The Frankenstein Unit
Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me, Did I solicit thee
From Darkness to promote me?
Paradise Lost, X 743-745
Images of “Frankenstein”
What is your image of “Frankenstein”? Draw it or jot down a
descriptive words.
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list of
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Favorite Titles of Frankenstein
Movies
• “Frankenstein’s Musical
Christmas”
• “Alvin and the Chipmunks
meet Frankenstein”
• “Frankenstein vs.
Dracula”
• “Frankenstein: the College
Years”
Films, Films, Films Oh My!
The Hollywood Stereotype
• James Whale directed
the 1931 film
Frankenstein where
our image of the
Creature comes from.
• In the film, a mad
scientists creates a
creature with little
intelligence who rages
against humanity.
The Cultural Myth
• There are over 100 films
about Frankenstein.
• Frankenstein has been
used to sell merchandise
such as Twix candy bars,
Levi’s Jeans, Coca-Cola,
Frankenberry Cereal,
M&Ms, Penzoil, and Pez.
The Modern Prometheus
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Mary Shelley’s subtitle for
Frankenstein is “The Modern
Prometheus”
In Greek Mythology, the titan
Prometheus stole fire from the sun
and gave it to humanity.
This angered the Greek god Zeus
who did not want humans to
control fire.
He was punished by being chained
to a lake while an eagle would feast
on his liver.
The Prometheus Myth has become
a metaphor of what happens when
humans get a hold of something
they cannot control and reach
beyond their ability.
Frankenstein—The Modern Prometheus
by Mary Shelley
• Published 1818
• Setting: 18th century;
Geneva/Swiss Alps;
• Romantic Literary
northern ice
Period
• Protagonist: Victor
• Genre: Gothic
Frankenstein
Science Fiction
• Epistolary (novel of • Antagonist: The
Creature
letters) 3 narrators
Frankenstein - Novel Topics
• The use of knowledge
for good or evil
• The invasion of
technology into modern
life
• Treatment of the
poor or uneducated
• The power of
nature in the face of
unnatural events
• Nature vs. nurture
Thesis
Influenced by the Romantic Period,
the scientific inquiry of her time, and
her own life, Mary Shelley’s Gothic
novel, Frankenstein, presents a clear
message on the irony and danger in the
quest for power.

Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley’s background
(August 30, 1797-February 1, 1851)
Born on August 30th 1797.
Mother: Mary Wollstonecraft
a famous feminist author
who died 11 days after
giving birth to Mary
Father: William Godwin
A famous 19th century
philosopher who believed
in the rights of the
individual.
The Author - Mary Shelley
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passion for research and study is evident
throughout the novel
demonstrated through the three narrators’ quests
for new knowledge /knowledge of origins
parallels Mary Shelley's lifelong scholarly pursuit
/interest in her own biological origins due to loss
of mother in childbirth
< Her Parents:
Philosopher William Godwin;
Feminist Mary Wollstonecraft
Her Husband:>
Writer Percy B. Shelley
Shelley’s marriage
• At 15 years of age Mary
met her future husband
Percy Bysshe Shelley, a
disciple of William
Godwin and a famous
poet.
• (scandal) Despite being
previously married to
another woman, Percy
Bysshe Shelley convinces
Mary to elope with him in
France when she was 17.
Byron’s Challenge
• In the summer of 1816,
Percy and Mary visit Lord
Byron’s estate in France.
• The summer of 1816 had
fall like weather because a
massive volcano in
Indonesia spewed ash
around the world.
• Because of the gloomy
weather, Byron issued a
challenge to his guests to
create the best horror story.
The Making of Frankenstein
• On 19 March 1815
Shelley recorded in
her journal, after the
death of her first child:
"Dream that my little
baby came to life
again--that it had only
been cold & that we
rubbed it before the
fire & it lived."
The Publishing of Frankenstein
• At Byron’s estate, Mary
has a dream about a man
who plans to bring life to
the dead. (galvanism—
popular theory of the time)
• She turns her idea into a
story and is encouraged by
her husband to turn the
story into a novel.
• In 1818, Shelley publishes
the novel at the age of 19.
Setting the Stage . . .
What influenced Shelley to write this novel?
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The Romantic Period
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The Gothic Novel
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Scientific Research

Her own life
The Romantic Period
 Time
of political revolution and new ways of
looking at the world (especially in the light of
the French Revolution)
 A time of expression.
 Britain was becoming the most powerful nation
in the world. Britain’s prosperity (Industrial
Revolution) eventually created a sense of British
righteousness.
The Gothic Novel
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“a new and fearful genre for a new and
fearful time”
haunted Gothic manor— represents
crumbling way of life;
hero or heroine's search for identity—
loss of English identity
The revolutions in America and France
helped developed a culture of fear
*fear of imprisonment or entrapment,
*fear of rape and personal violation, *fear of
evil triumphing over good and chaos over
order.
Gothic literature
gets its name from
the Gothic
architecture that
often makes up its
settings.
Scientific Research of the Time
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science begins to dominate—even partially
displacing religion as a coherent world view.
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The Industrial Revolution led to massive leaps
forward in engineering.
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Science becomes formal major at university; many
men focused on the study of natural history.
Scientific Research of the Time
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Concept of Electricity and warmth led to the discovery
of the Galvinization process
– --key to the animation of life.
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Scientist Johann Konrad Dippel (1673-1734) a mad scientist
who studied human anatomy.
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The late 18th century saw a revolution in Chemistry—
change from alchemy to Chemistry (atomic theory of
matter).
– suggested that elements could be put together to create
matter.
• In the early 1800’s, scientists were
obsessed with finding a way to bring
the dead back to life.
•Mary found this idea fascinating and
kept current with all new science
experiments taking place during her
time.
Luigi Galvani was one
scientist that believed that
“electricity” was the life force
for living beings.
He would take dead animals and
shock their bodies with high currents
of electricity. The corpse would jolt
when shocked with electrical currents.
Luigi’s nephew, Giovanni Aldini, took
the experiment one step further. In
London, on January 17, 1803, he
publicly performed this experiment on
the corpse of a human being, a
prisoner that had been executed by
hanging.
Giovanni attached live wires
to the corpse: 120 plates of
zinc and 120 plates of
copper.
Giovanni reported, “the jaw
began to quiver, the
adjoining muscles were
horribly contorted, and the
left eye actually
opened.”(Frankenstein, p.
xx)
The muscles of the corpse were
shocked to such a degree that the
corpse appeared “animated” to the
public.
With Frankenstein, the sci-fi era began. The novel
contains the three elements essential for all
science fiction work:
(1) based on valid scientific research;
(2) gives a persuasive prediction of what
science might achieve in the future;
(3) offers a humanistic critique of the benefits
and dangers of either the achievement or
scientific thought
The Title of the Novel
• The name “Frankenstein”
originates not from the
Creature, but the Creator,
Victor Frankenstein.
• Victor, like Shelley,
suffers the loss of many
loved ones at an early age.
• He creates his creature as
a way to bring back the
dead.
Structure and Point of View
Frame Story
Epistolary – carried by letters
The Doppelganger
• The story is a
Doppelganger, or German
word for “double image.”
• Both the Creature and
Victor mirror each other in
their effort to destroy the
other.
• The Doppelganger
represents a divided self,
or two alter egos who are
more alike than different.
Famous Doppelgangers
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Batman and the Joker
• Bruce Banner and The
Incredible Hulk
• James Bond and Blofeld
• Mario and Donkey Kong
• Optimus Prime and
Megatron
The Creature
• Unlike the Hollywood
stereotype, the
Creature is an
intelligent being
whose rage stems
from his neglect from
Victor.
I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be
spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on.
Themes in the Novel
1. Personal Responsibility:
Are we responsible for
our own actions?
2. Responsibility to Others:
Are we responsible for
the actions of others?
3. Recreate the Past: Can
we reshape the past?
Thesis
Influenced by the Romantic Period,
the scientific inquiry of her time, and
her own life, Mary Shelley’s Gothic
novel, Frankenstein, presents a clear
message on the irony and danger in the
quest for power.
