“The Modern Prometheus”

Journal Write  What do you think of when you hear the word “Frankenstein”? What images, memories, or feelings arise in your mind?  Based off of what you know, who is Frankenstein?

Mary Shelley  Born in 1797 in London, England  Mother, Mary, was a feminist writer Dies shortly after Mary (Jr.) was born  Father was a writer Married Mary Clairmont after losing his first wife  Mary Shelley experienced bitter times growing up Cruel stepmother and emotionally distant father

Continued…  Met her future husband, Percy, at the age of 16 He was also a famous poet  Had a daughter, Clara, who died a few weeks after her birth  Soon after son, William, was born All traveled through France, Germany, & Switzerland (the novel takes place in these places)  Married in 1816 in London

Even More!  Began writing Frankenstein in 1816 while in Switzerland (inspired by sailing trips and telling ghost stories on their trips)  A second daughter, Clara, was born but died a year later  Percy Jr. was born in 1819 (the same year William died)  In 1822 Mary had a miscarriage which almost ended her life In the same year, Percy Sr. was sailing and a storm sank the ship His body washed ashore

The End of her life…  Devastated by her loss, Mary returned back to England with her son, Percy  Worked on writing many novels  Died in 1851 (fifty-four years old)

The creation of Frankenstein  One night, when Mary was visiting the Swiss Alps with her husband and friends, they began telling ghost stories  Her friend, Byron, challenged her to come up with a ghost story  The next day she began writing Frankenstein and a year later she finished her book  It was published in 1818, when Shelley was 19 years old  Book was published anonymously originally  People criticized the book claiming it to be “a tissue of horrible and disgusting absurdity”.

The development of Science  Prior to the 18 th century science and philosophy were the same thing  Some science experiments that may have jump-started Mary’s imagination Luigi Galvani- made frog legs twitch by poking them with electrodes Giovanni Aldini did the same but with human limbs Johann Dippel robbed graves and did diabolical experiments on the corpses  The work of these scientists was important; led to eletro-shock therapy and cardiac defibrillation

The Romantic movement  A movement in the late 18 th century, which emphasizes emotion, imagination, intuition, freedom, personal experience, the beauty of nature, the exotic, and even the grotesque.  Often contained the idea of the disenfranchised man Men who found themselves unable to live in society  Supernatural Make ordinary and everyday things wonderful and inspiring

Gothic style  Offshoot of Romantic literature  Created the first horror movies  The Gothic creates feelings of gloom, mystery, and suspense and tends to the dramatic and the sensational  The most common feature of Gothic literature is the indication of mood through weather When bad things are going to happen, a storm will occur before

Gothic Elements  Ruined buildings which are sinister  Dungeons or underground passages  Shadows  Extreme landscapes (rugged mountains, thick forests, icy wastes, and extreme weather)  Magic and the supernatural  A passion-driven villain-hero or villain  A curious heroine who needs to be rescued frequently  A hero whose true identity is revealed by the end of the novel  Horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings