Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley is a classic novel. Frankenstein is about a man named Victor Frankenstein who set out on a quest after his mother died. His quest was to reanimate a body to learn how to maybe bring back his mother. After years of work and isolation Victor succeeded, but was horrified by his creation. After rejecting his creation the monster swore vengeance. For the rest of the novel the monster haunts Victor, by killing his loved ones and in some cases trying to force Victor into creating another monster. Victor Frankenstein; A young Swiss boy, he grows up in Geneva reading the works of the ancient and outdated alchemists, a background that serves him ill when he attends university at Ingolstadt. There …show more content…
Bipolar depression has many symptoms; the main symptoms are a quick change in mood and usually followed by two or more personalities, Victor Frankenstein clearly shows these symptoms in the book. Heavy research evidence from the book “An Unquiet Mind” by Kay Redfield Jamison provide proof of these claims; explaining how Bipolar depression usually results in a multi-personality and severe mood swings. Redfield explains how these symptoms can be seen thru the patient outwardly saying they are unhappy. Text evidence of Victor Frankenstein's Bipolar behavior is found in the following quote; “I paused; at length he spoke, in broken accents: “Unhappy man!” Do you share my madness?” (Shelley 13). This provides solid evidence that Victor Frankenstein suffers from some sort of mental illness. Following along the lines of Bipolar depression; with sudden mood swings that usually indicate two or more personalities. Bipolar depression also has symptoms along the lines of having strong feelings of happiness and plunging into overwhelming feelings of sadness. Research evidence from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains how these Bipolar symptoms are imperative to depression and cause smaller mood swings to become an obsolete factor to the depression. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains how this symptom can be seen thru the facial expression of the person, going from smiling to a sad look instantly. Text evidence from the novel backs up this claim; “As I spoke, a Dark spread over my listener's countenance. At first I perceived he tried to suppress his emotions.” (Shelley 13). The quote shows how the narrator noticed a quick change in Victor's facial expressions and also added the fact of Victor trying to hide those emotions. This supports the claim of Victor Frankenstein having Bipolar depression. The final symptom of Bipolar depression are severe fits and/or
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is an old classic that has been enjoyed by many generations. Despite the fact that the novel was written over a hundred years ago, it is not only beautifully written but also enthralling and well composed. At the young age of eighteen, Mary Shelly raises questions about education and knowledge to which are answered through the well written characters in the novel. The Monster, who is a creation of another character, is highlighted as an individual who goes through an intellectual change.
Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein is a novel narrated by Robert Walton about Victor Frankenstein and the Monster that he creates. Frankenstein grew up surrounding himself with what he loved most, science. He attended Ingolstadt University where he studied chemistry and natural philosophy, but being involved in academics was not enough for him. Frankenstein wanted to discover things, but did not think about the potential outcomes that could come with this decision. Frankenstein was astonished by the human frame and all living creatures, so he built the Monster out of various human and animal parts (Shelley, 52). At the time Frankenstein thought this creation was a great discovery, but as time went on the Monster turned out to be terrifying to anyone he came in contact with. So, taking his anger out on Frankenstein, the Monster causes chaos in a lot of people’s lives and the continuing battle goes on between the Monster and Frankenstein. Throughout this novel, it is hard to perceive who is pursuing whom as well as who ends up worse off until the book comes to a close.
Victor Frankenstein shows multiple signs of bipolar throughout the story..Bipolar is “a disorder that causes your mood and your emotions to shift dramatically from time to time and is characterized by cycles, usually caused by depression and mania.” (Kaplan) In the story Shelly says that victor saw that “The moon had disappeared from the night, and again, with a lessened form, showed itself, while i still remained in the forest.” ( Shelley, 90) He was sitting alone in the dark forest watching the moon appear and reappear throughout the night so clearly he had something bad on his mind. Victor portrays this symptom because right before this scene in the book, he was in a good mood and wasn 't really feeling anything towards anything, but
Shelley's classic horror novel Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein is a boy when he first becomes interested in science and the wonders it holds. As a young adult he studies to find ways to mix natural philosophy and science to create a new area of study. Unfortunately for him and his family he succeeds. The monstrosity Dr. Frankenstein creates, escapes and after years of silence the monster comes back for murderous rampage because Victor refuses to make the monster a wife. Shelly brilliantly uses tone, imagery, and foreshadowing to create a sense of horror for the reader.
Many stories have progressed enough to be the topic of conversation from time to time. The novel, Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus has different relationships to many other topics. The author of the story, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley who was born almost 200 years ago bringing with her the age of horror (Edison 5), used biographical strategies to write Frankenstein. Also, as time progressed, Frankenstein became a well-known story. It was turned into many different films that depicted the time period that it happened to be from. One final relationship that Frankenstein has happens to be the way that everyone can draw morals from the story, no matter what the reader’s age, or how the reader’s life has evolved.
Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and is a gothic horror. It is an important book because it tells us about when scientists and doctors started to experiment with bringing back the dead. I will look at arguments for both sides of the question. This is an important question because there is a strong argument for both sides and in a lot of modern films about him he is portrayed as a villain who likes nothing more than killing and lightening. Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’ also known as ‘The Modern Prometheus’ in 1818, when she was seventeen.
Written in 1817 by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein is a novel about the "modern Prometheus", the Roman Titian who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The story takes place in several European countries during the late 1700's. It is the recollection of Victor Frankenstein to a ship captain about his life. Victor is a student of science and medicine who discovers a way to reanimate dead flesh. In a desire to create the perfect race he constructs a man more powerful than any normal human, but the creation is so deformed and hideous that Victor shuns it. The creation then spends a year wandering searching for companionship, but everywhere he goes he is shunned and feared. Hating life the creature turns its misery on its creator, killing off Victors family.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Her mental state could be labeled today as PTSD. PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is a disorder that develops in some people who have seen or lived through a shocking, scary, or dangerous event (NIH). She made the characters in her novel experience traumatic events and had them live through stressful situations, just as she did. Writing was obviously a form of therapy for Mary Shelley. In today’s world the character of Victor Frankenstein could have been labeled as suffering from PTSD. He was saddened so much by the death of his mother, he wanted to find a way where no human being would ever have to feel the loss that he did or that his father did. He went to medical school, only to learn how he can stop death from happening. His mental state lead to him becoming a mad scientist. He did not think about the consequences of his desires to stop death. After Victor created the monster, he was very happy with his success, but he soon suffered stress and anxiety. He lived in fear, because he knew what he had created was not good. He knew what the monster was capable of doing. Mary Shelley brought out her anxiety and fears very well in her character of Victor
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
“Allure, Authority, and Psychoanalysis” discusses the unconscious wishes, effects, conflicts, anxieties, and fantasies within “Frankenstein.” The absence of strong female characters in “Frankenstein” suggests the idea of Victor’s desire to create life without the female. This desire possibly stems from Victor’s attempt to compensate for the lack of a penis or, similarly, from the fear of female sexuality. Victor’s strong desire for maternal love is transferred to Elizabeth, the orphan taken into the Frankenstein family. This idea is then reincarnated in the form of a monster which leads to the conclusion that Mary Shelley felt like an abandoned child who is reflected in the rage of the monster.
Frankenstein, is a world renowned novel written by Mary Shelley. Her inspiration for the story came from a rather dark dream she had after the death of her child. She dreamt a scientist created life from the dead. Thus, resulting in the plot of the novel. The plot revolves around Dr. Victor Frankenstein a young man who dares to create life. Victor creates a living creature from the body parts of the deceased. He is disgusted by his creation and abandons him. The monster begins to wreak havoc on Europe ruining Victor’s life. The transition of a dead corpse into a living, intelligent creature portrays Shelley’s imagination. In contrast, a critique of Frankenstein by the Knight’s Quarterly Review critiques Shelley’s lack of imagination, “not one flash of imagination, not one spark
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus. Edited with an Introduction and notes by Maurice Hindle. Penguin books, 1992
Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley is a very interesting story about a monster created by a scientist that kills people and is upset about being rejected by society. Mary Shelley got the idea for the story after hearing about a scientist that was bringing dead animals back to life. After having a dream about the monster coming to get her, she created the characters and monster that would become the well-known tale of Frankenstein. The way an author sets up the story they are writing influences the entire feel of the story and how people react to it when it is published. Some books are very poorly organized so when they are read, people don’t like them very much. Some people like stories about monsters and
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a gothic science fiction novel written in the romantic era that focuses on the elements of life. The romantic era was sparked by the changing social environment, including the industrial revolution. It was a form of revolt against the scientific revolutions of the era by developing a form of literature that romanticize nature and giving nature godliness. This element of romanticized nature is a recurrent element in Frankenstein and is used to reflect emotions, as a place for relaxation and as foreshadowing. Frankenstein also includes various other elements of romanticism including strong emotions and interest in the common people.