Lecture Notes: The Year Without a Summer and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"

Historical Context

• 1815 Eruption of Mount Tambora:
  • Caused a period known as The Year Without a Summer.
  • Mary and Percy Shelley spent much of their time indoors at Lord Byron's house due to weather.
  • Byron proposed a ghost story writing challenge, which inspired Mary Shelley to write "Frankenstein."

"Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

• Misconceptions:
  • Common depictions show a green, groaning figure, but the "monster" lacks a name and is not described this way in the book.
  • "Frankenstein" is the name of the creator, Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
  • The story explores the struggle and merging identities between creator and creature.

Key Themes and Inspirations

• Modern Prometheus:

  • Shelley subtitled the story "The Modern Prometheus," referencing the Greek myth of Prometheus.
  • Prometheus gave fire to humanity and was eternally punished, symbolizing knowledge and power.
  • The myth had a resurgence during the Romantic Period.

• Romanticism:

  • Mary Shelley was a prominent Romantic, valuing nature, emotion, and art purity.
  • Her husband, Percy Shelley, later explored Prometheus in "Prometheus Unbound."
  • Romantics were often skeptical of science.

• Cautionary Tale:

  • "Frankenstein" is considered an early warning about artificial intelligence.
  • The horror derives from scientific creation rather than supernatural sources.

• Gothic Elements:

  • Contains features like eerie settings, grotesque characters, and existential dread.

Personal Influences

• Mary Shelley's Background:

  • Daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, notable intellectuals.
  • Her mother's feminist work and early death deeply affected Shelley.
  • Personal trauma and loss, especially regarding childbirth, influenced her writing.

• Themes of Birth and Creation:

  • Birth seen as both creative and destructive.
  • The monster symbolizes the corruption of nature and life's natural cycle.

Dr. Frankenstein's Fatal Flaw

• God Complex:
  • Desire to surpass natural limits, breaking through "life and death."
  • Achieved something awe-inspiring at a personal ethical cost.
  • The novel features recurring imagery of fire, light, and darkness.
  • Symbolizes Prometheus's fire and the power of radical ideas to uncover life's dark aspects.