The Significance of Chapter Five in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Significance of Chapter Five in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein (or The Modern Prometheus) in 1816.

She originally thought up the idea when staying with Lord Byron, he

was also an author, and he challenged all his guests to a storywriting

competition. The novel is about a scientist who, insistent on

discovering the secret to creating life, sets out to do so. Using a

heap of dead and decaying body parts, he makes himself a creature with

his ex-professor's brain, and uses the power of lightening to bring it

to life. Dr Frankenstein did not however, foresee the consequences of

playing God.

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born on August 30th 1797, her mother

Mary Wollstonecraft, who was an accomplished writer herself, died

giving birth. She ran away in her teens, with Percy Bysshe Shelley, a

dashing young poet. After their relationship underwent many strains,

Percy’s pregnant wife Harriet drowned herself in London in 1816, and

weeks later, Mary and Percy married. Between 1815 and 1819, three of

Mary’s four children died in infancy, then in 1822, Percy drowned off

the shore of Tuscany.

Mary’s life up to the writing of Frankenstein had a strong influence

on the gothic genre of the book, and her life is also mirrored in that

of Victor Frankenstein’s.

Section 2

The early chapters of the novel provide a background for Victor

Frankenstein’s character. His life is plagued with grief much like

that of Mary Shelley. His childhood though, is a happy one much like

Mary Shelley’s, spent with his cousin (or adopted sister, depending on

the edition) Elizabeth.

He attends Ingolstadt University, to st...

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...or peace in finding the monster.

Chapter 5 teaches us that during the 19th century, there was a lot of

description in novels, and Frankenstein is no exception to the idea.

In the 19th century writers also tried to write novels in a way that

wouldn’t just tell a story. Writers tried to use different styles and

structures to make social comments, and include their own opinions.

Mary Shelley’s main aim in writing the story of Frankenstein was to

rival the horror and fear inflicted by German ghost stories she had

read when in Switzerland with Lord Byron. These were horrific,

terrifying stories of death and murder, to incite fear in the minds of

the reader. Shelley wanted to write a story even more gruesome than

those of her fellow writers. To this day Frankenstein is still one of

the scariest horror novels ever penned.