Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein Or the modern prometheus

What do you know about Frankenstein ?

In more recent times, science has been used controversially to create or alter life Electro-shock Therapy Cardiac Defibrillation Cyborgs Cloning Can you think of any others? What advances do you think might be made in the future? In the story, the monster is attacked because of his hideous appearance. How do you think you would react if you saw a terrifying creature nearby? What if the creature was only sitting, minding its own business? Is outward appearance a true reflection of the person within? Issues in Frankenstein

Fotosearch.com

Unit expectations Vocabulary - monday Reading – Tuesday & Wednesday Reading logs - weekly Quizzes – Tuesday & wednesday Discussion – Tuesday & wednesday Reading response Questions - thursday Vocabulary Test – Friday Unit exam & Movie – at the end of the unit

The life of Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin was born in London, England to William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft in Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus. St. Paul: EMC/Paradigm Publishing, Her parents were radical thinkers for their time. Her mother died of puerperal fever eleven days after Mary was born. In her first three years, Mary and her half-sister, Fanny, were cared for by a nanny named Louisa Jones until Mary’s father was angered by Louisa’s affection for a man whom he considered to be irresponsible. Louisa was forbidden from seeing the girls again and Mary lost the only maternal figure she had ever known. In 1801 Mary’s father married Mary Jane Clairmont, who had two children: Charles and Jane. Mary resented the attention that her new stepmother gave her own children. As a child, Mary loved to read from her father’s extensive library and to write. She enjoyed spending time listening to her father and his friends discuss philosophy, politics, literature, and science.

Mary would also visit her mother’s grave to read her mother’s works. She craved attention from her father, who remained distant. When Mary was fourteen, Mary was sent to Scotland to live with a family of her father’s admirers. She finally had the experience of happily living in a close-knit group. She returned to London in 1814, when she was sixteen. Mary met Percy Bysshe Shelley, a leading Romantic poet and his wife Harriet in November of 1812, while visiting London. Percy was already an admirer of the works of Mary’s parents, and soon became and admirer of Mary, as well. They met again in Mary and Percy fell in love. Despite her father’s protests, they ran away together to France. Mary’s stepsister, Jane (who had changed her name to Claire), accompanied them. They returned in September. Mary’s father refused to see her. On February 22, 1815, Mary gave premature birth to a daughter, Clara, who died a few days after her birth. Mary had dreams about rubbing her baby by a fire to bring her back to life. Mary gave birth to her son, William, on January 24, He died of malaria in June of In November of 1819, Percy Florence was born. Mary, Percy, and Claire traveled to Switzerland and met with Romantic poet Lord Byron. They spent an unusually cold summer in Geneva, sharing ideas in philosophy and science and reading ghost stories. At Lord Byron’s suggestion, they began to write their own ghost stories.

In June of 1816, when Mary was nineteen, she began to write Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. She completed it in May It was published in In December of 1816, Mary’s half-sister Fanny took her own life. Two months later, Percy’s first wife Harriet drowned herself. Rescuers used electricity, among other things, in the attempt to save her life. ( Percy and Mary married on December 30. Mary had another daughter, whom she also named Clara, but the child died after only one year. Mary miscarried in Between the tragedies of the deaths of her children and the deaths of her friends, Mary began to retreat emotionally from Percy during his last years. Percy and a coworker died suddenly in 1822 in a boating accident. Mary is largely responsible for publishing many of Percy’s works, preserving them. Mary had only one child to survive to adulthood. She and her son, Percy Florence, went back to England, where Mary continued to write, including substantial revisions to Frankenstein. On February 1, 1851, at the age of fifty-three, Mary Shelley died from a brain tumor.

Was there really a Dr. Frankenstein? Maybe so. Mary Shelley was very well read and took an interest in a many subjects, including science. Although there is great speculation, little proof, and no mention of it in the introduction of Frankenstein, there is a castle near Darmstadt, Germany, that belonged to the family Frankenstein. However, the legend actually begins with an alchemist by the name of Luigi Galvani, who use electrodes on the limbs of frog corpses to make them twitch. This created the term “galvanizing.” Luigi’s nephew, Giovanni Aldini used the method to galvanize human limbs and Andrew Ure inserted electrical wires into corpses to make them jerk. And then there is the legend… Stewart, Susan. “Frankenstein, Meet Your Forefathers.” Learning Network: Teacher Connections. 27 Oct Feb < /featured_articles/ friday.html /featured_articles/ friday.html>.

The legend of Frankenstein Castle the Frankenstein family was noble. It is first mentioned in records in the year 948. In 1662, the Darmstadt Landgraves acquired the castle, which continued to be neglected. In the 1800’s efforts were made to preserve the castle. Johann Konrad Dippel ( ) was born and raised at Frankenstein castle. He was trained as a physician, but studied alchemy. “Alchemy is a kind of pseudoscientific experimentation with the elements – crazy chemistry – whose ultimate challenge was to be able to turn lead into gold.” Dippel was also interested in immortality by use of science. According to this source, Dippel experimented with exhumed human corpses, using the dungeon as his laboratory, but did not use electricity like the other scientists. The tourist information site (listed previously) claims that Mary Shelley may have heard of Dippel from her step-mother, who translated for the Grimm Brothers. Other sites claim or argue whether or not she actually visited Frankenstein Castle. Regardless of the truth, enough speculation exists to let a reader wonder… Did Dr. Frankenstein really exist? ( According to the information on the Darmstadt tour page (

The following photos are taken from a virtual tour at: Virtual Tour of Frankenstein castle

Sorry guys, I couldn’t find a photo of the dungeon/laboratory!

Prepare yourself for the journey… Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, is considered to be the first science fiction novel. Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, is considered Romanticism as well as Gothic. (We will learn more about these terms next week.) Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, uses allusion as part of its influence. Allusion is a literary term that means that a writer references another work. Frankenstein mentions Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Milton’s Paradise Lost, for example. Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, was Mary Shelley’s most successful novel. Many influences in the story can be traced to her own tragic life.