1. Frankenstein

2. Frankenstein
Published in 1818
Gothic romance

3. Mary Shelley English novelist Married to poet Percy Bysshe Shelley
August 30, 1797 – February 1, 1851

4. Introduction
The novel opens with Robert Walton’s letter from Russia, to his sister in England.
The letters that follow will then tell the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation of the monster.

5. Characters Victor Frankenstein The monster Protagonist & narrator
8’ tall, hideous
Intelligent & sensitive
Shunned by society

6. Characters Robert Walton Alphonse Frankenstein Arctic seafarer
Learns Victor’s story of creating the monster
Records the story in letters to his sister
Alphonse Frankenstein
Victor’s father

7. Themes Alienation/Loneliness Appearance & Reality Nature vs. Nurture
Science vs. Nature

8. Symbols
Weather
The monster

9. Style Narration Letters Epistolary form – letters tell a story
Between Walton & his sister Margaret
Frame Victor's and the creature's narrative

10. Style Letters Before the 1st chapter, Walton writes to his sister
Builds suspense about the “monster”
Once Victor tells the story you learn of his childhood
Then the monster interrupts Victor - hear his life and the fact that he wants a partner
Walton's letters introduce and conclude the novel

11. Point of View Robert Walton Victor Frankenstein The monster
Frame device - told by someone who reads it or hears it from someone else
Victor Frankenstein
The monster

12. Gothicism Mysterious Supernatural events occur Evil human action
Dramatic language
Psychological fears and insecurities
Repressed anxieties
Setting far away from reality

13. Romanticism 1785-1830 Beginning of modern industrialism Imagination
Isolation
Nature