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Frankenstein

Frankenstein. Modern Prometheus. Frankenstein/Modern Prometheus.

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Frankenstein

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  1. Frankenstein Modern Prometheus

  2. Frankenstein/Modern Prometheus • Mary Shelley subtitled her novel "The Modern Prometheus." According to the Greeks, Prometheus stole fire from the gods. As punishment, he was chained to a rock, where an eagle each day plucked at his liver. Haughty Prometheus sought fire for human betterment--to make tools and warm hearts. Similarly, Mary Shelley's arrogant scientist, Victor Frankenstein, claimed "benevolent intentions, and thirsted for the moment when I should put them in practice." Frankenstein endures not only because of its infamous horrors but for the richness of the ideas it asks us to confront--human accountability, social alienation, and the nature of life itself. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/frankenstein/frank_modern_2.html

  3. Mary Shelley • Born in 1797 to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft • Her mother died shortly after Mary was born • Shelley learned about her mother only through writings her mother left behind, including A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) which advocated that women should have the same educational opportunities and rights in society as men.

  4. Mary Shelley • She was an avid reader and scholar and knew through her father some of the most important men of the time (William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge) • Married Percy Shelley in 1816 and listened intently to his intellectual conversations with others

  5. Mary Shelley • On a visit in Switzerland with Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, she was challenged to write a story. She had heard Byron and Shelley discussing “the nature of the principle of life and whether there was any chance of its ever being discovered.” From this conversation, she had the “waking dream” which eventually became the novel Frankenstein.

  6. Historical Context • Walton’s letters dated “17-” with no reference to anything specific to pinpoint the date. • It is set in the latter part of the 18th century, at the end of the Enlightenment and the beginning of the Romantic period in Europe • Reflects a shift in social and political thought – from humans as creatures who use science and reason to shape and control their destiny, to humans as creatures who rely on their emotions to determine what is right.

  7. Ideas of the Enlightenment • Scientific observation of the outer world • Logic and reason; science and technology • Nature should be controlled by humans

  8. Gothic Novel • Frankenstein is generally categorized as a Gothic novel, a genre of fiction that uses gloomy settings and supernatural events to create an atmosphere of mystery and terror. • Shelley adds to her development of the plot the use of psychological realism, delving into the psyches of the characters in an attempt to explain why they react as they do and what drives them to make their decisions.

  9. Epistolary Epistolary—(an epistolary novel) taking the form of a letter or a series of letters (an epistle is a letter)

  10. Robert Walton’s letters Frankenstein's story to Walton Creature's story to Frankenstein Structure and Point of View Frame Story Epistolary – carried by letters

  11. Major Characters • Victor Frankenstein – protagonist (central character), 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, consumed by primitive emotions of fear and hatred.

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

  13. Major Characters • Henry Clerval – Victor’s childhood friend; 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

  14. Themes • Consequences of irresponsibility in the pursuit of knowledge • Consequences of pride • Consequences of society’s rejection of someone who is unattractive • Destructive power of revenge • Parent-child conflicts • Sympathy

  15. Other Literary Elements • Irony – 2 major ironies: • Creature is more sympathetic, more imaginative and more responsible to fellow creatures • Creature has many pleasing qualities but is an outcast because he’s not physically attractive

  16. Allusion (reference to…) • Paradise Lost by John Milton – story of man’s fall from innocence to painful knowledge; Victor can be compared to Adam, Satan, and Eve • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, like narrator, tells story as a warning and a confession http://literature.pppst.com/STU/mary-shelley.html

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