In What Ways Is The Creation Episode In Frankenstein Important?

Beulah-Rose Priddy 2 THA In what ways is the Creation episode in Frankenstein important The Creation episode is naturally narrated solely by Frankenstein and describes the zenith of all of Frankenstein’s work, the “Immaculate conception” of the “Creature” and ironically his revolted reaction to his handiwork. The episode gives insight into the nature of the natural order within the novel as well as into the workings of Frankenstein’s mind. The creation episode in Frankenstein is important because it profoundly emphasises how imprudent one would be to toy with nature. Frankenstein in all his blinded exuberance does not realise till much later that his desire to circumvent the female body as the source of life only boomerangs and instigates some very calamitous tribulations for him. Moreover his appalled and deleterious response to his actions act as symptoms to others who may want to overextend into the scientific field. Within the creation episode there is a resilient contrast : between Frankenstein’s self- inflated view of himself and what he actually is like. There is a period in time when Frankenstein speaks of the “power in his hand” and refers to himself as a “creator”, in describing himself so highly Frankenstein himself inadvertently shows just how supercilious he is. “ I doubted not that I should ultimately succeed” shows how confident

  • Word count: 799
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Consider the ways in which Mary Shelley uses different Gothic settings to contribute to the gothic effects of the novel

Neema Daniel 13AXS Consider the ways in which Mary Shelley uses different Gothic settings to contribute to the gothic effects of the novel Settings are central in generating a mood or atmosphere and even symbolising literary themes. Through Shelley’s presentation of extreme settings like the Arctic and Mont Blanc, in Switzerland, the Gothic effect of isolation is introduced; even simple domestic scenes like the De Lacy’s home can reveal the Gothic notion of dichotomy between the normal and the abnormal. Yet arguably Shelley intertwines Romantic values in her depiction of settings which can intelligently coincide with the Gothic genre, exploring notions of discovery, awe and pursing higher aspirations, but also exploring their futility, which in turn contributes to the Gothic. Shelley’s portrayal of the barren Arctic wasteland in Walton’s letters, paralleling to the main setting in Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient mariner, cleverly contributes to the concepts of discovery and its dangers. The “seat of frost and desolation” presents itself as not only a source of ‘delight’ but as a perilous path to make man “ascertain the secret of the magnet”. Clearly the reader is introduced to the power of the sublime, a force that makes man gape in wonder at the beauty of nature. Yet this does not fully qualify a Gothic criteria fully in that discovery pertains to

  • Word count: 1372
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Through Victors narrative in Volume 1, what social comments about parentage and responsibility is Shelley making?

Through Victor’s narrative in Volume 1, what social comments about parentage and responsibility is Shelly making? Victor’s narrative within volume one provides indication of the suggestively flawed upbringing by his parents that serves to contribute to his later extreme egotism in his quest to defy nature. Reminiscent of Shelly’s own childhood, Victor creates the monster that he fatally chooses to abandon, seized by the fear of his creation’s ‘abhorrent’ features. Shelly comments Victor’s responsibility as a ‘parent’ to the monster, while also noting the later implications of Victor choosing to ultimately abandon the creature as it returns to haunt him. Victor ultimately bears the brunt of his excessive thirst for knowledge, in which he ultimately usurps the role of women and God in his creation. Initially the reader is presented with Shelly’s social comments on the two extremes of parenting; unlike her own parents, Frankenstein’s own parents are surprisingly amicable in feeling sympathy for the orphan Elizabeth who they later choose to adopt. Elizabeth is simply presented to Victor by his mother as ‘a pretty present’ for him to keep, and we see the result of this in Victor’s possessive, and possibly obsessive nature: ‘My more than sister, since till death she was to be mine only’. This notion of Victor’s upbringing is further

  • Word count: 1683
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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