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Focus on individuality in frankenstein
Frankenstein character development
Frankenstein character development
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Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time ("Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography."). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place (Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.”). Her purpose, though possibly unconsciously, in writing the novel was to resolve both her feelings of abandonment by her parents, and fears of her own childbirth. Mary Shelley was born in 1797 to Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, two of the greatest liberal thinkers of the time. Her mother died after two weeks of giving birth to her, leaving Shelley feeling both abandoned by and guilty of her mother’s death. Her father was left with the responsibility of raising her; however, he did not fulfill his duties to her as a father. He gave her only a haphazard education, and largely ignored her emotional needs. She met Percy Shelley when she was only fifteen, and when they ran away together two years later, her father disowned her (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). Percy was married at the time, but left his first wife when Shelley was pregnant with their first child. His first wife, Harriet, killed herself s... ... middle of paper ... ... she could not. Works Cited Collings, David. "The Monster and the Imaginary Mother." University of Saskatchewan. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. . Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context." WSU.edu. Washington State University. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. . "Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography." Duluth Public Library. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. . Hicks, Elizabeth. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein." Associatedcontent.com. Web. 06 Mar. 2011.. Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein." University of Saskatchewan. Web. 06 Mar. 2011. .
Critic Northrop Frye says, “Tragic heroes tower as the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, the great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning”. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein greatly exhibits the theme of the consequence of knowledge and irresponsibility among others through its tragic hero, Victor Frankenstein. Northrop Frye’s quote is certainly true when looking at Frankenstein’s situation. Victor is a victim of his divine lightning, and ultimately causes much trouble for himself; however, Victor also serves as the tragic hero in the lives of the monster, his family, and his friends.
Emotional isolation in Frankenstein is the most pertinent and prevailing theme throughout the novel. This theme is so important because everything the monster does or feels directly relates to his poignant seclusion. The effects of this terrible burden have progressively damaging results upon the monster, and indirectly cause him to act out his frustrations on the innocent. The monster's emotional isolation makes him gradually turn worse and worse until evil fully prevails. This theme perpetuates from Mary Shelley's personal life and problems with her father and husband, which carry on into the work and make it more realistic.(Mellor 32) During the time she was writing this novel, she was experiencing the emotional pangs of her newborn's death and her half-sister's suicide. These events undoubtedly affected the novel's course, and perhaps Shelley intended the monster's deformed body to stand as a symbol for one or both of her losses. There are numerous other parallels to the story and to her real life that further explain why the novel is so desolate and depressing. Emotional isolation is the prime theme of the novel due to the parallels shared with the novel and Shelley's life, the monster's gradual descent into evil, and the insinuations of what is to come of the novel and of Shelley's life.
Isolation is one of the major motifs that resonates throughout Frankenstein. Tying into the romantic style of the novel, Shelley uses this element all the way through the work to show a repetition of isolation, an aspect that is present in almost every character in the novel and expressed primarily in Victor and the monster. But even some other minor characters such as Justine, Caroline, and Walton deal with isolation in one way or another.
A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction (Tragic Hero). Mary Shelley presents the downfall of Victor Frankenstein, the tragic hero, as a result of his fatal flaw. Some could argue that the creature is the tragic hero in the book, while the creature does possess some of the qualities of a hero, he is not the protagonist of the book. Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist, demonstrates the qualities of infinite potential, good intentions, and the fatal flaw that leads to the hero's downfall. No, Victor is not the black villain that foolishly plays with the forces of life and death, but he is a good, but flawed, human being, who unwittingly unleashes destruction.
In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the main theme revolves around the internal and external consequences of being isolated from others. Being isolated from the world could result in a character losing his/her mental state and eventually causing harm to themselves or others. Because both Victor Frankenstein and the creature are isolated from family and society, they experienced depression, prejudice, and revenge.
The idea for the novel of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein came to her one night when she was staying in the company of what has been called ‘her male coterie’, including Lord Byron and her husband, Percy Shelley. Mary Shelley’s whole life seems to have been heavily influenced by men. She idolised her father, William Godwyn, and appears to have spent a good part of her life trying very hard to impress both him and her husband. There seems to have been a distinct lack of female influence, her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, having died weeks after her birth, being replaced by a neglectful step-mother. These aspects of her life are perhaps evident in her novel. The characters and plot of Frankenstein were perhaps influenced by Shelley’s conflicting feelings about the predominately masculine circle which surrounded her, and perhaps the many masculine traits that we see in novel were based upon those of the male figures in Shelley’s own life. In this essay I will attempt to show some of these traits.
Mary Shelley knew exactly what she was writing about when writing Frankenstein. She was not writing some meaningless, fictitious story. She was writing a book that held within it the fears of most of the people of her time. The Industrial and Scientific Revolutions were a huge reason Mary Shelley wrote this book. It is one of the most influential books in history and many people have enjoyed reading it.
The theme in a piece of literature is the main idea or insight on characters. Most pieces of literature do not limit itself to one but many other themes all collected into one. This is just like in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. This horrifying story was produced in 1818 and has several themes that she portrays throughout. The theme of dangerous knowledge is unmistakably seen theme in Frankenstein. In Frankenstein we see this theme through three of the main characters, Victor Frankenstein, Robert Walton and the creature. We can see how their desire for knowledge can take them places and show them eventually what they are looking for. Sooner or later it will take them to dangerous and unwanted places. The desire for knowledge can eventually lead one to its grave. Victor Frankenstein’s scientific endeavor, Robert Walton’s search for the North Pole, and the creature’s kind heart but scary features creates this theme of dangerous knowledge.
A mother’s unconditional love is the constant foundation in the variable equation of successful families. But what happens when this natural instinct doesn’t manifest itself, and all a mother sees when she looks upon her new baby is an ugly, loud, smelly, and completely parasitic creature? Without the interference of the illogical sentiment of selfless love, a mother would always reject the almost unrecognizably human infant who appeared monstrous. Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, lacked this motherly instinct, a fact that she unhappily discovered at the birth of her first child, a two-month premature infant, who lived six short weeks, and was never graced with a name. Today, Shelley would probably be diagnosed with postpartum depression, and treated accordingly before her condition could escalate to its apex of postpartum psychosis, a disorder associated with in infanticide and suicide. It is uncertain as to whether Shelley ever reached this point, and the world may never know if her baby died as a victim to Shelley's inner monster, from side effects of neglect, or from complications due to prematurity. Regardless of what happened to Shelly and her baby historically, it seems evident that writing Frankenstein served as Shelley’s only venue, cast in fiction, to understand her terrifying and dehumanizing illness. If Frankenstein is read through the premise that it served as Shelley’s coping mechanism in which she played out her experience with postpartum depression, one can interpret each character frame in the story as the structure of Shelley’s self-excavation process, each delving to deeper level of Mary Shelley’s psyche.
In 1985, Moer coined the term ‘birth myth’ to describe Frankenstein as a “woman’s book” about post-natal depression (79), and this idea has since been developed. However, the tradition of understanding Frankenstein as a ‘birth myth’ has been primarily considered in light of the biographical details of Mary Shelley’s life and their correspondence with her work. Particular attention has been given to the impact of her mother’s death shortly after Shelley’s birth and the subsequent trauma of the death of her daughter, who was born premature (Williams 30). Hence, Moer suggests that ‘no outside influence’, other than Shelley’s personal losses, is necessary to explain the ‘fantasy of a newborn as at once a monstrous agent of destruction and piteous victim of parental abandonment’ (85).
Frankenstein can be read as a tale of what happens when a man tries to create a child without a woman. It can, however, also be read as an account of a woman's anxieties and insecurities about her own creative and reproductive capabilities. The story of Frankenstein is the first articulation of a woman's experience of pregnancy and related fears. Mary Shelley, in the development and education of the monster, discusses child development and education and how the nurturing of a loving parent is extremely important in the moral development of an individual. Thus, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley examines her own fears and thoughts about pregnancy, childbirth, and child development.
As selfish and deceiving humans we enjoy the failures of those around us, and that’s why a tragic hero calls out to our nature. A tragic hero spawns from the incorrect decisions of oneself, and brings him from his place of power and intelligence to his downfall, while also hurting others in the process. Northrop Fyre argues that “great trees [are] more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass”, this emphasizes that the greater you climb the greater you may fall. Throughout the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley this theme is highlighted through the progression of scientific advancements and how far humans should advance and at what point is too far. Victor Frankenstein acts as the ultimate tragic hero and leads to the complete
It was especially important that she was a woman and was able to show that women can write about any topic a man can write. Mary Shelley continued her mother’s legacy by using literature to break down walls and standards for women. Mary Shelley used grotesque and dark ideas and molded it into a fantastic literary creation that is still well known and read today. She managed to use vivid allusions to detail her novel,“Satan has his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred” (Pg. 133, Frankenstein). Her choice of words and imagery painted an intense picture of the sorrows and madness of Victor Frankenstein and his creature. His creature was rejected by society and his creator because of his grotesque appearance and physical deformities and was left to forge for himself. Over time, the creature became consumed in his loneliness and turned his sadness into anger and waged war on Victor and mankind. Mary Wollstonecraft is related to Mary Shelley by more than just blood, but also a common goal for the change in society and the push for feminism and equal
Mary Shelley in her book Frankenstein addresses numerous themes relevant to the current trends in society during that period. However, the novel has received criticism from numerous authors. This paper discusses Walter Scott’s critical analysis of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in his Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Review of Frankenstein (1818).
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in 1791 in London. She is the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and William Goodwin. Wollstonecraft was a radical feminist writer, and Goodwin was a writer as well as a philosopher. It was said that this couple's combined intellect was dangerous to society; however, days after Mary's birth, Wollstonecraft died due to complications from the pregnancy. Mary spent a lot of time visiting her mother's grave when she was growing up. Her father taught her how to spell her mother's name by having her trace the letters on the headstone with her fingers, an interesting yet morbid way to teach a seven year old how to spell. Goodwin raised Mary by himself for the early part of her life. When Mary was four, he married Mary Jane Clairmont, who also had children from a previous marriage. Mary never fully accepted the stepfamily; she always felt like an outsider. Many of her feelings of loneliness and longing to know her mother are issues that are prevalent in the novel Frankenstein. These issues are analogous to the search that the monster had for his creator.