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AlyssaCantrell
18August2015
Mrs.Dillon
APEnglishLiterature
Period2
FrankensteinResearchPaper
MaryWollstonecraftGodwin,laterknownasMaryShelley,wasbornonAugust30,
1797inLondon,England.ShewasthedaughterofWilliamGodwin,politicalwriterand
philosopher,andMaryWollstonecraft,afamedfeminist.Shelleyhadaroughstarttolifeby
havingtogrowupwithouthermother,whodiedshortlyaftergivingbirthtoMary.Growingup,
Marynevergotalongwithherstepmother,MaryJaneClairmont.AlthoughMarynevergota
formaleducationshelovedtospendhoursandhoursinherdadslibrary.Thisiswhereherlove
forwritingbegan.
"Asachild,Iscribbledandmyfavouritepastime,duringthehoursgivenme
forrecreation,wasto'writestories.'"(MaryShelley)
AlotofMaryShelleysfutureisknownforherwritingandhermarriagewithpoet,Percy
ByssheShelley.Theirrelationshipstartedwithascandalin1814whentheyfledtoEngland
together,althoughPercywasalreadymarriedandMarywasstillateenager.Marysactionswith
Percyangeredherfatherandcausedhimtonotspeaktoherforsometime.MaryandPercywere
finallyabletogetmarriedinDecemberof1816.OfthefourchildrenthatMarygavebirthto,
onlyPercyFlorencesurvivedandlivedforlongerthanayear.Theirunionwasriddledwith
adulteryandheartache,andendedin1822,whenPercydiedbydrowning,whilesailingtheGulf
ofSpeziawithfriends.

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Whilealive,MaryShelleyhadtwofamilyfriends,WilliamWordsworth,andSamuel
TaylorColeridge.Coleridgeisbestknownfortwoofhispoems,TheRimeoftheAncient
Mariner"and"KublaKhan.WordsworthisfamousforbecomingEnglandspoetlaureatein
1843.TheycollaboratedtogethertowriteLyricalBalladsin1798.WordsworthandColeridge
werealsotwoofthefoundersoftheRomanticmovement.
TheEnlightenmentwasaperiodofreason,involvingnatureandscience.Itwasfrom
16851815.WiththeEnlightenmentcamenumerousbooks,inventions,discoveries,etc.

EnlightenmentthinkersinBritain,inFranceandthroughoutEuropequestionedtraditional
authorityandembracedthenotionthathumanitycouldbeimprovedthroughrationalchange.
(History.com)AlthoughtheEnlightenmentwasatimeofreasonandtheromanticismerawas
moreaboutimagination,thetwotimeperiodscoincidewitheachother.Romanticismwasborn
atasenseofdisillusionmentwiththeEnlightenment.(Jeff
Carreira)
TheRomanticErafrom17851832wasatimethatinfluencedmanyauthorsandartists.
OneoftheseartistsbeingMaryShelley.Therearemanyelementsofromanticismshownin
Frankenstein
.OneofthemajorideasofromanticisminFrankensteinincludestheideaof
imagination.Romanticthinkerswereallaboutleavingnatureandscienceandgrowingtowards
moreimaginativeideas.ShelleyscharacterVictorFrankensteinusedhisimaginationtothink
outsideoftheboxwiththeideaofbuildinghisowncreatureoutofpartsinhislaboratory.This
ideaofbuildinghisowncreaturereflectsromanticauthorsideasofseeingthingsinanewway.
ThemythofPrometheusisanideathatalsogreatlyinfluencedMaryShelley'swritingin
Frankenstein.Justbylookingatthesubtitleofthisbook,whichis,ModernPrometheus,wecan
seetherehastobemanyelementsofPrometheusinherbook.HermaincharacterVictor

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FrankensteinisbasicallyherownmodernincarnationofPrometheus.WhereasPrometheusmade
manoutofmud,Victormadeacreatureoutofpartsinhislaboratory.
Frankensteinstartswithanexplorer,RobertWalton,findinganearlydead,Victor
Frankenstein,floatingonaniceflow.InaseriesofletterstoWaltonssister,wecanseeVictors
paststruggleasheattendedcollegeanddecidedtoreanimateadeadbody.Assoonashecreated
themonsterheimmediatelyregrettedit,becausehewasntsurehowtotakecareofit.Victor
explains,
HowcanIdescribemyemotionsatthiscatastrophe,orhowdelineatethewretch
whomwithsuchinfinitepainsandcareIhadendeavouredtoform?(Frankenstein,Chapter5)
Victorfearshehasdonesomethingterriblywrongandfleesthetown.WhenVictorgetsbackhe
meetswithhiscreationandseesthatthemonsterisverysmartnow.Hehaslearnedtoreadand
understandlanguage,andallheasksforisthatVictormakehimapartner.Victorcontinually
refusesandtherestofthebookbasicallydescribesthecreature'srevengeonVictorfornot
makinghimafriend.
TherearemanythemesshownthroughoutFrankenstein.includingdangerous
knowledge,monstrosity,andsecrecy.Knowledgeisshownthroughoutthisnovel.Victoris
attendingUniversityofIngolstadt,whereheisveryintohisstudies.Thedangerouspartofthe
knowledgecomesinwhenVictordecidestoplaytheroleofGodandrecreateadeadbody.With
hisknowledgehewasabletocreatesomethingdangerousthathewouldlaterregret.Monstrosity
isshowninthisnovelby,ofcourse,themonsterhimself.Standingatagrand8feettalland
terriblyugly,themonsterisnotacceptedbysociety.Alsosecrecyisshowninthisnovel,bythe
wayVictorwantstoknowallthesecretsofscienceandendsupcreatingamonsterinsecrecy.
Throughoutthenovel,Frankenstein,thethemesemergethroughthewayMaryShelleywrites.

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SadlywelostthisgreatauthoronFebruary1,1851.Shelleypassedduetobraincancer.
Herlifewillbeforeverrememberedandherworkswillbereadinschoolsforagestocome.
MaryShelleywasahardworkingwomanwhowrotemanyfamousnovelsincluding
Frankenstein.

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WorksCited

Carreira,Jeff."FromtheEnlightenmenttotheRomanticRevolution."
PhilosophyIsNotA
Luxury
.N.p.,07Mar.2010.Web.22Aug.2015.

Cartwright,Mark."Prometheus."
AncientHistoryEncyclopedia
.N.p.,n.d.Web.22Aug.2015.

Dudczak,Rebecca."ACulturalHistoryofFrankenstein:TheModernPrometheus."
ACultural
HistoryofFrankenstein:TheModernPrometheus
.N.p.,2002.Web.21Aug.2015.

"FrankensteinBookSummary."
Cliffnotes
.HoughtonMifflinHarcourt,n.d.Web.21Aug.2015.

"FrankensteinContext."
SparkNotes
.SparkNotes,n.d.Web.21Aug.2015.

"MaryShelleyBiography."
Bio.com
.A&ENetworksTelevision,n.d.Web.21Aug.2015.

"SamuelTaylorColeridgeBiography."
Bio.com
.A&ENetworksTelevision,n.d.Web.21Aug.
2015.

"WilliamWordsworthBiography."
Bio.com
.A&ENetworksTelevision,n.d.Web.21Aug.
2015.

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