Famous writer, Mary Shelley was born in London in 1797. She was the daughter of writer William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. Shelley’s mother sadly died while giving birth to her. This was an influence included in the later successful novel ‘Frankenstein’. At 19, she married poet Percy Shelley, who she married in 1816. Together, Mary and Percy had five children, but only one survived past childhood. This tragedy, along with the early death of her mother influenced Mary Shelley’s theme linking creation with death. She started to write Frankenstein at the age of 18, completing it in less than a year.
She said the idea came to her in a dream, and dreams are created by unrelated events, and memories. Science became one of the main influences for Shelley’s novel. At the time, the influences of the scientific world became fascinating to everyone. The idea of bringing people back to life was being tested by some of the most intelligent minds. The main character in the story, Victor, grew up in Geneva, where Mary Shelley wrote the novel. Whilst staying there, Mary, Percy and Byron then met ‘Monk’ Lewis who was famous for writing supernatural novels.
Byron’s group talked for hours on end, and reading ghost stories. He challenged the group to write a ghost story – Frankenstein. Frankenstein is a gothic fantasy novel as it features horrifying events, stormy and dark settings, satanic imagery and themes of revenge and pursuit. The novel was purposely written to shock and scare readers. The novel has been suggested to be a romantic, psychological, social, political tale. However, I think that it is a philosophical tale. Certain events which happen in the story suggest that the origin of evil is produced by our environment and not in us from birth.
The character Frankenstein, for example, watches the DeLacey family, learning about their way of life and about their past. When he visits Mr DeLacey, he is chased out by the rest if the family because of his grotesque appearance. Another example is when the monster saves a girl from drowning and is attacked once again. The way he was treated affects his behaviour and attitude towards other people in the rest of the story. He felt rejected, isolated and seeks revenge on the person who created him. Chapter 5 is a significant part of the novel. Victor discovers the secret of life as the monster is created.
There is a lot of tension and anticipation in chapter 4 which makes the reader want to find out more about Victor’s creation. It describes Victor collecting parts to make the monster and creating it. He becomes obsessed with his work isolating himself completely from family and friends, ignoring all attempts at communication. He hopes that the creature will have a positive effect on his life and that it will thank him for being created. However this is not at all what happens in the story, it is the complete opposite. ‘Winter, Spring and Summer Passed away’ shows that he is infatuated with his work.
Time has passed so quickly while he has been absorbed in his task. Chapter’s 4 to 6 are written from Victor’s point of view. In my opinion, I think that these chapters are the most important in the novel. He feels guilty of this terrible crime, and falls ill, mentally and physically. Chapter 6 contains a letter from Elizabeth and Victor’s return. The letter shows sympathy and provides news of the family; it mentions Justine’s arrival and talks about William in a very warm manner, “He is very tall of his age, with sweet laughing blue eyes, dark eyelashes and curling hair.
When he smiles, two little dimples appear on his cheek, which are rosy with health. ” The second half of the chapter is about Victor and his arrival. He cannot bear to think of his scientific studies. After his mental breakdown he recovers where Shelley writes descriptions of spring which suggest a new start. Although Victor has forgotten about his abnormal creation, the reader does not which creates tension. Mary Shelley has written Frankenstein in such a way, that we read it from 3 different people. This is different to most novels as it is structured in this way.
We get points of view from Victor, Frankenstein and Walton. These 3 people all have 1 thing in common; they all have an obsession. Victor is obsessed with his scientific creation, Walton is obsessed with exploring the North Pole and Frankenstein is obsesses with the DeLacey family. During Frankenstein, flashbacks are used. In chapter 4, Victor explains his past to Walton, and throughout, the monster refers back to events which have happened in the past. In chapter 5, Victor tells the audience about his work.
As it is told from his perspective, this creates an effect of him endlessly working as he gets closer to creating the monster. At the beginning of chapter 5, Shelley starts with “a dreary night of November” which is typical of a gothic horror story. In this chapter, Frankenstein is brought to life, but is not at all what Victor had at all expected, ‘the monster’s dull yellow eye opens, and it breathes. ‘ While we expect Victor to be ecstatic, he is filled with horror and disgusted. His creation is ugly; the child he produced is deformed. Victor’s feelings towards the monster have obviously changed.
In Chapter 4, Victor is described as “working with an ardour”, however in Chapter 5 he describes his creation as a “catastrophe”. Later on, Victor becomes ill and encounters Henry Clerval, who has also come to study in Inglostadt. Clerval questions him and he breaks down into illness where he is nursed for several months through his fever. The language Mary Shelley uses is very effective. She is very descriptive towards the monster’s appearance to give the audience a clear view of what Frankenstein looks like. ‘Yellow skin, horrid contrast and shrivelled lips.
‘ This is a typical example of language in a gothic fantasy. Its purpose is to shock and scare readers. At the beginning of chapter 5, there is use of a rhetorical question, ‘How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe? ” This is a question Victor is asking which requires no answer. There is also a contrast to this statement a little bit later on, ‘… and I selected his features as beautiful’ – Victor goes from negative to positive. Another significant aspect of chapter 5, is Shelley’s description of Victor’s nightmare, which shows how disturbed he is by his creation.
Shelley immediately links the ‘birth’ with death, and mentions Elizabeth, Victor kissing her while she is being killed. ‘… imprinted the first kiss on he lips, they became livid with the hue of death. ‘ This is ironic because Elizabeth is murdered later on in the story, by Victor’s creation. Shelley also uses a variety of motifs. ‘By dim and yellow light of the moon’, this phrase is associated with the monster, as it appears when the monster is created. When the monster threatens revenge, it comes across as an eerie moment. ‘One hand was stretched out’.
