Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Frankenstein: An Identity Born or Created?
The title character in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein grew up in eighteenth-century Switzerland. In the character's own words, "No human being could have passed a happier childhood than myself" (33). Young Victor Frankenstein had loving parents, and siblings he adored. These early years proved to be a stark contrast to university life, where Victor was an eager student but very lonely. He threw himself into his work, becoming obsessed with natural philosophy and science. In a bold experiment, he gathered an assortment of human parts and stitched them together, curious as to whether he could create life. Victor was astounded to see that he did, indeed, create a living creature. The initial thrill he experienced at the success of his experiment quickly turned to horror as his creature escaped and began terrorizing the countryside. The creature was not born a monster, however. His identity was shaped not only by Victor, but by the people the creature encountered as he traveled in search of love and acceptance.
The creature fashioned by Victor was a horrible...
Victor made assumptions about his creature's nature based on its appearance, and assigned characteristics to the creature that were not present, at least in the beginning. The creature was essentially a blank slate. Over time he learned to meet his basic needs for food, shelter and warmth. He acquired language. He became fully human when he developed empathy and learned to love.
Mary Shelley crafted her story to offer three points-of-view. In the first, a sea captain, R. Walton, writes his sister a series of letters in which he describes the rescue of a mysterious man who ultimately has a strange tale to tell. The man is Victor Frankenstein, who relates the story of his monster's creation and the horrible events that occurred, including the murder of Victor's younger brother, a crime for which a beloved family friend was falsely accused, and the murder of his beloved bride. As Victor tells his story, he incorporates the story told to him by his monster. This is a clever device that Shelley…
Work Cited
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus. Salem, Oregon: Bookbyte Digital,
n.d. Electronic Book.
The author characterizes each woman as passive, disposable and serving a utilitarian function. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein tells of the evaluation of the problems associated with gender identity via the development of a dreadful monster in a peaceful community. Considering the major characters of 'Frankenstein' which portray the perfect gender duties in those days, it is then quite intriguing that Frankenstein's monster was created and it calls for a thorough research into
Gender Relations in Frankenstein In tracing the historical etymology of the word "monster," the Oxford English Dictionary offers a primary definition of something to be stared at or marveled over (from the same root as "demonstrate") but notes the second-most common use of the word is biological: "an animal or plant deviating in one or more of its parts from the normal type; an animal afflicted with some congenital malformation; a
Mary Wollstonecraft Although she was born in 1759, Mary Wollstonecraft is hailed as the first modern feminist (Cucinello pp). Her "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," published in 1792, is the first great feminist treatise (Wollstonecraft pp). Wollstonecraft preached that women must be strong in mind and body and that sentimentality was symbolic with weakness (Wollstonecraft pp). Born to a "gentry" farmer and an aloof mother, it is said she began
The supernatural is defining feature of gothic genres of gothic and horror. Supernatural motifs are also integral to Romanticism, especially as the supernatural is counterpoint to the natural. Romanticism reveals an uneasy relationship between science and nature. Science reveals nature and demystifies it, essentially taking God out of the question and leading to a “crisis of religious faith,” (Sanders 1). Focusing on the supernatural in literature, authors in both Old
SCIENCE FICTION & FEMINISM Sci-Fi & Feminism Origins & Evolution of Science Fiction As with most things including literature, science fiction has progressed and changed a lot over the years. Many works of science fiction were simply rough copies and following the altready-established patterns of prior authors. However, there has always been authors and creators that push the envelope and forge new questions and storylines that have not been realized or conceptualized before.
Gender and the 19th c English novel The question of gender in the nineteenth century English novel is complicated by consideration of more recent late twentieth century theorizing about gender. In particular, Judith Butler's highly influential notion of "gender performativity" suggests that gender is, in itself, nothing more than a sort of act. However this becomes an interesting angle to approach the works of creative artists, as a female novelist will