Frankenstein Major Works Data Sheet
Title of Work: Frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Date of Publication: January 1, 1818
Genre: Gothic
Biographical information about the author:
Born as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft on August 30, 1789, Mary was the only child of her father and mother.
Hardly more than a week after having Mary, Wollstonecraft died, leaving William to raise Mary and her half-sister, Fanny, whom William chose to adopt.
When Mary was four, her father remarried but resentment was obvious between Mary and her stepmother.
Later, following the suicides of both Mary’s older sister and Percy’s wife, the couple wedded. Mary sank into depression following the death of three of her children and tolerating an unfaithful husband; Mary would never be entirely relieved of this depression.
Historical background:
Europe in the early 1800’s was not ideal, but it was evolving.
Upper class men held the power in many governments, including England’s, while women were considered to be of a much lower social standing.
Women held few rights and had few choices in life. Most of them just served the men in their lives including fathers, brothers, and husbands.
Society as a whole in Europe suffered from famine and typhus disease in the early 1800’s.
Characteristics of the Genre:
Gothicism: Gothicism focuses on historical, exotic, and remote settings. Also, violent plots are very common in Gothic literature.
Plot - Structure Analysis: Consider the causal relationships, settings, and point of views. You may use the traditional Freytag’s triangle as a starting point (exposition, inciting force, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement). Then decide how the draw a graphic representation of the structure and its impact on other literary elements.
Describe the author’s style:
Mary Shelley sticks to the Gothic Romanticism outline that was popular during this time by making a lot of her novel revolve around nature. Her
Author: Mary Shelley
Date of Publication: January 1, 1818
Genre: Gothic
Biographical information about the author:
Born as Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft on August 30, 1789, Mary was the only child of her father and mother.
Hardly more than a week after having Mary, Wollstonecraft died, leaving William to raise Mary and her half-sister, Fanny, whom William chose to adopt.
When Mary was four, her father remarried but resentment was obvious between Mary and her stepmother.
Later, following the suicides of both Mary’s older sister and Percy’s wife, the couple wedded. Mary sank into depression following the death of three of her children and tolerating an unfaithful husband; Mary would never be entirely relieved of this depression.
Historical background:
Europe in the early 1800’s was not ideal, but it was evolving.
Upper class men held the power in many governments, including England’s, while women were considered to be of a much lower social standing.
Women held few rights and had few choices in life. Most of them just served the men in their lives including fathers, brothers, and husbands.
Society as a whole in Europe suffered from famine and typhus disease in the early 1800’s.
Characteristics of the Genre:
Gothicism: Gothicism focuses on historical, exotic, and remote settings. Also, violent plots are very common in Gothic literature.
Plot - Structure Analysis: Consider the causal relationships, settings, and point of views. You may use the traditional Freytag’s triangle as a starting point (exposition, inciting force, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement). Then decide how the draw a graphic representation of the structure and its impact on other literary elements.
Describe the author’s style:
Mary Shelley sticks to the Gothic Romanticism outline that was popular during this time by making a lot of her novel revolve around nature. Her