3. Social & Historical Context

Question 1

Romanticis
m (1770 -
1890)

Answer 1

The text is a Romantic text – it features discussions over the
beauty of nature. The Romantics believed in the power of God
and the beauty of nature.

Question 2

Victorian
Period

Answer 2

a time of strict morals and values; class system promoted
divisions between nobility and working class.

Question 3

Prometheus

Answer 3

The novel’s subtitle is ‘The Modern Prometheus’. Prometheus is
a figure in Greek culture/religion, who made humans out of clay.
He also stole fire from the Gods, and to punish him, they
chained him to a rock and called an eagle to peck out his liver
each day.

Question 4

Galvanism

Answer 4

Scientist Luigi Galvani applied electrodes to dead body parts
and caused them to be ‘reanimated’ – the muscles moved as if
the creatures were alive. This was exciting and terrifying for
Victorians.