context Flashcards
The first edition was published ….
anonymously
What did Shelleys father write a book about?
a book condemning all human institutions as corrupt
What element of Frankenstein was pioneering at the time for Gothic literature?
double trope
what was gothic literatures focous?
concern with transgression and excess
what is the rime of the ancient mariner about?
mariner shot albatros - this led to a curse on him and the ship
Why was there a lot of exploration of the west at the time of writing?
the west was exploring trade routes with the orient (the first draft didn’t include the narrative framework of walton so this may have been inspired by her later reading)
what was the 1817 pentrich uprising?
an uprising by farmers during a period of economic hardship in an attempt to overthrow the government - swiftly and brutally suppressed
What is Galvanism?
giving movement to dead things through electricity (area of science developing while Shelley was writing)
What is different about film versions of the monster compared to the book?
he is normally grunting rather than the eloquence seen in books
he is rational and has good language, he describes words as a ‘godlike science’ and compares himself to both adam and saturn from miltons paradise lost
what book did Mary Shelleys mother write?
A vindication of the rights of women - Mary Wollsencraft
Why was there an increase in grave robbing in the early 1800s?
to be used in medical practise
how did the 2011 National theater production emphasis the idea of the double?
the two leads switched characters every night between the monster and victor
what is the symbolic meanings of Felix, Agatha and Safie, elizabeth?
happiness, goodness, and wisodm, gift of god
Vegetarianism rose to prominence in the Romantic period (related to the idea that Adam and Eve did not eat meat), what does the monster say that would align him with Adam and Eve and good?
‘my food is not that of man, i do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite’
Where did Shelley claim her inspiration for Frankenstein come from?
a waking dream - fits gothic ideas
what is symbolic about the association of the moon when Victor is creating the creature?
in greek myology the goddess of the moon is also the goddess of childbirth
what religion was shelly?
athesist
when was it first published?
1818
in the 19th century writers were fascinated by forbidden knowledge that could be gained from the study of _____
death
p.shelleys ‘Alastor’ poem
gothic motif of eternal wanderer seen in ‘ancient mariner’ Coleridge - death is only survivable by the affliction of a curse
what was the difference between mary and percys opinions of promethus?
percy sees him as the ideal romantic man - strong etc
mary sees him as brutish and overbearing
Shelleys warning about excess of technology can still be seen today in what modern day concerns?
GM crops
Robots + AI
responsibility to planet in times of climate change vs industrial revolution then
the monster development optimises which ongoing moral and scientific debate?
nature vs nurture
Rousseau and Godwin (shellyes father) believed personalities were formed on the basis of education
why may shelley have been against the french revolution?
she spent a lot of time traveling europe and witnessing the damage of the napoleonic wars
what was the differnce between the 1818 version and the later 1831 version?
1831-
more driven by science - opening chapters extended
e+v no longer blood related
elements of divine and god much more prominent, 1818 was godless and atheist
frankestein was published in the same year as the first article on which pioneering scientific technique?
blood transfusions
this sparked debates about human and animal rights especially with the discovery of cross species vaccination - also seen in french revoltuion
p.shelly was v interested in anatomy
victor uses the new scientific technique galvanism
the evolution of the name given to victors creation evolved from what to what over time?
monster to creature
p.shelley referred to it as a ‘being’
