The Modern Prometheus

Daughter of two distinguished writers, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft

Her mother died giving birth to her Left home at 15 to live with friends of

her father Met the famous poet Percy Shelley,

although Shelley was married the two fell in love and ran off together

Her first child died at 3 weeks old She, Shelley, and Lord Byron

proposed a contest to write the scariest story

Frankenstein was born from this contest

Two of her remaining three children fell sick and died before their fifth birthday

Shelley and two companions drowned when they were caught in a storm in 1822

The French Revolution and the rise of Industrialism Revolution signaled rejection of the

wealthy ruling class and a shift of power to the middle class

Industry made workers replaceable and led to horrid working conditions

Science and Technology New machines such as the steam

engine led to unparalleled production

Erasmus Darwin introduced the idea of biological evolution which was carried on by his grandson

Scientists conducted several experiments with electricity

Arctic Exploration In the late 1700’s travelers began

searching for a trade route through the Arctic that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific

Narrative Structure The novel employs a framing structure

that encompasses three different narrators

The novel also utilizes the epistolary form—where letters tell a story

Setting The Swiss Alps and Arctic are the

setting for the majority of the novel These locations were favorites of the

Romantics for their sublime and awe inspiring examples of nature

Gothicism Gothic novels typically feature the

sinister and supernatural occurring as the result of human evil or misdeed

Gothic novels also express our deepest psychological fears and insecurities

Romanticism Romantic writers concerned

themselves with the plight of the underprivileged , the exploration of the imagination, scenes of natural beauty, and the supernatural

Doppelganger The idea that a person has a

ghostly double haunting them

This “dark” side has been referred to as the Id by Sigmund Freud and the “shadow” by Carl Jung

Loneliness and Alienation Does ambition and the quest for

knowledge drive us further and further away from society?

How does isolation affect Victor and his creation psychologically?

Monstrosity and appearance Is the creature the only “monster” in

the novel? Is monstrosity defined only by

appearance? Why do humans naturally react with

fear and loathing to what they perceive to be ugly?

Nature vs. Nurture Look for the abundant examples of

nurturing relationships that contrast Victor’s treatment of his creature

Duty and Responsibility What duties and responsibilities do we

have to our family and loved ones?

Justice vs. Injustice Shelley invites her readers to judge

which characters are just and which are not

Forbidden Knowledge Are there things that humanity was

just not meant to know? What unforeseen consequences might

we suffer as a result of scientific progress?

Science vs. Nature Is science just a man made substitute

for the perfect system of nature? Is scientific progress good if it upsets

a natural balance? Language

The novel is full of various documents all of which attempt to preserve different types of language

Three different narrators bring three types of language into the novel