Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus ~ an introduction ~

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Frankensteinor The Modern Prometheus an
introduction

• B. Lindstrom

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• Look at misunderstandings and cultural
  misrepresentations of Frankenstein
• Look at the author, Mary Shelley, and talk about
  how her life and times affected her writing
• Look at what to expect (themes, etc.)

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Starting with Assumptions
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More Common Misunderstandings
"Oh sure! We do all the work and he gets all the
commercial endorsements!"
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Theres no Igor
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Creator and Creation
Frankensteins Creation
Dr. Victor Frankenstein
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Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797 1851)
Who was she?
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Daughter of Two Prominent Writers/Political
Activists
Even if she hadnt written Frankenstein, Mary
Shelley probably would have become famous just by
association with her parents.
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Percy Bysshe Shelley
Famous Romantic Poet Mary Godwin became a great
admirer of his poetry and person He was
currently married, but the two of them eloped to
Switzerland when Mary was 17. Percys 1st wife
comitted suicide/drowned -two weeks later,
married Mary.
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Life Events that Might Have Influenced the Story

• Mother died giving birth to her
• Godwin refused to talk to her for 2 ½ years after
  she eloped
• Gave birth prematurely to Clara Clara died a
  few weeks later
• Shelley suffered nightmares about the death of
  her daughter

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The Birth of Frankenstein
Who can write the best ghost story?
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The Gothic Tradition The Gothic Novel

• type of romantic fiction that predominated in
  English literature in the last third of the 18th
  century and the first two decades of the 19th
  century.
• emphasized mystery and horror and was filled with
  ghost-haunted rooms, underground passages, and
  secret stairways.
• used to designate narrative prose or poetry of
  which the principal elements are violence,
  horror, and the supernatural.

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Romanticism What is it?

• An attempt to go rediscover the mystery and
  wonder of the world, an attempt to go beyond
  ordinary reality into the deeper levels of human
  existence.
• Mary and Percy Shelley are among the most famous
  Romantic writers

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Characteristics of Romanticism

• Imagination emotion over intellect reason
• Belief in the goodness of humans in their natural
  state
• Individualism
• Reverence for nature
• Attraction to the supernatural (e.g. Gothic
  writing)

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A Look at the Title

• Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus
• The title is an allusion to Greek mythologywho
  was Prometheus?
• Stole fire from the gods, gave it to the humans,
  ticked Zeus off and thus he was chained to a rock
  and an eagle picked at his liver every day.
• Why might this allusion be fitting? What can we
  predict about our main character Victor
  Frankenstein?

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Major Ideas the Novel Raises

• Quest for Knowledge/Discovery what are its
  benefits? Dangers?
• Monomania obsessive interest in one thing
• Playing God creator and creation relationships
• Duty and Responsibility
• Paternal obligations to children
• What makes something or someone monstrous?
• Love, Desire, and the need for companionship
• Connections between life and death
• Romantic ideas power of nature, necessity of
  emotions (were not just intellect), human
  innocence vs. corruptibility

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Title Page to the 1831 Edition
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Sources

• www.watershedonline.ca
• www.cartoonstock.com
• www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/frankenstein
• www.thebakken.org
• www.encarta.com