Frankenstein Flashcards
Name Mary Shelley’s parents
Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin
Describe Mary Shelley’s mother
- Her mother was a female rights activist / protofeminist (feminist before feminism existed)
- She was radical and keen on education
- She died 10 days after Mary Shelley’s birth
What is the concept of the Noble Savage?
A concept by Rousseau who suggested that primitive people are uncorrupted and therefore more virtuous and empathetic than civilised people
How did Mary Shelley’s personal life influence the novel?
- Mary Shelley experienced the loss of her mother shortly after birth, and later the deaths of her own children.
- -> These personal tragedies informed the novel’s themes of creation, loss, and suffering.
- Her relationship with Percy Bysshe Shelley, a Romantic poet, also brought her into contact with radical and progressive ideas.
What period was Frankenstein written in, and how does this affect its themes?
- Written in 1816 and published in 1818
- Frankenstein belongs to the early 19th century Romantic period.
–> It reflects Romantic concerns with emotion, nature, individualism, and the sublime, as well as a reaction against Enlightenment rationalism.
How did the French Revolution influence Frankenstein?
- The French Revolution (1789) sparked debates about the rights of man, revolution, and human nature.
- Shelley’s father supported revolutionary ideals, and these are echoed in the novel’s exploration of ambition, rebellion, and consequences of social rejection.
How does Frankenstein reflect early 19th-century scientific developments?
- The novel reflects anxieties about rapid scientific progress.
–> Influences include Luigi Galvani’s experiments with electricity (galvanism), which debates the boundaries of life and death.
What is the significance of ‘The Modern Prometheus’ subtitle?
- Prometheus is a figure from Greek mythology who stole fire from the gods to give to humanity and was punished.
- Victor Frankenstein’s quest for knowledge and creation of life parallels Prometheus’s actions, suggesting a critique of overreaching ambition.
How does Frankenstein reflect the conventions of Gothic literature?
- It features remote settings (e.g., Arctic, mountains)
- A brooding atmosphere
- A tragic hero
- The exploration of human psychology under duress.
How are social justice themes reflected in Frankenstein?
- The Creature’s rejection by society despite his intelligence and sensitivity mirrors issues of prejudice, injustice, and the effects of social exclusion.
- Shelley questions who is truly monstrous: the being or the society that marginalizes him.
Why is the absence of strong female voices significant in the novel?
- The lack of active female characters suggests a patriarchal world where women are silenced, paralleling broader societal norms of the time.
- The novel warns of the consequences when male ambition excludes the feminine and the nurturing aspects of creation.
What feminist ideas can be found in Frankenstein?
- Women in the novel are passive, idealized, and often victims.
- The novel also reflects anxieties around male-dominated creation without women as Victor bypasses natural birth.
How is Victor’s ambition presented in the novel?
“Learn from me … how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge.”
- Victor’s reflection warns the reader of the perils of unchecked ambition. He serves as a tragic cautionary tale.
What is Victor’s attitude toward creation?
“A new species would bless me as its creator and source.”
- He sees himself as a god-like figure
- Victor’s desire for glory and recognition reveals his hubris.
- The language mirrors divine creation, implying moral irresponsibility.
How does Victor react after bringing the Creature to life?
“Breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.”
- This sudden shift shows Victor’s inability to take responsibility.
- His revulsion marks the beginning of his moral failure.
How does Victor deal with the consequences of his actions?
“I had turned loose into the world a depraved wretch, whose delight was in carnage and misery.”
- Victor’s language dehumanizes the Creature, avoiding accountability and projecting blame rather than reflecting on his own role.
How does nature function in Victor’s life?
“These sublime and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation.”
- Nature is both restorative and symbolic of his internal turmoil.
- Nature temporarily soothes Victor’s suffering, aligning with Romantic ideals, but it cannot erase his guilt.
What is Victor’s tragic flaw (hamartia)?
“I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit.”
- His pride and obsessive pursuit of forbidden knowledge.
- This single-minded devotion isolates Victor and ultimately leads to destruction—hallmarks of a tragic hero.
How does Victor view fate and destiny?
“Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.”
- He often blames destiny rather than taking personal responsibility
- Victor frames his downfall as inevitable, which shows a refusal to accept responsibility for his choices.
How are Victor and the Creature similar?
“I was the same—I had lost everything.”
- Both are isolated, suffer deeply, and seek revenge.
- Victor begins to mirror the Creature’s despair and alienation, emphasizing the blurred lines between creator and creation.
How is the Creature initially presented after creation?
“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.”
- The Creature compares himself to both biblical figures, showing his desire for love and his fall due to rejection. It highlights his moral complexity and yearning for identity.
- He begins as innocent, childlike, and curious.
What are the Creature’s first experiences of the world?
“The first face I beheld…was that of my creator, and he had fled.”
- He is met with fear, rejection, and violence
- This abandonment forms the foundation of his suffering and shapes his later anger. Victor’s immediate rejection teaches the Creature he is unloved.
How does the Creature connect with nature?
“The pleasant sunshine and the pure air of day restored me to some degree of tranquillity.”
- Like Victor, the Creature finds solace in the natural world, which reflects Romantic ideals.
- Nature serves as a nurturing force in contrast to human cruelty.
How does the Creature learn language and human behavior?
“I learned to admire their virtues and to deprecate the vices of mankind.”
- Observing the DeLacey family makes him self-aware and sensitive, proving he is not inherently evil. He internalizes human values despite being shunned.
