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Evaluation Essay

English Composition II

14 March 2019

Frankenstein Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay

Frankenstein is an English novel about a young scientist known as Victor Frankenstein which was written by Mary Shelley, in the year 1818. Victor was able to make a creature in a bizarre scientific experiment. The novel attracted a lot of critical analysis from the time it was published to present. This is due to some factors that critics believe would have caused the use of the various literary styles in the novel. This essay aims to give an analysis of two critiques; The first is “Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein: Science, Science Fiction or Autobiography’’ by Sherry Ginn and the second is Professor Naomi Hetherington’s “Creator and Created in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.” Both critical reviews are of the idea that the novel Frankenstein is an autobiography rather than science fiction because it represents actual things that took place in the writer’s life when she was writing the book.

In her review, Professor Ginn likens Mary Shelley's real life, with the happenings of her novel Frankenstein. Mary Shelley’s life seemed to have been disastrous since her childhood, starting with the troubles with three of her children, to her complex relationship with her parents and husband. Her relationship with her man particularly shaped her attitude towards men which she passed on to the novel. Her fears of the society resulted from the misfortune and agony that she had been through. There is some sort of connection between part of the novel’s events and the author’s own life. Sherry Ginn is therefore adequately convinced that Frankenstein is more of an autobiography than it is science fiction, in spite of evidence of science used throughout the book, which tries to incorporate the subject of life discovery by Victor Frankenstein. The book was published during the industrial revolution period which was characterized by many scientific innovations. Shelley, therefore, had to come up with a tale "which would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror." Ginn through her critical review is determined to show that the novel Frankenstein is an autobiography because it depicts Shelly’s real-life concerns that resulted from actual occurrences in her life.

Most of the dates that appear in the story matched the important dates in her personal life. Sherry Ginn uses external references to support this point. She cites some of the happenings of Shelley’s life: "dreams of rekindling the life of a dead child...a student conducting wild experiments; the motherless child; the father rejecting the child." (Ginn). She thinks it is not a mere coincidence that the issue of parental responsibility appears to affect her real life and finds its way into the novel. According to Ginn this clearly shows that the author was calling out her father for being an irresponsible parent to her as a child.

Professor Naomi Hetherington’s starts off her critical analysis with the main point that the novel is a genesis allegory, but towards the end of her review, she suggests that the book is very autobiographical. She thinks that Shelley shares parts of her battles and encounters in the book, which can easily be identified. It is easy to take note of her ethical qualities and how she was brought up through her expressions and her attention to how the poor and illiterate characters are treated in the novel. Hetherington further argues that the book “reflects the circle in which the author herself moved,” (Hetherington). At this point, it can confidently be stated that Professor Naomi Hetherington and Professor Sherry Ginn agree.

What Mary Shelley encountered during her early years was her main motivation for Frankenstein. She narrates these encounters with great ability creating a special book “a masterpiece” of her era. What can be learned from this narration is that the things that happen to people during their early stages of life have a way of shaping how they view life in the future, their attitude and their psychology. In this case, we know for sure that Shelley lacked parental love and care in her childhood. Especially after the sudden death of her mother and her father paid no attention to her.

In conclusion, the novel Frankenstein mainly gives the story of a scientist who fails to take responsibility for the monster he created. It is a display of the author’s fears and concerns regarding the absence of love and attention and what it does to a child.

REFERENCES

Ginn, Sherry. "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein: Science, Science Fiction or Autobiography" Oxford. Retrieved 20 October 2018.  http://www.clas.ufl.edu/ipsa/2003/ginn.html  

Hetherington, Naomi. Creator and Created in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Keats-Shelley Review. 1997. Retrieved 27 September 2018.http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Articles/hether.html  

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus: the 1818 Text. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.