largely thinks and acts only for himself, ignoring the wishes of the Monster (for example, by not creating a wife for it), thereby endangering mankind by giving it a reason to do harm. Victor is also a bad parent, deserving punishment for abandoning his creature. Many people see this book as promoting the revolutionary ideas that dominated the political world at the time, since Victor challenges authority (God) by creating life himself. The Monster is also revolutionary in its hostility towards authority (its 'father'). Yet both the Monster and Victor are punished with death - leading other people to conclude that Shelley is critical of political
revolution.
Body 2: When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, the scientific revolution had already changed the face of Europe and was beginning to fuel the industrial revolution. In the story, Victor combined both ancient sciences, like the writings of Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus, with the new sciences such as chemistry and anatomy, which had been pioneered by men like Andreas Vesalius and William Harvey. Victor exclaimed, ?None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder? (55). With this statement, Shelley shows some of the feeling of contempt for science because it delved into the unknown and often changed basic beliefs held in the world.Frankenstein also reflects the industrial revolution?s effect on Europe, primarily the working class?s appeals for suffrage and other rights. The industrial revolution spawned the creation of large factories with wealthy owners and a poor working class. In the 1780?s, for example, steam machines were set up to make yarn and by 1800 factories could make cloth. In 1820 textiles were the top industry in Britain. However, these advances in technology also led to a working class with long hours and very low wages. Women were paid half wage and children that worked were paid a quarter wage. This led to the development of labor unions and working class demands for voting rights and a less demanding labor environment.Similarly, in Frankenstein the creation demanded rights from Victor. After killing Victor?s nephew, the creation approaches Victor and demands that he make a creation equally hideous that will not abhor him but rather accept him and give him asylum in a world where everyone is repulsed by him. The creature promises that he will retreat to the ?vast wilds of South America? (129) if Victor meets his demands. Victor agrees but stalls for some time. Meanwhile the creature visits him on occasion and demands that he hastens to fulfill his promise. When Victor?s new creation is almost complete he regrets having made it and destroys it. This sends the creature into a fury during which he seeks revenge by murdering Victor's closest friend followed by his bride. Thus the creature's demand for rights mirror the demands for rights by the poor class during the industrial revolution.

Body 3:Victor Frankenstein's original reasons for creating life from dead parts are noble.
His driving force is the desire to help mankind conquer death and diseases. But when he finally reaches the goal of his efforts and sees his creature and its ugliness, he turns away from it and flees the monstrosity he has created. From that moment on he tries to suppress the consequences of his experiments and wants to escape them by working in other sciences. Victor even withdraws from his friends and psychological changes are visible.Mary Shelley seems not to condemn the act of creation but rather Frankenstein's lack of willingness to accept the responsibility for his deeds. His creation only becomes a monster at the moment his creator deserts it (1). Thus Frankenstein warns of the careless use of science - the book was written at an early stage of the Industrial Revolution, a period of dramatic scientific and technological advance. This is still an important issue, even 200 years after the book was written. Taken into consideration what many inventions of the last 50 years brought upon mankind, one must assume that many scientists still do not care much. (E.g. the splitting of the atom was turned into nuclear bombs and the invention of the computer resulted in an eerie dehumanisation of our society). Most scientists seem to be like Victor Frankenstein, who finished his work in the prospect of achieving fame. Only when he realizes the repulsiveness of his creation, Victor comes to
senses. Intended as a warning, Victor tells his story to the polar explorer Walton: "I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery. Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." (Shelley: 51-52)(2)