Scarica Frankenstein - Mary Shelley e più Schemi e mappe concettuali in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus This story deals with a nature that escapes the control of men as, even if the Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein manages to create a human being by joining parts of different corpses, the resulti s terrifying and the monster becomes a killer as he destroys his creator. The events are not told cronologically, in fact we know the story through a series of letters written by Walton, a young explorer who meets Victor at the end of his life while he was following the monster in the North Pole, where Walton and his shipmates are stuck by the ice during a voyage of expedition. The main setting is the North Pole, but the whole story takes place all over Europe, from Geneva to France and so on. The North Pole also represents the characters’ state of mind, as both Victor and Walton feel empty and lonely. Frankenstein: GOTHIC OR NOT? We could say that Frankenstein can be considered as a gothic novel for some elements as fantasy, terror and also for the presence of girls running away from a male creature, in this case the monster. But, on the other side, the setting is absolutely not typical of gothic novel, as there are no mysterious castles or abbeys. 1. the origins of this novel - reading of ghost stories - speculation about the re-animation of corpses or the creation of life - Shelley’s personal anxieties and the memories of her sense of loss at the death of her own mother 2. reasons why science influence this novel Mary Shelley was interested in science, and particularly chemistry, so that by the time she wrote Frankenstein, she was aware of the latest scientific theories and experiments in the fields of chemistry, evolutionism and electricity. These sources provided contrasting scientific attitudes important to her conception of science in Frankenstein, whose protagonist is the first embodiment of the theme of science and its responsibility to mankind. 3. narrative technique employed The novel is told by different narrators: at first, Walton informs his sister, whose initials are the same as those of Mary Shelley, MS, that is, Margaret Saville; then, Frankenstein informs Walton, who informs his sister; finally, the monster informs Frankenstein, who informs Walton, who informs his sister. Thus the whole novel has Walton’s sister as the receiver, but presents three different points of view. The form of the novel is epistolary; perhaps the writer wanted to disguise her own voice as a woman by hiding behind three male narrators. 4. main characters The three most important characters of the novel are Walton, Dr Frankenstein and the monster. They are all linked to the theme of the double. Walton is a double of Frankenstein since he manifests the same ambition, the wish to overcome human limits in his travelling towards the unknown, and the same wish for loneliness and pride of being different. Frankenstein and his creature are complementary: they both suffer from a sense of alienation and isolation, both begin with a desire to be good but become obsessed with hate and revenge. 5. most important themes - science and its responsibility to mankind - the quest for forbidden knowledge, which is present throughout - the overreacher, in the characters of Walton and Dr Frankenstein - the double: Dr Frankenstein and the monster are two aspects of the same being - the penetration of nature’s secrets, which is related to the theme of the overreacher - the usurpation of the female role, since the creation of human beings becomes possible without the participation of women - social prejudices through the figure of the monster as an outcast
