Scarica Appunti su Mary Shelley e Frankenstein (inglese) e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Mary Shelley and Frankenstein _______________________________________________________________________________________ • Mary Shelley was born in 1797 and died in 1851 in England o Mother: Mary Wollstonecraft, feminist pioneer o Father: William Godwin, radical thinker • Both of her parents were influenced by the French revolution; they were part of a radical group which included others important men such as William Blake • Her house was visited by some poets like Coleridge and Percy Shelley • In 1814 Mary and Percy fled to France and lived in a country house near Lake Ginevra o Here she started to write Frankenstein; inspiration came as she was in a waking dream o Inspired also by Shelley and his friends • Mary Shelley had a troubled life: o Her mother died ten days after her birth o She lost some children o Her husband drowned in a storm • After Shelley’s death, Mary returned in England in 1823, where she died in 1851 Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus • Includes ideas held by her parents o Social injustice o Education • She clearly sympathized with the Monster but she is afraid of the consequences of his actions o = tension between the fear of revolution and interest in revolutionary ideas (characteristic o f English intellectuals) • Influenced also by Percy Shelley; both of them were interested in science, in particular in chemistry o She was informed about the latest scientific theories and experiments o This influenced conception of science in Frankenstein, whose protagonist is the representation of the theme of science and its responsibility to mankind. (In fact Frankenstein tries to create a human being using electricity and chemistry, without respecting the rules of nature) • Main themes: o The study on forbidden knowledge – the overreacher o The double: the three important characters of the novel are all linked to this theme § Walton is the double of Frankenstein, same desire to overcome human limits § Frankenstein and his creature are complementary, both suffer from a sense of alienation and isolation; both want to be good but become obsessed with hate and revenge o The penetration of nature’s secret o The usurpation of female role: the creature was created without the participation of women o Social prejudice, through the figure of the monster Great influence on her
