The main points in Professor Smith's essay are that the female characters are there only to reflect the male characters, and that the Frankenstein family has a weird style of living, which she describes as a "bookkeeping mentality" (Smith 279). Smith begins her essay by looking at the historical factors that may have contributed to this seemingly sexist book. Shelley, writing in the first half of the 19th Century, was in a period in which a woman "was conditioned to think she needed a man's help" (Smith 275). In the novel itself, no women speak directly. The book has three basic narrators: Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein's monster.
Through Frankenstein, Mary Shelley proved that she asked these preceding questions of herself. When reading Frankenstein one is overcome by a male-controlled nineteenth century societal norm where men are part of the public area and women the domestic. In the novel Frankenstein, Men such as Victor Frankenstein and Walton seek quests in search of knowledge, happiness, personal fulfillment, and experience, whereas women are confined to the house and are kept outside of the male public sphere where intellectual activity is abundant. “From a feminist perspective, the most significant dimension of the relationship between literature and science is the degree to which both enterprises are grounded on the use of metaphor and image. The explanatory models of science, like the plots of literary works, depend on linguistic structures which are shaped by metaphor and metonymy.
Shaped by their distinctly different contexts, Shelley and Scott strive to convey this notion, through bold cinematic and literary techniques, characterisation and themes, of the fatal path humanity has placed itself on. Mary Shelley’s seminal novel, Frankenstein 1818, is a moral fable combining conflicting paradigms of Romantic idealism and Enlightenment rationalism. Shelley delves into these ideologies in a classic gothic horror story that presents the unequivocal issues concerning the ethics and consequences of the pursuit of knowledge and scientific experimentation. Influenced by the increasing popularity of galvanism, Shelley effectively illustrates her apprehensions through the character development of Victor Frankenstein and his juxtaposition against nature. Victor admits his deep desire for ‘immortally and power’ through ‘penetrating the secrets of nature’, which is manifested in his technological innovation of the creature, highlighting the extreme yet realistic potential for technology to create human life.
How does Mary Shelly manipulate your response to the characters of Frankenstein and his monsters as the story develops? ‘Frankenstein’: a multi-narrative novel by three people; Captain Walton, Frankenstein and the creature. In the novel ‘Frankenstein’, written in 1818, Mary Shelley creates a very tense, dark atmosphere. Around the 1800s life was an interesting subject, as during this period Luigi Galvani, a popular scientist who did experiments of bioelectrogenesis (the name bioelectrogenesis was given some years after he started doing these experiments); using electricity to induce life, would have influenced Mary Shelley and possibly even gave the idea of writing the novel Frankenstein. When Frankenstein collects the ‘instruments of life’ around him it would have shocked the readers of the time; this suggests that he had body parts in his home - this would certainly create suspense and tension.
She depicts nature as a place for both Victor and The monster to be solace and let their emotions be confessed. Romanticism plays a large role in the significance of nature in Frankenstein, as the Romantics placed great importance on nature by viewing it as the domain of the spiritual. This differs with
Her warning of the dangers of such actions is encapsulated within Victor’s concerning words of “how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge”, whilst Shelley’s use of a fragmented epistolatory narrative adds a disturbing sense of truth and realism, foreshadowing the dark consequences of Frankenstein’s actions. Shelley’s warning is evident throughout the novel which ultimately reflects her context through the concern of scientists within her era exploiting the advancements in science. It also reinforces the dangers of our humanity’s inherent yearning to play the role of the Creator. Such a warning also exists within Scott’s “Blade Runner” where the director echoes the rise of capitalist principles through the symbolic dominance of Tyrell’s towering dwelling, a reflection of both his desire for omnipotence and commercial power. Scott’s warning of the dangers of
The Gothic genre allows the purpose to reach the audience. In Chapter two, Victor meets his creation in the presence of nature, contrasting the scientifically created monster. The sublime gothic technique emphasises the power of nature to adjust Victor's mood, giving perspective of its relative importance. The novel's epistolary structure, as an example of realism, contains the personal accounts of Frankenstein and his monster. Their downfall due to technology gives credibility to the warning.
yThroughout the exploration of the module “Texts in Time”, we observe the connections between texts and their reflections of the constancy in human nature, whilst shifting contextual perspectives are maintained. Such a connection is demonstrated in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein” (F/stein) and Scott Ridley’s 1991 film “Bladerunner”, where both composers present a cautionary tale, warning us of the implications of science and technological advances on humanity and thus reflecting their own fears in their respective contextual eras. It is through the analysis of such values and implications that we can see the constancy of human nature throughout time. Frankenstein is a gothic inspired, fragmented epistolary, reflecting the rebellion of the Romantic Movement, which advocated the power of imagination, and ones relationship to nature. The gothic convention of sublime nature is represented thematically, through forces of good and evil leading to vengeance and murder, as well as macabre settings of graveyards and charnel houses.
Identity is based on the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognised or known, and is impacted by various factors including human connections and the environment. A disruption of these stable elements ultimately fuels the loss of identity. Mary Shelly’s Romantic novel Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s science fiction film Blade Runner (1992) demonstrate how a more profound and sophisticated understanding of disruption and identity arises from the consideration of the parallels between the two texts. Though Frankenstein and Blade Runner differ in context, they draw on similar philosophical and societal values of their time to simultaneously extrapolate the twofold themes of The Human Experience; what it means to be human, and the dangers of disrupting the natural order through technological advancements. Thus the linking premise is that dehumanisation or a loss of identity results once nature has been disrupted, and humanity becomes subservient to technology and scientific advancement.
All the female characters fit into the mould that was set out for them: wife, mother, sister and all serve a utilitarian function. Morrison writes “Frankenstein depicts women firmly entrenched in the ddomestic sphere, their focus conventionally invested in children and household, while men are more active, more powerful, and encourage to study and explore the world”. Some critics interpret ‘Frankenstein’ as endorsement of the typical gender stereotypes at the time. This is in direct contrast to Mary Shelley’s parentage, her mother was radical feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft who wrote ‘A Vindication of the Rights of a Woman.’ This book argued for the education of women