2. First Science Fiction novel The idea of medical science and how far is too far A cautionary tale

3. Man playing God Cautionary warning against man playing God A man cannot give a creature a soul

4. Man giving life Victor cruelly did not even give the creature a soul – Victor abandoned the creature

5. Romantic period Time when the novel was written. A backlash to the prior centuries of enlightenment and reason Overwhelmingly characterized by thinking with the heart and not the mind. Two most famous novelists of the period were Mary Shelley and Jane Austen

6. Writing contest Frankenstein was written while Mary Shelley was on vacation with Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley’s sister, and Byron’s doctor, John William Polidori. Byron proposed that they all write a story and they would see who could write the best one.

7. Shelley writes of the time She rewrote the introduction for the 1832 edition

8. The contest Polidori wrote the first story dealing with Vampires

9. Mary Shelley Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus Both works are in the gothic tradition

10. The Modern Prometheus Part of Shelley’s original title In Ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus was the wisest and brought mankind knowledge and enlightenment – Stole fire from the Gods of Mount Olympus and was punished by being chained to a rock to have his liver eaten out every day by an eagle How is Frankenstein similar to Prometheus?

11. The Gothic Tradition Gothic novels are characterized by an atmosphere of mystery and horror, often set in a dark castle or other medieval setting – a church, an abbey. The genre combines elements of the supernatural, Romantic principles, and horror.

12. The Gothic Tradition The origin is Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto.

13. Feminist text Many critics read Shelley’s novel as a testament towards men versus women in the creation of life Mary Shelley was highly influenced by her mother’s (Mary Wollstonecraft) legacy Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the rights of woman, she believed that women are the nurturers while men make the rash mistakes.

14. Nature versus nurture Abandonment of the creature

15. Victor Abandons his creature as he cannot deal with what he has done – the creature must find his way – the creature begs Victor to help

16. Victor refuses to help Even though Victor started with good intentions

17. The monster becomes angry He will lash out at all and he criticizes Victor for not taking responsibility

18. Judgment The creature is judged everywhere he goes for his looks and after being turned away the creature becomes cruel

19. Cautionary – the blame game Who is to blame for the cruelty? – Victor? – The Monster? – Society? This can be seen as nature versus nurture

20. Archetype The novel has become a sort of – you reap what you sow Remember the words of Jeff Goldblum’s character in Jurassic Park

21. Structure of the novel is of note Three times removed – the captain writing letters to his sister telling her a story a man has told to him

22. End What happens at the end? The captain says -He sprung from the cabin window as he said this upon an ice raft that lay close to the vessel & pushing himself off he was carried away by the waves and I soon lost sight of him in the darkness and distance.

23. Accomplishments The critique The exploration