Mary Shelley’s

1. Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN

2. During the presentation, take notes on the following: • Connections between novel and author • Characteristics of sci-fi • Romantic Literature • Gothic Literature • The characters, major and supporting

3. The original title was Frankenstein or, The Modern Prometheus. Prometheus was a mythological god who creates mankind and then rebels against the gods by stealing fire from Jupiter to help them.

4. The author, MaryShelley, was born Mary Wollstonecraft in London in 1797 and died in 1851 at the age of 54 from a brain tumor. Shelley was 19 yearsoldwhenshewrote this Gothic tale in 1816, and just shy of 21 when it was published in 1818.

5. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is based on her life experiences, her dreams, and scientific research and experiments of that time period.

6. Castle Frankenstein in Germany Home to German alchemist who allegedly experimented with dead bodies—legends claim he brought a dead man to life with a bolt of lightning

8. With Frankenstein, the sci-fierabegan. The novel contains the 3 elements essential for all sciencefiction work.

9. (1)“it’s based on validscientificresearch; (2)gives a persuasiveprediction of what sciencemightachieve in the future; (3) and it offers a humanistic critique of the benefits and dangers of either the achievement or scientificthought” (Frankenstein xx).

10. RomanticMovement: (1770-1870) This movement is not about “romance or love” but about disillusionedliberals who were tired of the common people being oppressed by tyrantrulers. This time period occurred simultaneously with revolutions around the world.

11. Natureimagery is a keyelement in Romantic literature because human tyranny could notcontrolnature. For the Romantics, nature represented peace and they believed that all emotionalhealingcame from nature. [Nature imagery is abundant in Frankenstein.]

12. Gothic Literature : an offshoot of Romanticliterature. “Gothic writers gave nature the power of destruction… The most commonfeature of Gothicliterature is the indication of moodthrough the weather. When bad things are going to happen in a Gothic novel, the reader knows it because there is inevitably a storm outside” (Grudzina). 1997

13. In addition, Gothic literature is “a style of fiction with historical and picturesquesettings, an atmosphere of mystery, gloom and terror, supernatural or psychologicalplotelements, with violent, gruesomedeaths” (Webster).

14. Allusions in the Novel • Paradise Lost by John Milton – story of man’s fall from innocence to painful knowledge; Victor can be compared to Adam, Satan, and Eve ; his creation can be compared to Adam and Satan • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, like the narrator’s tale, the story is told as a warning and a confession

15. Major Characters • Victor Frankenstein – protagonist, product of an idealistic Enlightenment education; fueled by possibilities of science and a desire for acclaim; becomes obsessed with creating life from spare body parts. Rational demeanor dissolves and by story’s end, he is consumed by primitive emotions of fear and hatred.

16. Major Characters • The Creature - never named; is Victor’s doppelganger (alter ego); creature rationally analyzes the society that rejects him; sympathetic character, admires people and wants to be a part of human society; only resorts to violence when he is repeatedly rejected

17. Supporting Characters • Henry Clerval – Victor’s childhood friend; true romantic, wants to leave mark on the world, but never loses sight of “the moral relations of things” • Elizabeth – adopted as an infant by Victor’s family; marries Victor • Robert Walton – Arctic explorer who’s obsessed with gaining knowledge and fame; rescues Victor in the Arctic; tells the story

18. Symbols • White/light= knowledge • Ice = danger • Lightning = nature’s power • Nature = acceptance, nurturing, calm • Mountains= sublime in nature

19. Themes Develop from the Following • Consequences of irresponsibility in the pursuit of knowledge • Consequences of pride • Effects of isolation or rejection • Destructive power of revenge • Relationship between natureandnurture • Importance of companionship

20. Works Cited “Frankenstein.” U.S. National Library of Medicine. N.p.13 February 2002. Web. 5 October 2011. Grudzina, Rebecca. Teaching Unit: Individual Learning Packet. Cheswold: Prestwick House Inc., 2004. Print.