Frankenstein and Paradise Lost Respond to the following prompt: At this point in the novel, for which character do you have more sympathy? Explain your reasoning.

“I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down stairs.”

His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out.

But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions But Paradise Lost excited different and far deeper emotions. I read it, as I had read the other volumes which had fallen into my hands, as a true history. It moved every feeling of wonder and awe that the picture of an omnipotent God warring with his creatures was capable of exciting. I often referred the several situations, as their similarity struck me, to my own. Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence; but his state was far different from mine in every other respect. He had come forth from the hands of God a perfect creature, happy and prosperous, guarded by the especial care of his Creator; he was allowed to converse with, and acquire knowledge from, beings of a superior nature: but I was wretched, helpless, and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition; for often, like him, when I viewed the bliss of my protectors, the bitter gall of envy rose within me. The Creature in chapter 15 We will examine how the creature’s experience differed from Adam’s and discuss the philosophical Implications.

Close Reading: Paradise Lost, BOOK VIII ADAM REQUESTS A MATE

The Body & the Soul “Whether beautiful or ugly, each creature's physical characteristics determine how self and others respond. Eve's beauty wins her own and Adam's love; the monster's ugliness earns his own self-loathing and Frankenstein's abhorrence and abandonment: "No mortal could support the horror of that countenance.“ Mary Shelley conflates the two "creatures," demonstrating the moral equivalence of being judged ugly or beautiful and commenting on the power of the gaze as an objectification of the body, a denial of spirit and subjectivity.

The Body & the Soul to be regarded as beautiful is also to be morally trapped. a lovely woman, valued only for her body, becomes "a more irrational monster than some of the Roman emperors” (Wollstonecraft, Vindication).

CLOSE READING: PARADISE LOST, BOOK VII THE DANGERS OF PURSUING KNOWEDGE, and WHY ADAM SHOULD BE HAPPY

Prepare for Class Discussion Review your notes from reading and discussion FRANKENSTEIN Read the two articles about human head transplants. Prepare six higher level discussion questions on each of the following topics: Two questions about the articles that you read. Two questions about approaching the final essay prompts (1-4: Biblical Allusions, including Paradise Lost; Mythological Allusions, including Prometheus; Romantic Era; Foil characters…SEE the website for specific prompts). Two questions about connections between “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and Frankenstein Be prepared to specifically reference the primary texts to support your contributions to the discussion.

Close Reading: Paradise Lost, BOOK IV EVE COMES TO LIFE

The Physical Function of Safie’s Letters The only tangible, independent evidence of truth for Walton’s tale. Their location at the physical center of the novel They’re a sacred text to the DeLaceys, and serve as education to the monster. Their absence rings a halt to the potentially infinite regress of tales “Mary Shelley signals not only through her character’s use of them as evidence, but also through their content, their form, and their peculiar silence –their absence as text from the novel.” Zonana, J. (1991). “They will prove the truth of my tale”: Safie’s letters as the feminist core of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Mrs. Saville Walton Victor The Creature Safie