Frankenstein's Creature: the Monstrous Tenor of Self-knowledge (original) (raw)
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FRANKENSTEIN: A CRITIQUE ON THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND ROMANTICISM
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus follows an interesting timeline as it appears amidst the Industrial Revolution in the history of England as well as the ongoing Romantic Movement which was a revival to nature. This paper presents a combination of the Romantic elements in the novel like imagination and quest to seek the unknown as exhibited by the protagonist, with the monster as an allegory of the downtrodden section of society who suffered the consequences of industrial politics prevailing in 18th century Britain. It also draws parallel between the negligent government and the escapism of Victor Frankenstein from their own created ugliness. At the same time, the study reflects Shelly's critique against the excess of Romanticism resulting in transgression brings about instability and destruction after the displacement of the old order.
No Romantic Prometheus: Marry Shelley's Frankenstein and Rejection of Romanticism
The tool for Mary Shelley to criticize and satirize Romanticism is her famous character, Victor Frankenstein, or as the subtitle of the novel suggests: The Modern Prometheus. In Romantic beliefs, Prometheus was the symbol of limitless ability and freedom to whom many Romantic Poets pay tribute. In contrast, in Mary Shelley's opinion, this 'metaphysical revolt' cannot go unpunished. The aim of this paper is to examine, through a Foucauldian reading, the mythic character of Prometheus in Romantic era, and the differences existing between Marry Shelley's presentations of the modern version of the character and the Romantic version, and to show how Mary Shelley, belonging to other discourses rather than the dominant one, opposes the Romantic-related ideas. As Foucault believes there exist other discourses along with the dominant one all of which are in a constant struggle over power in a hierarchy. Mary Shelley follows some marginalized discourses, and her opposition to Romantic ideals stems from her relationship with other major Romantic Poets, and also from getting influence from some scientific experimentations of her day. She witnesses the harshness in her relationships with Romantic Poets, and their doomed aspirations, which agonizingly affect her life.
THE CHARACTERIZATION OF FRANKENSTEIN IN MARY SHELLEY'S BOOK FRANKENSTEIN OR MODERN PROMETHEUS
The Gothic Movement originated together with the Romanticism Movement, which attract attention in the 18th century. Frankenstein or Modern Prometheus, one of the earliest works of science fiction, was written by Mary Shelley, one of the English pioneers of this field. At the time it was written, Frankenstein was acclaimed in the literature. Although Mary Shelley's name was not included in the book's first printing, she published it under her name in the second and quickly came to fame as a writer. At the same time, she gained enormous popularity as a writer and as a character, and numerous stage performances were turned into films and television shows. A significant character in the book is Frankenstein. Mary Shelley discussed her personal life when drafting this book, and a claim she made with her friends served as one of the inspirations for it. One more example of the book's originality is when the author begins to write after seeing the character in his dreams. “Victor Frankenstein”, the book's main character, looks like a god. Even “John Milton's Paradise Lost” was mentioned by Mary Shelley in the text. The book's key themes are “Victorian industrialization and technical advancements”. The surname of a significant figure in British politics is Frankenstein. After creating a creature that he does not desire, the main character must confront the creature. In essence, it describes the balance between God and Man. However, the reader ultimately determines whether God or Man is at fault. Mary Shelley emphasizes the human phenomena in a capitalist society in this situation. The work, which combined industrialization and technology with horrific elements during the peak of the “Romanticism Movement”, is a masterpiece of the “Gothic Romanticism Movement.”
The Gothic in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus”
2018
Introduction In this paper, it will be discussed whether the Gothic characteristics are displayed in the piece of fiction called Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. As David Punter describes, “When thinking of the Gothic novel, a set of characteristics springs readily to mind: an emphasis on portraying the terrifying, a common insistence on archaic settings, a prominent use of the supernatural, the presence of highly stereotyped characters and the attempt to deploy and perfect techniques of literary suspense are the most significant.” (Punter 1) The aim of the analysis is to discover if the different Gothic conventions are present in the novel and how they are featured, as well as the exploration of different topics of importance for the analysis of the novel. In order to explore the Gothic in the novel, five topics will be considered in detail. The first topic will be Nature and the Sublime, the second one will be Industrialization vs Nature, then the concept of Alienation will be also analyzed, the fourth topic will be The monster as the Other and lastly, Traditional Gothic elements in the story will be examined. To fulfil this objective, ideas presented by authors such as David Punter, Ronald Carter , Proshanta Sarkar, Kelly Hurley and Michael Gamer will be considered. Some information about the author and the novel can be found below.
Allegories of Origins: Frankenstein after the Enlightenment
SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, 2016
If a great many writers and thinkers across manifold cultures and at different times have been preoccupied with origins as starting points, organizing principles, or foundations to shape stories-from ancient mythology to psychoanalysis, from scripture to science-something new and distinct emerges with such stories in the long eighteenth century. This strikingly novel profile for the discourse of origins in Britain and Western Europe of this era is occasioned, I suggest, not least by a troubling of the status of the Bible as an authoritative account of the origins of humanity, language, and society. This was coupled with a new and distinctive sense of history-it has been called, for better or worse, "historicism"-which entailed new sets of parameters for large-scale storytelling. In what follows, I want to scrutinize, through the example of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, something of what happens in and to the discourse of origins in a charged, protracted moment in Britain before and after 1800, situated somewhat in a rather long trajectory in British letters and culture as well as a little beyond Britain's borders, beginning in the late seventeenth century. 1 I am concerned broadly with fictional and nonfictional texts that feature accounts of the origins of language, society, and political institutions of the rather long eighteenth century. As narratives of origins, they depend on powerful and problematic temporal schemes, temporality being one of the two master terms of the joint project within which this essay takes its part. 2 They go back, at the extreme, to the very be
ROMANTIC CRITIQUE OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE ALLEGORY OF TECHNOLOGY GONE FERAL
Pieces of literature are never written in isolation from transitional periods in time, allowing works to become symbolic structures of history. During the 19th century in Europe, Romantics sought to dispute the values of Enlightenment ideals while also developing a humanistic critique of the Industrial Revolution, and the indications are transparent in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Mary Shelley intentionally draws upon a number of contemporary sources for her understanding of electrical science in the novel. New Historicism, or Cultural Poetics, emphasizes the interaction between the historical context of a work and a modern reader’s understanding and interpretation of the work. Reading the novel Frankenstein within the framework of New Historicism and Cultural Criticism renders a more modern interpretation of the novel as a judgment of science, and depicts the influence of the ideals of the Romantic Movement: freedom of thought and expression, skepticism about science, society’s potential to be transformed by the individual, the plight of the individual, and the appeal of nature to affect one’s emotions. Mary Shelley’s novel is a reaction to the hollowness and vanity of Enlightenment thought that later led to the Industrial Revolution. Victor Frankenstein is presented as a doctor who is discontent with his mediocre life, living outside of Romantic ideals. Frankenstein believes he will achieve satisfaction through the use of scientific and alchemic measures, which helps him accomplish the creation of his Monster. In her criticism of the Enlightenment, Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein articulates the revolutionary spirit of the Romantic era, and anticipates the coming of the Industrial Revolution.
she tells the story of a scientist: Victor Frankenstein whom, interested in modern sciences decided to create a better version of the human kind. Sadly, the results of his experiment were disastrous and he ended creating a monster. -Moreover, Mary Shelley emphasizes in her book the awakenment of Frankenstein as someone who extirpated himself from the enlightenment's ideas. This awakenment truly takes place at the beginning of the third book when he describes Clerval as a being formed in the "very poetry of Nature" (Frankenstein,161), meaning as a follower of romantic's ideas. However, to this description, Mary Shelley added in footnote Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey, a reflective poem which invokes the world of nature and the love of men for it: