In your view, how do you think that Mary Shelleywanted her readers to respond to the character of Frankenstein?

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In your view, how do you think that Mary Shelley wanted her readers to respond to the character of Frankenstein?

Justify your response by use of quotation and close reference to the text and relevant background information.

Written by Mary Shelley in 1816, the book ‘Frankenstein’ – subtitled ‘The Modern Prometheus’ – was in many ways ahead of its time. When it was first published in 1818, Mary Shelley was using her husband’s name. It was unheard of in those days, for a woman to write literature of this sort. Although the language throughout the book stays true to its era, many of the ideas and imagery portrayed through it were too chilling to be conceivable in those times. It may have been that because Mary’s mother was the first feminist, Mary felt it was acceptable to ‘rebel’ against society with this terrifying book. It was apparently conceived by a nightmare, and written to win a competition with friends. However, it may have been the rebellious feminist traits in her blood that made her wish for it to be published.

Mary Shelley seemed to be quite similar to Frankenstein in many ways. She was an avid reader from a young age, therefore quite smart and literate. Young Victor was evidently a bright person, as he went on to University, and developed into an extremely enthused scientist.

Many things in Shelley’s life seemed to be prefigurations to events which were to be later written in Frankenstein, as did, also, events in the novel seem to occur later to Shelley in life. In the Frankenstein novel a young girl drowns, due to the appearance of the monster. In 1822, Mary Shelley’s husband drowned. Around 1814 Shelley fell in love with a deemed ‘forbidden’ person, as did Frankenstein with Elizabeth.

This left Shelley alone, as her good friend and poet Lord Byron had also died, as had her son William. Her half sister had committed suicide in 1816. Whilst writing Frankenstein, Shelley was reading ‘Emile’ by the French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In this book Rousseau claims that men are made evil by society. They become monsters by the way they are treated. He writes ‘a man abandoned to himself in the midst of other men from birth would be the most disfigured of all’. Mary Shelley was abandoned by all the people who died in her life, including her mother, who died almost as soon as Mary was born. Her father disowned her when she married her husband, Percy. She was completely alone. If Rousseau’s theory did not apply to Shelley herself, she certainly, perhaps subconsciously, applied this theory to the character of Frankenstein.

Alike to Frankenstein, Mary Shelley’s mother died whilst Mary was still young. Frankenstein’s mother’s death traumatizes him greatly, subsequently leading to his obsession with life and death.

The similar life and personality traits between the character of Frankenstein, and Mary Shelley herself, may not have been intentional, but are certainly recognizable. This makes Frankenstein a complex character. Hence, the following arguments;

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The character of Frankenstein seems to have been written as quite an ambiguous character. Our emotive responses to him change throughout the novel; mostly on account of the changing narratives. The main emotions we seem to feel are – sympathy, anger and empathy. Overall these are fairly positive responses to the character. I shall be writing about these three topics, illustrating how Mary Shelley does this, and what the features of them are.

From the beginning of the novel we feel sympathy for Victor Frankenstein. He has lost his beloved mother, and seems frantic. As Walton is revealing ...

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