Lecture Notes: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Background and Context

• Publication: Published on January 1, 1818, by Mary Shelley at age 19.
• Significance: A classic of English literature, and a rich cultural historical document.
• Family Influence:
  • Father: William Godwin, an Enlightenment philosopher.
  • Mother: Mary Wollstonecraft, a pioneering English feminist.
  • Husband: Percy Shelley, a leading Romantic poet.
• Cultural Clash: The novel dramatizes the clash between Enlightenment (reason and science) and Romanticism (passion and art).

Personal Experiences Influencing the Novel

• Early Life Tragedies:
  • Mother died shortly after her birth.
  • Eloped with Percy Shelley at 17.
  • Her first child died shortly after birth.
  • Half-sister and Percy's wife committed suicide.
  • Pregnant and in mourning during composition.
• Origin of the Novel: Began the novel on a stormy night in the Swiss Alps, part of a ghost story challenge with Percy and Lord Byron.

Plot Overview

• Central Character: Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a mad scientist.
• Creation: Attempts to create a human using body parts from graves.
• Outcome: Creation kills several of his relatives and friends.
• Method: Suggests use of electricity and galvanism.

Themes and Symbolism

• Prometheus Myth: The novel's subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, compares Frankenstein to Prometheus.
• Conflict:
  • Enlightenment idolatry of reason vs. Romantic emphasis on emotion.
  • Reference to the French Revolution: parallels with hope and subsequent terror.
• Nature's Role: Romantic view of nature as awe-inspiring and threatening.
• Moral Debates: Implications on cloning and the scientist's responsibility.

The Creature

• Appearance: Frightening visage with watery eyes and yellow skin.
• Response: Vengeful not by nature, but due to others' reactions.
• Ultimate Fate: Heads to the North Pole, intending to end his life.

Narrative Structure

• Narrator: Robert Walton, a sea captain, narrates through letters to his sister.
• Parallel Ambitions: Frankenstein seeks the origin of life; Walton, the North Pole.
• Irony: Both fail, but the creature succeeds in reaching the Pole.

Overall Message

• Scientific Undertakings: While cautionary about creating life unnaturally, the novel celebrates ambitious scientific endeavors.
• Tragic Outcomes: Stemming more from human emotion and reaction than from scientific ambition itself.