Context Flashcards
What was the Age of Enlightenment?
- A time when reason and logic overtook emotion in decision making.
- Scientific Ideas replaced tradition
What did Shelley think about using logic in place of emotion?
-Removing thoughts which make us human and replacing them with logic is dangerous as in turn you lose your morality
What was Galvanism and how was it seen as a sin?
- The act of bringing someone back to life through electricity
- Lead to body snatching and also appropriating the role of God (Blasphemy)
How did Shelley’s experiences with death influence her writing?
- Her mother died shortly after childbirth starting a life long obsession with her mother
- This lead to dreaming of bringing people back to lif and the story went from there
Who was Shelleys father and how did he influence her work?
- William Godwin
- Influential and radical political thinker
- Strong believer that every act should be for the good of everyone and selfishness would lead to the breakdown of society
- Should acquire knowledge but keep morals
What were the views of women in the 19th century?
- Second class citizens
- Angel in the house (delicate,decorative,emotional etc.)
Who were The Romantics?
- Started in 1789 as a retaliation to orderly art
- All about intense emotion and experience in their work
- A lot of focus on nature
Who was Rousseau and what is ‘Natural Innocence’?
- A philosopher who influenced Shelley’s work
- The idea that we are born ‘Free of chains’ and it is structured society which teaches hatred. No child inherently knows hatred
How is Frankenstein a cautionary tale?
-It warns against the dangers of following ambition blindly while not maintaining morality
How can Prometheus be linked?
- Titled ‘The Modern Prometheus’
- References the novels message of the over reaching modern man into dangerous areas of knowledge
