Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Mary Shelley's work, Frankenstein. The paper will study the text of the work, examine the problems of authorship, and search for the origins of the book. In addition, this paper will trace the influences that led to the writing of the book: occultism, philosophy, science and morality.

Very few writers exist outside of the currents in which they live, and Mary Shelley is no exception. She was a product of the Romantic Era and she moved among the greatest talents of that particular time. But most closely associated with the writing of Mary Shelley is Edgar Allan Poe. His use of the gothic and the bizarre might be said to be a direct descendant of the Frankenstein creation. In any case, since Mary Shelley was so familiar with all of the great minds and talents of the Romantic movement, it is natural that her work would reflect the Romantic trends. It would seem best to study Frankenstein in terms of the major conventions and devices of the Romantic Era.

For Romantic writers, emotions were the cornerstone of art. In Shelley's novel, the creature sensed things before he thought about them. In chapters 11-16, we learn that the creature, on the day he was created, was "born" with emotions and feelings. And it was only with great trial that it was able to learn such things as reading and writing. Therefore, we can conclude that the Romantic writer felt that the subject of art was emotions and the art of highest value was that which had an effect on the emotions of the spectator. Every scene in Frankenstein deals with some aspect of the emotions, whether the adoption of underprivileged children, the rejection of a marriage vow in favor of "true" love, the death of William, or the devotion of Victor and Elizabeth. Every scene in this work has characters who are dominated by their emotions. It is the emotions of these characters which help to explain much of their nonrational and erra...

Page 1 of 9 Next >

More on Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:40, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1682959.html