The Creation Of Terror In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Constance, course: British Literature & Culture, language: English, abstract: During the last two centuries, Frankenstein gained the reputation of a modern myth. Every generation gets to know Frankenstein within a new historical and social context. So it has to be said that the reception of Shelley’s masterpiece changed over the years. The creature of Victor Frankenstein became the archetype of a monster, a model for many specters that followed. Mary Shelley was born on 30 August 1797 and died on 1 February 1851 at the age of 53. She was the daughter of the philosopher William Godwin and his wife Mary Wollstonecraft, who was known as a philosopher and feminist. Both her parents had talents in writing and this talent should be inherited to their daughter as well. In 1816 she married her lover, the famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. In the summer of 1816 the famous couple went on a journey to Switzerland, accompanied by Mary’s stepsister Claire, who arranged for them a meeting with her lover Lord Byron. During their stay at the Villa Diodati in Geneva the group talked about science and inspired by some German ghost tales decided to have a ghost-story contest, which led to the initial draft of Frankenstein. Mary Shelley’s tale is the only one of those stories which has been completed. The first edition of Frankenstein was released in 1818, another one in 1831, changed and corrected by Mary Shelley herself. The romantic period was among other things also the time of an enormous paradigm shift in science. The Frankenstein novel has this shift as a basis and combines scientific horror with elements of traditional Gothic fiction. The turn of the century also brought a growing interest in landscape and nature. In 1757 the Irish philosopher Edmund Burke released “A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful”, which became the most important treatise on the concept of the sublime. This seminar paper shall examine the way in which Mary Shelley creates an atmosphere of terror in her novel. Therefore both the preface of the 1818 version of Frankenstein, written by Percy B. Shelley, as well as the 1831 introduction by Mary Shelley shall be analyzed on the author’s original intention and the idea behind Frankenstein. Then a definition of the term “terror” will be given, followed by a chapter on the concept of the sublime as seen by Edmund Burke and Ann Radcliffe. The last chapter examines “terror” within the story itself, as well as the terror achieved through other features, for example the sublime.

"How did I, a young girl, come to think of so very hideous an idea?" This is the question Mary Shelley poses to the readers of her novel Frankenstein, and which this new study of Mary Shelley's Gothic horror story undertakes to answer. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein began life in 1816 as a ghost story literally dreamed up for a competition between friends, and has endured to become a powerful myth of modernity. It is an exciting tale of scientific experimentation in the creation of artificial life and the sublime possibilities of the human intellect, but is also a cautionary tale about the dangers of obsession and the responsibilities of the heroic over-reacher. In its daring intellectual adventure, Frankenstein enters territory previously untouched by fiction. Mary Shelley draws ideas from the widely disparate sources of myth, alchemy, literature, natural philosophy and the new science, combining these into a Gothic horror story. However, Frankenstein is a sensational Gothic novel which does not rely on the supernatural, but is rigorously rational. This study explores the contrasts between these themes, looking at Mary Shelley's challenge to the accepted conventions of her society, and her criticism of the high-flown Romanticism of her poet husband and his circle. Focussing on her innovative treatment of birth and education, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein links her interest in science with her position as a woman writer in the early nineteenth century. It also includes a discussion of the subsequent history of Frankenstein and his Monster in popular culture.

Unlock the more straightforward side of Frankenstein with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a horror novel that calls into question the origin of evil and the dangers and limits of science. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein and his quest to solve the mystery of life which culminates in the creation of a monster. Frankenstein is known around the world, having been adapted into dozens of films, plays, television shows and even a ballet. While these adaptations have proved popular, the original novel is still an unmissable read for any avid literature fan. Find out everything you need to know about Frankenstein in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you in your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!

Mary Shelley S Frankenstein, True To Early Nineteenth-Century Romanticism, Provides A Chilling Account Of The Con-Sequences Of Tampering With Nature And Of Transgressing Human Limits To Knowledge. Like Prometheus, The Greek Mythological Figure Who By Creating Man Consigned Both Himself And His Creation To Eternal Suffering, The Scientist Victor Frankenstein And The Unnamed Monster He Creates Are Doomed To Untold Misery And Lonely Deaths. A Brilliant Reflection Of Life In A Turbulent Period Of European History, Frankenstein Synthesizes Fundamental Philosophical, Ideological And Spiritual Concerns And Is A Subject Of Constant Critique And Review In The Light Of New Interests.

Few creatures of horror have seized readers' imaginations and held them for so long as the anguished monster of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The story of Victor Frankenstein's terrible creation and the havoc it caused has enthralled generations of readers and inspired countless writers of horror and suspense. Considering the novel's enduring success, it is remarkable that it began merely as a whim of Lord Byron's. "We will each write a story," Byron announced to his next-door neighbors, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and her lover Percy Bysshe Shelley. The friends were summering on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 1816, Shelley still unknown as a poet and Byron writing the third canto of Childe Harold. When continued rains kept them confined indoors, all agreed to Byron's proposal. The illustrious poets failed to complete their ghost stories, but Mary Shelley rose supremely to the challenge. With Frankenstein, she succeeded admirably in the task she set for herself: to create a story that, in her own words, "would speak to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror -- one to make the reader dread to look round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart."

This book will trace the journey of Shelley's Frankenstein from limited edition literature to the bloodstream of contemporary culture. It includes new research on the novel's origins, with a reprint of the earliest-known version of the creation scene; visual material on adaptations for the stage, in magazines, on playbills, in prints and in book publications of the nineteenth century; series of visual essays on many of the film versions and their inspirations in the history of art; and Frankenstein in popular culture on posters, advertisements, packaging, in comics and graphic novels.

Published in 1823, "Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus" is to this day, almost two centuries later, considered a pioneering Gothic novel – a classic responsible for helping to found the genres of horror and science fiction, written by Mary Shelley when she was just eighteen. Born of scientist Victor Frankenstein's obsession with creating life, this disconcerting story is a study of human arrogance and loneliness in society. When Dr. Frankenstein finally manages to build a new being from body parts buried in cemeteries, he realizes that the creature he created is totally different from what he expected. But this rejection will have dire consequences for the creator and the creature.

This is the original story written by Mary Shelley and first published on 1 January 1818. For two centuries this story has fascinated, intrigued, horrified and inspired millions of readers, writers and film makers. It's influence has spawned a complete genre in horror stories, films and plays. Read this fascinating story of Victor Frankenstein - beware his warning and enjoy Mary Shelley's Gothic Horror Masterpiece.