Mary Shelley and
Frankenstein
Mrs. Cumberland
Life and Time of
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was born Mary
Wollstoncraft in 1797 to William
Godwin and Mary Wollstoncraftboth very prominent and liberal
writers.
Her mother had written “A
Vindication on the Rights of
Women,” which was a very popular
feminist work.
Percy Bysshe
Shelley
Mary spent much of her teen years
writing stories in Scotland until she
returned to London at age 16. She met
and fell in love with Romantic poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley and became
pregnant. The two continued their
affair until his estranged wife
committed suicide at which point they
married.
They lost all three of their children,
and in 1822 Percy drowned in the
Gulf of Spezia in Italy. At the age of
24, she was an impoverished widow,
and she supported herself with her
writing.
Frankenstein
was published in
1818
Mary Shelley was 20 years old when Frankenstein was published. It is considered a huge
feminist feat because it was written by the female child of a world-renowned early feminist.
However, there are very few female characters, and other than Safie ( the wife of one of the
cottagers) they are not particularly strong female roles.
Historical Events
 1789: the start of the French Revolution ( an attempt of
the French people to ride themselves of their absolute
monarchy). British liberals were excited that the common
people were standing up to their oppressors, but they
quickly became disillusioned when the revolution became
very bloody and its leaders quickly became tyrants
themselves.
1793-1794
 The French Reign of Terror under Robespierre.
 British liberals lost all hope for true justice and equality in
that year
 1804: Napoleon is crowned Emperor
 During this whole time, Romantic writers were turning
towards nature as an escape from the harsh realities of
their world. Nature was someplace where human tyranny
did not reign.
The Romantic Movement
 They Romantics were, for the most part, disheartened liberals.
 They sought solitude in nature, believing that the key to all
emotional healing could be found in nature. Nature imagery is the
most predominant feature of Romantic literature.
 “The weather was fine: it was about the middle of August…The weight upon
my spirit was sensibly lightened as I plunged into the precipices that overhung
me on every side- the sound of the river raging among the rocks, and the
dashing of the waterfalls around, spoke of a power might as Omnipotenceand I ceased to fear, or to bend before any less almighty than that which had
created and ruled the elements…”
Disenfranchised men
 The idea of the disenfranchised man was also very
common. Such men, who found themselves unable to live
in society, were often revered and/or sympathized with.
Frankenstein and his creature are both disenfranchised
men- the creature because his form keeps him from any
human company, and Frankenstein because he eventually
feels that he cannot enjoy the company of his fellow men
after unleashing a monster among them.
Supernatural
 Many Romantics ( like Coleridge and both Shelleys) dealt
with the supernatural. One common Romantic trait was
making ordinary, everyday things seem wonderful and
awe-inspiring. However, some went a step further and
dealt with non-natural things.
 Frankenstein’s creature ( and his education/life) is not a
common thing. It could not possibly be a real thing. Up
until the Romantic era, writers wrote fiction that read as
though it could possibly be real- and was often taken for
truth. Frankenstein cannot be misconstrued as real.
Gothic Literature
It was an offshoot of Romantic literature
Gothic Literature
 Gothic literature was the predecessor of modern horror
movies in both theme and style.
 Gothic literature put a spin on the Romantic idea of
nature worship and nature imagery.
 Along with nature having the power of healing, Gothic
writers gave nature the power of destruction.
“Frankenstein” is full of the harsh reality of nature. Many
storms arise in the book, including the storms the night the
creature comes to life and the night Frankenstein destroys
the corpse of the second create in the Irish Sea.
Mood through weather
 The most common feature of Gothic literature is the indication
of mood through the weather. When bad things are going to
happen in a Gothic novel, the reader knows it because there is
inevitably a storm outside. This is still true in many books and
films.
 When Frankenstein is about to encounter his creature in the
mountains:
“I quitted my seat and walked on, although the darkness and storm increased every minute and the thunder
burst with a terrific crash over my head. It was echoed from Saleve, the Juras, and the Alps of Savory;
vivid flashed of lightning dazzled my eyes, illuminating the lake, making it appear like a vast sheet of
fire…I perceived in the gloom a figure which stole from behind a clump of trees near me; I stood fixed,
gazing intently…A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; it’s
gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity…”.
Victor Frankenstein’s
“Science”
“Elixir of Life”
 Modern readers are often puzzled by Victor’s approach to
discovering the “elixir of life” in that he does not seem to
perform scientific experiments as much as read books.
 Prior to the 18th century, what we call “science” and what
we call “philosophy” were essentially the same disciplines.
The study of nature and the desire to know how nature
functions eventually came to be called “natural
philosophy,” but the quest for such knowledge was still
more what we would consider philosophical than
scientific.
“Natural Philosophy”
 Mary Shelley indicates that Victor is a student of this
“Natural philosophy” when she indicates who some of
Victor’s early influences were. While admitting that many
of these men’s theories had been discredited, Victor still
admits that it was they who largely set him on the course
he eventually was to take.
Cornelius Agrippa

Renaissance philosopher and scientist whose works reflect a strong interest
in the occult and ancient, mystical “sciences” of the near East.

Writings blend European interpretations of Plato’s philosophy with Jewish
Kabalistic beliefs.

His famous work “De incertitudine et vanutate scientiarum” ( the vanity
and uncertainty of the arts and sciences), published in 1527, is a treatise
of the occult, as a hidden knowledge that existed in Renaissance Europe
and was known to a select few. It is a collection of thoughts on
Renaissance magic including topics of astrology and the effect of
planetary motion on human events, occult virtues, the natural tendency of
certain “elements” to work harmoniously together and others to oppose
one another, spells, methods of predicting the future, numerology, and the
order of evil spirits.

His ideas have been discredited by later thinkers
Paraclesus
 Renaissance philosopher and scientist who introduced a new
concept of disease and the use of chemicals rather than herbs
to treat diseases.
 He asserted that diseases were caused by external agents
attacking the body, contrary to the then-traditional idea of
disease as an internal upset of the balance of the body’s
humors ( yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm).
 To cure disease, one needed to attack this external agent.
Alchemy became the means by which the chemical remedies
were prepared.
Albertus Magnus
 Renaissance philosopher and scientist who advocated the
search into the natural causes of things apart from the
church’s position that God was the cause of all effects.
 This was a radical idea for the time, as most scholars
believed that the scriptures were the sole source of all
knowledege. Not only did Albertus advocate what we
would call today the scientific approach to studying the
real world, but he did so in such a way that his ideas were
accepted by the Church.
Character
Development
Types of Characters

Round Character: characters that are fully developed and multidimensional

Flat characters: characters that are based solely on one trait or
characteristic.

Dynamic Characters: characters that develop through the course of the
story

Static Characters: characters that do NOT develop

Foil: a character who is the opposite of another character used to shed
light upon the character of the latter.

Catalyst: a character ( or event) that starts a chain of events.
Static Characters
 Frankenstein Family, Elizabeth and Justine
 Used as the reason for Victor’s revenge. They exist only to be
killed by the monster ( or killed by society), thus giving Victor
motivation he needs to rid the world of the monster.
 Henry Clerval
 Used as another reason for Victor’s revenge. He is also a foil
for Victor by showing how scientific and, often, un-Romantic
Victor is. Henry is Shelley’s way of showing how life could be
for Victor if he was not given to his passion for science.
Static Characters
 Robert Walton: is Shelley’s device that allows Victor to tell
his story. Just as Victor uses him to be the scribe of his
story. Shelley uses him to be the reason the story is told.
 M. Waldman: is purely a catalyst for Victor to return to
natural philosophy and continue his creation.
 The Cottagers: are the means through which the creature
learns how to speak ( so he can tell his story) and how to
“socialize” They are the singlemost important factor in
making the creature long for human company, and then
for his feeling of utter despair that drives him to murder.
Dynamic Character:
Frankenstein
 Very complex character
 Because of the inverted time sequence ( the bulk of the novel is
a flashback and a flashback written within a flashback) his
character in the book is not in the same sequence as in real life.
 He evolves from being a happy and loving child with a love of
knowledge, to a science-obsessed youth, to a broken man
 The various sorrows he endures, sense of guilt for having
created such a murderous being wear on him until he is
prematurely aged and sickly.
 Feels ignorance is bliss. Victor carries the moral of the story
Creature

Begins his life as a tabula rasa ( clean slate)

Has no history, no family, nothing to help determine who he would
become.

Only develops personality through books

Learns loneliness and rejection ( by Frankenstein and cottagers)

The people he encounters and their meanness toward him teach him
meanness.

Becomes what society makes him

The creature is Shelly’s warning to the reader.
Literary Allusions
 A writer’s comparison of his or her characters to
character in other well-known works of literature.
 The value of allusion lies in its ability to garner much
information in only a title or a character name.
 By alluding to a work with which everyone is familiar, all
of the connotations of the one work are transferred to
the new one.
Allusions within
 Milton’s Paradise Lost and the biblical account of Adam
and Eve
 Shelley wanted the idea of being cast out as a horrible
thing.

“But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper
emotions. I read it…as a true history. It moved every feeling
of wonder and awe, that the picture of an omnipotent God
warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often
referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me,
to my own…”
Subtitle of “The Modern
Prometheus”
 Prometheus was a Greek god who was in charge of giving
out gifts to the various creature on Earth. He gave out
speed and instinct and such. By the time he got to
mankind, he was out of gifts. He decided to go against his
orders and gave man fire ( symbolic of knowledge). The
other gods were angered by his disobedience. His
punishment was that he was chained to a rock. Every day
a vulture came and devoured his liver. Every night the
liver grew back to be devoured the next day.
The Novel
Chapter Summaries
Prologue
 The novel begins with a series of letters in which the narrator
of the novel is writing his thoughts and plans to his sister.
 Robert Walton is attempting to be the first person to sail to and
reach the North Pole. He is pursuing this goal for personal gain
and glory. He is not concerned with the possible cost in the
suffering of his crew or even the benefits it will provide to
mankind.
 He is Romantic because he listens to his heart instead of his
mind. He is concerned with the individual, focusing on his
subjective experiences. He is irrational, imaginative, and
emotional
 Walton’s letters indicate a belief that humankind ( via
science) can and will ultimately conquer nature, contrary
to the Romantic belief that Nature was ultimately
unknowable and unconquerable.
 Frankenstein fears Walton is doomed to make the same
tragic mistakes he has made. He is trying to keep Walton
from the same trap he fell into with the pursuit of
knowledge.
Chapters 1 and 2
 Frankenstein’s birth and family
 His family is devoted to their children
 Victor is curious to learn the hidden laws of nature.
Elizabeth delights in the appearance of things while he
investigates their causes.
Chapters 3 and 4
 Victor’s mother contracts the disease that kills her by
caring for and eventually saving Elizabeth.
 Victor likes that science offers the opportunity for
limitless learning while it is possible to exhaust the
knowledge of other disciplines.
 Victor hesitates to make a creature like man because he
originally though that the body frame would be too
laborious to make. However, his pride and ego convince
him to try
 Victor shares a moral with Walton: Nothing, no study or
pursuit, is more important than relationships with others,
The fact that his study of science and his creation drew
him away from appreciating the beauty of Nature around
him was a crime against Nature.
Chapters 5 and 6
 Victor’s creature is grotesque.
 Dr. Frankenstein has disgust when he sees his creature and runs
from the room.
 Victor is repulsed by the creature’s physical ugliness, but the
true horror is in the fact that he has overstepped his bounds as
a human being.
 Victor’s fever is brought on by nervousness he feels about his
creature but he begins to heal when he sees the beauty in
nature- the sky, flowers, the smile of children ( Romantic idea)
Chapter 7 and 8
 Letters: way 1st person narrator relates information
 Encounter with the creature ends when thunder ends
Chapters 9 and 10
 Victor doesn’t kill himself because he has an obligation to
watch the monster. He is afraid the creature will commit
crimes against his father and brother
 The creature says misery made him a fiend. Romantics
believed that people were essentially good and that evil
was introduced into the world by social mistreatment.
 Creature claims Victor owes it protection and regard that
a creator owes its creation
Chapters 11 and 12
 The creature is telling his story to Victor, who is telling
the story to Walton, who is writing the story in a letter to
his sister.
 The creature is surprise that fire can warm him and burn
him. The positive and negative consequences of the fire
relate to Prometheus and the positive and negative
consequences of knowledge.
 The creature hopes his ability to speak will enable the
cottagers to look past his appearance.
 Shelley discredits the science of physiognomy, the belief
that goodness or evil could be read in a person’s
appearance through the creature
 The creature instinctively likes the cottagers, helps to
make their lives easier
Chapters 13 and 14
 We learn that the creature is capable of changing as a
result of his experiences and he is isolated by society due
to his appearance.
 The creature learns a lot about murder and evil by
studying society, otherwise he would never have known
how to “murder”
Chapters 15 and 16
 The creature finds the diary of his creation. He is angry
that his creator made him so ugly and alone, which made
him sad.
 The creature introduces himself to the cottagers : the
blind man is kind and understanding, however, those that
can see force him away. Though angry, he is not ready to
give up.
 Admits his anger was so great he could have burned down
the cottage and killed them but he doesnt
 When the creature returns, he sees they have fled. He
goes into a rage and burns down the cottage
 He decides to go to Geneva to find his creator
Chapters 17 and 18
 The creatures loneliness and isolation are the causes of its
wickedness
 Debate over a companion: creature says when given the
chance for happiness, its good nature will resurface;
Victor refuses to make a female because he is afraid that
the two creatures would destroy the world
Chapters 19 and 20
 Reasons for not creating a 2nd creature:
 The female creature might be more evil than the first
 The female would have the 1st creature to help her form
thoughts and feelings
 She might reject the first creature
 They might make a new race
Chapters 21 and 22
 Henry Clerval has been murdered, and Victor is accused
because witnesses saw a single man in a boat leaving the
scene. The boat resembles the one in which Victor has
come ashore.
 Victor is doomed while his friends die he remains alive;
watching everything he loves being destroyed is worse
than death. Victor believes the creature means to kill
 The creature desires companionship, therefore, the
creature will do all he can to deprive Victor of
companionship.
Chapters 23 and 24
 The creature is delighted to murder Elizabeth ( Victor’s
love)
 The creature wants Victor to live. Life without all he once
held dear is more painful to Victor than death would be,
and the creature wants him to feel pain
 Walton’s decision to abort his mission and return home
establishes the theme of the failed Romantic quest
 Victor cannot narrate his own death so the letters
function as the narrator here.
Victor as Tragic Hero

Victor is of noble birth and has noble aspirations

He thinks and feels intensely

He has passionate aspirations

The actions that result in his downfall and death are intended for good, but he does
not clearly consider or understand their true consequences

He feels intense suffering during his downfall

He has a blind spot that allows him to commit errors in both action and judgment

His errors, and the resultant suffering spread to those around him

He dies as a result of his actions
Victor as Romantic Hero

He is an individual of high birth with stronger-than-normal passions

He has a deep appreciation of the rugged beauty of nature and finds both
relief and inspiration in the mountains and lakes of Switzerland

He feels deeply.

Strives to be Godlike

He ultimately fails in this quest

He departs from the form of the typical Romantic Hero in that he
discourages other extra human endeavors, encouraging Walton to return
home to a “normal” life and avoid disillusionment and ruin.