Frankenstein Response Paper
shawn23
frankenstein_-_day_one_powerpoint.pptxMonsters? / Frankenstein Day One
CSCL 3461 – 23 January 2017
What/who we think of when we think of monsters
-SCARY!/creepy
-under bed/in closet
-angry/aggressive
-lack empathy/caring/love
-large, ugly
-humanlike
-superpowers
-doesn’t fit in/follow norms, “other”
-sanctioning unacceptable behavior
-manifestations of our fears
Monsters!
-pedophile/rapist/serial killer/predator/terrorist
-boogie man
-ghost
-zombie/werewolf/demon
-giant spider/lizard
-Godzilla/King Kong
-Nessie
-Bigfoot
-Dracula
-Frankenstein
Monsters!
MONSTERS!
The Creature
Shelley biography/historical context
-novel appears in different versions during and after Shelley’s lifetime, with editorial influence
-parents William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft provide conflicted radical foundation
-(eventual) husband Percy Bysshe Shelley brings support, censure
-uneven industrialization in Britain produces class conflict
-novel reflects tension in Victor/the creature dynamic
Versions/chronology
-begins as short ghost story in 1815, expands over next year
-published anonymously in January 1818
-1823 version meant to capitalize on stage production features 100+ edits by father William Godwin
-1831 version includes intro present in class text
-set in revolutionary 1790s, published in 1818 in moment of social/political instability, published again in 1831 on cusp of potential revolution
Parents
-mother = radical feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, father = radical philosopher William Godwin
-mother best known for A Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
-calls for education, equality, independence, but framed in domestic terms
-father best known for Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793), pro-French Revolution and in line with Thomas Paine’s The Rights of Man Part II (1792)
-somewhat antirevolutionary in call for gradual change and ambivalence regarding revolutionary violence
Percy Bysshe Shelley
-admires Godwin’s principles, becomes friend of family
-married, but elopes to France with Mary in 1814
-Mary’s reputation suspect due to mistress status (though marry after wife’s suicide)
-financial/domestic troubles plague marriage
-helps build Mary’s confidence as a writer, but not without judgment
-drowns on 8 July 1822
INdustrialization
-move from small-scale agriculture to large-scale mechanized agriculture
-development of mining and textile industries
-enclosure
-changes lead to proto-unions, strikes, riots, push for suffrage
-near revolution headed off by Reform Bill of 1832, which extends voting to segments of middle class
Parallels
-in Victor’s eyes, the creature-as-rebellious working class (no right to recognition)
-when the creature asks nicely, justice of claims clear (respectable working class)
-Victor fears passing reproductive power to creature/creaturette, ensuing destruction
-Victor pulls concessions, demonizes the creature
-novel may also argue for revolt against class oppression
-the creature-as-product of monstrous culture
Male influence
-in Shelley’s introduction to the novel, she speaks about her husband’s encouragement as a driving force behind her writing, noting that “he might himself judge how far I possessed the promise of better things hereafter” (21)
-she also mentions conversations between her husband and Lord Byron, “to which I was a devout but nearly silent listener” (23), and concedes that “it [the preface] was entirely written by him” (25)
*How do these comments position Shelley as an author? What role does the “silent listener” suggest for Shelley specifically, and women more generally, in the literary sphere? Why would her husband (poet Percy Bysshe Shelley) feel the need to write the preface (for her)?
Unknown/uncharted
-the opening letters from Walton to his sister focus on the intrepid nature of his journey north
-seen in his “curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man” (27), and reflected in this question: “What can stop the determined heart and resolved will of man?” (33)
*What is the attraction of uncharted land for Walton and others? Is his question a rhetorical one, or are there obstacles to the heart and will of humanity? How might this serve as foreshadowing for Frankenstein’s experiments to follow?
Giving Life
-life as a thing that may be given is a recurring element of this section
-first in relation to Victor’s parents and their “deep consciousness of what they owed towards the being to which they had given life” (41), and then in his mother’s phrasing of Elizabeth’s arrival: “I have a pretty present for my Victor” (43), who is also referred to as a “promised gift” (43)
*What do parents owe to a child? Why is Elizabeth’s arrival framed in terms of a gift? What does this suggest about the amount of control that she has over her life?
Alchemy
-alchemy is of interest to Victor in his early life and in his studies, and he states that “[t]he raising of ghosts or devils was a promise liberally accorded by my favourite authors, the fulfilment of which I most eagerly sought” (47)
-others take it less than seriously, particularly M. Krempe at Ingolstadt, who refers to alchemy and alchemists as “exploded systems and useless names… as musty as they are ancient” (51)
*What is the attraction of alchemy for Victor? Why is it seen as a dated (pseudo-)science by many? Why does Victor return to it after this initial shock?
Better Living Through Chemistry
-M. Waldman, a more positive influence for Victor at Ingolstadt, speaks glowingly of modern chemistry
-says that “these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt… have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature, and show how she works in her hiding places… they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows” (52)
*What impression of modern chemistry is imparted by Waldman’s words? Why are they so galvanizing for young Victor? How does Waldman facilitate Victor’s return to alchemy?
