1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Influences and Literary Elements

2. Influences on Frankenstein
Mary Shelley had radical parents (a feminist and a philosopher) who didn’t believe in marriage and lived separately.
Mother died 11 days after Mary’s birth
Mary ran off with married poet Percy Shelley as a teenager.
Percy’s pregnant wife drowned herself.
Mary and Percy had a number of children who died in infancy or were miscarried.
Apprehension about giving birth runs throughout novel
Mary Wollestonecraft Shelley,

3. Influences on Frankenstein
Mary and Percy spent a rainy vacation in Switzerland.
To pass the time, Lord Byron suggested a ghost story contest.
Mary literally dreamt up the story of Frankenstein for her entry.
Mary named Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner as a major influence.
She was only 19 when she finished the novel.
Switzerland, one setting of Frankenstein

4. Influences on Frankenstein
Prometheus of Greek myth
Stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals.
Zeus punished him by binding him to a rock for an eagle eat his liver every day.
Story implies that Prometheus overreached the boundaries of human knowledge.
Frankenstein is subtitled The Modern Prometheus. Trace this idea throughout the novel!

5. Romanticism Partly a reaction to: The Industrial Revolution
The changing of scientific rationalization of nature
The Age of Enlightenment.
Had a significant influence on politics
Emphasized emotion (apprehension, horror and terror, awe, etc.) as an authentic aesthetic experience

6. Characteristics of Romanticism
Valuing sensitivity and emotions over intellectualism
Valuing the wisdom of people who might not be well- educated or sophisticated
Appreciating people for being unconventional and unique
Maintaining childlike curiosity and spontaneity
Maintaining a strong connection with nature
Being cautious about advancements in technology and science
Mary and Percy Shelley were well-entrenched in the Romantic movement. Examine how Shelley incorporates these elements in the novel.

7. Gothic Novel Characteristics
Dark, creepy settings
Castles, graveyards, old houses
Atmosphere of mystery and suspense
Novel overshadowed by a threatening feeling, and/or a fear of the unknown.
Omens and visions
Phenomenon can be seen as a portent of coming events.

8. Gothic Novel Characteristics
Supernatural or inexplicable events
Fantastic, dramatic events, such as ghosts appearing, giants walking, or inanimate objects coming to life.
High, “overwrought” emotion
Characters experience feeling of impending doom, and suffer from “raw nerves.” Crying, emotional speeches, breathlessness and panic are all common.

9. Gothic Novel Characteristics
Women in distress
Female characters find themselves fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing as an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader.
Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male
Often categorized as Byronic heroes

10. Other Notes
Novel’s frame tale: Walton, an explorer, is telling the story of Victor Frankenstein through letters to his sister (then Victor fills in).
Scientific exploration of the day also inspired the writing.
Galvanism (reanimating bodies with electricity)
Polar expeditions
“Frankenstein” is the name of the man who made the monster. The monster is known only as “the creature.”
Galvanism
The creature is not green!

11. Story Structure Frame tale: Robert Walton’s narrative
(written in letters to his sister, Margaret Saville)
Frankenstein’s narrative (told to Robert Walton)
The creature’s narrative
(told to Victor Frankenstein)
Story Structure