Transcript The Frankenstein Unit - Crescenta Valley High School

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Mary Shelley’s background
(August 30, 1797-February 1, 1851)
Born on August 30th 1797.
Mother: Mary Wollstonecraft
a famous feminist author
who died 11 days after
giving birth to Mary
Father: William Godwin
A famous 19th century
philosopher who believed
in the rights of the
individual.
Shelley’s marriage
• At 15 years of age Mary
met her future husband
Percy Bysshe Shelley, a
disciple of William
Godwin and a famous
poet.
• At age 16, runs off with
Shelley, who was already
married
• After his first wife
commits suicide, Percy
Bysshe Shelley convinces
Mary to elope with him in
France when she was 17.
The Rest of the Story
• Percy and Mary were
outcast from their society,
spending the remainder of
their life in Italy
• Percy drowned when
Mary was 24
• Mary spent the rest of her
life dedicated to her
mother’s work, the rights
of women
• Mary died of a brain
tumor in 1851
The Making of Frankenstein
• On 19 March 1815
Shelley recorded in
her journal, after the
death of her first child:
"Dream that my little
baby came to life
again--that it had only
been cold & that we
rubbed it before the
fire & it lived."
Byron’s Challenge
• In the summer of 1816,
Percy and Mary visit
Lord Byron’s estate in
Switzerland.
• The summer of 1816 had
cold weather because a
massive volcano in
Indonesia erupted.
• Because of the gloomy
weather, Byron
challenged his guests to
create the best horror
story.
The creation of Frankenstein
• At Byron’s estate, Mary
has a dream about a man
who plans to bring life to
the dead.
• She turns her idea into a
story that wins Byron’s
contest.
• Mary’s husband
encourages her to turn the
story into a novel.
• In 1818, Shelley publishes
the novel at the age of 19.
The Title of the Novel
• The name “Frankenstein”
originates not from the
Creature, but the Creator,
Victor Frankenstein.
• Victor, like Shelley,
suffers the loss of many
loved ones at an early age.
• He creates his creature as
a way to bring back the
dead.
The Modern Prometheus
• Mary Shelley’s subtitle for Frankenstein
is “The Modern Prometheus”
• In Greek Mythology, the titan
Prometheus stole fire from the sun and
gave it to humanity.
• This angered the Greek god Zeus who
did not want humans to control fire.
• He was punished by being chained to a
rock while an eagle would feast on his
liver.
• The Prometheus Myth has become a
metaphor of what happens when humans
get a hold of something they cannot
control and reach beyond their ability.
The Characters
• Victor Frankenstein – the
science student
• The Monster – Frankenstein’s
creation
• Robert Walton – explorer and
ship captain
• Elizabeth Lavenza – Victor’s
fiance
• Henry Clerval – Victor’s friend
• The DeLaceys– French family
The Creature
• Unlike the Hollywood
stereotype, the
Creature is an
intelligent being
whose rage stems
from his neglect from
Victor.
The Doppelganger
• The story is a
Doppelganger, or German
word for “double image.”
• Both the Creature and
Victor mirror each other in
their effort to destroy the
other.
• The Doppelganger
represents a divided self,
or two alter egos who are
more alike than different.
The Structure of the Novel
• 3 layers of storytelling
– Walton’s Letters
– Victor’s Story
– Monster’s Story
• WHY?
– Credibility
– Levels of reality
– All three cross
unknown boundaries
Central Questions in the Novel
1. To what extent are we
responsible for our own
actions or the actions of
others?
2. Can we recreate the past?
3. What is the source of the
conflict between reason
and feeling?
4. What is the nature of evil?
5. What are the consequences
of defying the laws of
nature?
Read the Book, then the Sparknotes!
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You will be required to
read 20+ pages a night.
I realize there are
websites like Sparknotes
that summarize the book,
please use this as a
resource. To pass you
must read the book!!!