The Pursuit of Technology in Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein".

The Industrial Revolution of the late eighteenth, and early nineteenth century created a significant advance in technology. Mary Shelly’s life and literature were influenced by this technological turning point. Thirst of knowledge is a dominant theme in Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein”, and the driving force behind continuous technological developments. Human Beings are completely dependent on Modern technology and it would be difficult to survive without it. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing reality. Many scientists are predicting a computer will soon pass the Turing test, thus making a human and machine indistinguishable. With breakthroughs in nanotechnology, humans will soon be able to sustain a longer life. Technological advancements have been speeding up since computing power is growing exponentially. With artificial intelligence and nanotechnology becoming more of a reality, Victor Frankenstein’s desire of cheating death is becoming more than just fiction.

Mary Shelley was born 1797 in London, to her influential father William Godwin, and her mother Mary Wollstonecraft who died giving birth to her. Growing up Mary was educated and tutored by her father, and because of his reputation she was surrounded by intellectuals during the Industrial Revolution. At the age of sixteen, Mary ran away to live with her future husband Percy Shelley, a free thinker that her father did not approve of. Her marriage with Percy ultimately leads to turmoil in Shelly’s relationship with her father. Mary spent the summer of 1816 in a Geneva with her husband Percy, Lord Byron, and John Polidori. The group decided to write a ghost story which eventually led to Mary Shelly’s novel Frankenstein: The modern Prometheus. The novel would be defined a...

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