Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

Attachments:

• Frankenstein research

1. Daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft

   Annotations:

   • Wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
2. Married to Percy Bysshe Shelley

   Attachments:

   • English Poets
3. Father was philosopher William Godwin
4. Wrote Frankenstein in 1818, when she was only 18 years old!
   1. Originally published anonymously
5. Close friend of Lord Byron

   Annotations:

   • (Romantic Poet - Don Juan)

1. Ambition/Hubris

   Annotations:

   • Walton's quest for discovery Frankenstein's desire to create life Danger of this - the Modern Prometheus...
2. knowledge/ education

   Annotations:

   • * Victor's study at college and Independent research * The creature learns from observing the De Lacey family and reading * Safie learns language from the De Laceys * Walton's quest of discovery
3. Prejudice

   Annotations:

   • The only person who doesn't judge the creature negatively is the old man De Lacey who is blind so can't see him
4. Family

   Annotations:

   • Family relationships are very important: * Victor and Elizabeth * The impact of William's death on Victor * The effect of seeing the De Lacey family on the Creature * The Creature's lack of family and desire for a mate * The narrator, Walton, writes to his dear sister
5. Revenge

   Annotations:

   • The creature takes revenge on Frankenstein by killing Elizabeth on their wedding night
6. Nature Vs. Society

   Annotations:

   • Nature is sublime: beautiful and restores health, but also dangerous. Creature wants to be part of society but  it is corrupting and leads to loss of innocence.

Attachments:

• Structure, form and language (Frankenstein)

1. Epistolary form (Walton's letters)

   Attachments:

   • Frankenstein-Letters 1-4
2. Romantic

   Attachments:

   • Romantics/ Romanticism
3. Gothic

   Attachments:

   • Gothic
4. Developed while competing with Byron, Percy Shelley and John Polidori to make a scary horror story at Lake Geneva
5. Narrative frame (Victor's story within Walton's, the creature's story within Victor's)

1. Light

   Annotations:

   • * Symbolises enlightenment * Walton's quest to the Arctic: "a country of eternal light" * Victor refers to light when he discovers natural philosophy and when he feels his study is advancing ***Light can be blinding as well as illuminating***
2. Fire

   Annotations:

   • The Creature discovers fire: it warms him, but also burns him. Fire as a source of punishment, e.g. the Creature's description of Hell (influence of Milton's Paradise Lost)
   1. Subtitle: The Modern Prometheus

      Annotations:

      • Prometheus: Greek God who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave to humans

Attachments:

• Frankenstein Critic Quotes

1. 1931 Frankenstein, Boris Karloff as the creature
2. 1974 Young Frankenstein, directed by Mel Brooks
3. 1994: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh

1. Victor Frankenstein

   Attachments:

   • Victor Frankenstein
   1. Elizabeth (adopted sister/fiance)
   2. Clerval (best friend)
   3. Justine, accused of William's murder
   4. William (brother), killed by the creature
   5. Walton (first narrator)
   6. The Creature
      1. The DeLacey Family
         1. Safie