Mary Shelley Frankenstein Background
Mary Shelley 1797 – 1851 Daughter of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft – two of England’s leading intellectuals No formal education – read from father’s library and spent time around many writers, philosophers, and thinkers Hid under couch to hear Coleridge recite The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Mary Shelley – continued Percy Shelley was friends with her dad Eloped with Percy to France at age 16 They traveled – Switzerland, Germany, Italy Gave birth to 4 children in 5 years – three died Mary’s name not on 1818 publication of Frankenstein – Percy wrote preface, so everyone assumed it was him. Mary wrote intro and put name on 1831 version
How Frankenstein Was Imagined Rainy, stormy night, perhaps under the influence…Lord Byron suggests they tell ghost stories Byron proposes that each person present write a ghost story. Mary is stumped until she hears a conversation regarding galvanism and weird science…then she gets her idea Writes it in a year
The Gothic Novel Popular 1760s – 1820s Gothic has two main meanings Harsh, cruel…like the Gothic tribes of middle ages Castles, knights, and armor
The Gothic Tradition Goes all the way back to Middle Ages and still exists today Description of a fallen world Written to evoke terror Connected with the Romantic movement
Recipe for a Gothic Novel A 1797 pamphlet in The Spirit of the Public Journalists gave “recipe” for a gothic novel: Ingredients = An old castle Long gallery with secret doors Three freshly murdered bodies Assorted skeletons “noises, whispers, and groans”
Other “Ingredients” Midnight Rain/lightning Historical landmarks Ghosts/spirits/monsters Antique furniture Main character should suffer for “sin”
More Gothic Elements Unbridled space (cathedrals, heights) Ruins Doubles (twins, foils, doppelgangers) Dream experience Mob violence Mood (manic-depressive) Themes: Cosmic struggle of polar opposites Over-reacher – sin of pride Guilt Violence Death
Gothic Novel Mystery Horror Supernatural Brooding, gloomy atmosphere Emphasis on the unknown Wild, remote settings Haunted castles, misty moors Violent, mysterious events
1800s Were a time of scientific breakthroughs Electricity Galvanism Luigi Galvani – prof. of anatomy in Italy Experimented putting electricity to flesh….it moves!
Allusions John Milton – Paradise Lost Coleridge – Rime of the Ancient Mariner Myth of Prometheus
Structure of Novel Frame Narrative Letters – Walton to Sister Victor’s Story Creature’s Story (Ch ) Back to Victor’s Story Back to Walton at end What is the effect of the epistolary/frame structure? Walton Victor Creature