Monday, November 3, 2014

Does the author's background influence the novel Frankenstein? How?

There are several things you need to consider when reading Frankenstein which will help you understand the themes running through the novel with more clarity.  First, one theme is that of abandonment.  Mary Shelley's mother died shortly after giving birth to her.  She learned about her famous mom, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, only through the works her mother wrote--most of them dealing with the rights of women.  Victor also abandons the creature shortly after his birth, therefore setting into motion all the hard, cruel events in the creature's life outlined in the chapters written from his POV.  Second, there is the theme of parent-child relationships and responsibility.  Mary Shelley's definition of love as stated in the book is in a nutshell, "We are responsible for those we bring into the world and must treat them with unconditional love."  Again, it's obvious that she has issues with feeling abandoned by her mother's death.  Probably, although there is no real evidence that her father neglected her, Mary felt that something essential was missing from her life.  Third, the book came from a dare.  Mary, her husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and several others were in Switzerland one summer.  They dared one another to "write a ghost story".  Hers came to her as a result of the famous scientists of the time who often attended dinners at her father's home.  Charles Darwin's theories among others were often discussed. 

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