Frankenstein by Mary Shelly - So before we have even read her tale, we know that she initially intended to write it as some form of ghost story. Did Shelley achieve her goal?
In their chapter on ghosts in literature, Bennett and Royle propose that nineteenth century literature altered the widespread understanding of ghosts. The ghost now 'move[d] into one's head. The ghost is internalised: it becomes a psychological symptom, and no longer a thing that goes bump in the night...' (p. 133). Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley certainly provides evidence for this argument that nineteenth century Gothic literature became more concerned with the haunted consciousness than the haunted house (Byron 2004: Stirling University). The tale like all Gothic works is concerned with the uncanny, and if we believed the popular representation of Frankenstein, we could be fooled into thinking that it is simply about a terrifying, grotesque monster. However, is this actually what Shelley's novel is about? By paying particular attention to chapter two in volume two of Frankenstein, and using Bennett and Royle's chapter on ghosts, I will consider to what extent Frankenstein can be described as a ghost story. Before we start to look at Frankenstein itself, we should first look at the context in which it was written. As is well known, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when travelling in Geneva with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. In her preface to Frankenstein, Shelley tells the reader that 'in the evenings we crowded around a blazing wood fire,
A commentary on a passage from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein.
Yr 11 IB English: Dianna Gu 11M4 A commentary on a passage from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's "Frankenstein". The passage from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's "Frankenstein" is a warning to society that we cannot let science get too far out of hand; that knowledge entails social responsibilities. She writes in the style of the 19th Century Romantic Movement, portrayed though her long sentence structures punctuated with commas, colons and semi-colons. The syntax is often inverted from that of modern writing; word use is also different from that of modern writing. The passage is written in first person narration, which means that the reader rarely sees anything outside of the narrator, that is from Frankenstein's perspective. Hence the tone of the writing is mostly reflective and self-critical, but is frequently changing throughout the passage. The passage is very "Gothic" and explores indecisiveness, horror and pity. The passage commences "I sat one evening in my laboratory" which conveys a feeling that there is nothing unusual in his sitting there. The word "evening" is the height of the line, thus stressing the time of day. The "evening" is often associated with dying and mystery, and so a sense of murky mystery is immediately created in the passage with the "the sun had set, and the moon was just rising from the sea" which depicts a clear picture of the atmosphere. It
Frankenstein: A Romantic Novel?
Ashley Ammons Nila Dutta English 21, Section 008 February 17, 2005 Frankenstein: A Romantic Novel? What characterizes a piece of writing as a "Romantic" work? During the eighteenth century, writers began to move away from the cities and the technology to focus on the beauty of nature. The Romantic poets strayed from the typical didactic poems and began to place their focus on the reality and beauty of life. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's famous novel Frankenstein has been considered by many a Romantic novel for centuries; but should it? The graphic horror and death in this novel make some question its place in the Romantic canon. Though the death is prevalent in this novel, it should be considered "Romantic" because of its traditional themes. Frankenstein contains Romantic themes including: a reverence for nature, outcasts and neglected characters, supernatural events, and most prevalent is the identification of the Shelley her characters. Shelley's first use of Romantic themes is her fascination with nature. Not as prevalent as Wordsworth or Coleridge, her use of nature is slightly subdued. Nature does not serve an all beautiful purpose as other Romantic authors. It does, however, require reverence and awe from the characters. Shelley uses nature to show the importance of a scene in her novel. During all of the crucial scenes in this novel, the recurring
In order to perform a textual analysis of chapter 5 "Incident of the Letter" within Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde several issues need to be considered.
In order to perform a textual analysis of chapter 5 "Incident of the Letter" within Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde several issues need to be considered. Such as the concept of discourse within the narration of the chapter, the theoretical/ analytical tools of figurative language and genre. Also the meanings of the chapter need to be discussed such as the structure and language use, the broader cultural and representational issues and the chapters relationship with the rest of the novel. And lastly what broader and thematic roles it plays. Concept of Discourse "Discourses are ways of speaking associated with particular institutions and the conventions and values of those institutions." (Schirato and Yell, 2003, pg 61). Within chapter 5 there is evidence of at least three different discourses. The Homosexual discourse, the medical discourse and the legal discourse. The chapter is made up of two very distinct discourses. The first half has evidence of the medical discourse and the second half has the legal discourse. Throughout there are also hidden indications of the homosexual discourse. The medical discourse is seen very early on for the chapter starts off with Utterson being led to Dr Jekyll's medical lab by Poole where he conducted his experiments. On his way Utterson pays close attention to all he sees, noticing that the lab is set up for chemical experiments rather than
Is Dracula a text that criticises or supports religious ideas?
Is Dracula a text that criticises or supports religious ideas? Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" can simply be described as a battle between Good and Evil. Religion is used as a separation point, for the main characters of the story, to allow the reader to determine good from evil. The theme is clearly evident throughout the novel, as faith is used as protection from Dracula's evil. However, the novel does not entirely support religious beliefs, as Dracula's character, as the "Anti-Christ" seems to mock the values of Christianity. Anti-Christianity is a continuously reoccurring theme throughout Bram Stoker's Dracula. The novel portrays Anti-Christian values and beliefs, through its central character, which represents evil. Dracula, one of the main characters in the novel is used to take on the characteristics of the Anti-Christ. Stoker uses many beliefs from the Christian religion to display numerous amounts of Anti-Christian values, superstitious beliefs of the protection towards evil, and to compare and contrast the powers of God with those of Dracula. There are many ways that Bram Stoker's character Dracula can be considered the Anti-Christ, mostly because of the showing of Anti-Christian values and abuses of the Christian religion. The first example of this is in chapter one as Jonathan Harker is travelling to Castle Dracula, as he is given a crucifix from a
The novel itself is written in a frame or embedded narrative style, with the letters between Walton and his sister as the outer frame. Frankenstein's account of events.
The novel itself is written in a frame or embedded narrative style, with the letters between Walton and his sister as the outer frame. Frankenstein's account of events, as he tells the story to Walton who records the story, is an embedded frame within this and then the monster's tale as the final embedded frame at the heart of the frame structure. This has the effect of creating a multi-layered perspective and enables the reader to hear the story from the point of view of both Frankenstein and the monster, while making them aware that the accuracy of each account is questionable and bound to be biased. For example Walton clearly respects and almost idolizes Victor and is likely to embellish the facts to flatter Victor, while at the same time Victor is bound to tell the tale in a way that compliments him. Chapter five is written as an embedded narrative from Victor Frankenstein's point of view as he tells the tale to Walton. From the beginning the imagery of the setting is very gothic in that "It was a dreary night of November..." and the "...candle was nearly burnt out, when by the glimmer of the extinguished light..." Frankenstein "...saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open...". The words such as dreary and dull and the emphasis on darkness with the nearly burnt out candle, create a classic gothic setting. These images along with phrases such as "With an anxiety
Dr Jekyll cannot be considered responsible for Mr Hyde's crimes. Do you agree?
Dr Jekyll cannot be considered responsible for Mr Hyde's crimes. Do you agree? Dr Jekyll cannot be considered for Mr Hyde's crimes. Dr Jekyll has kept Mr Hyde inside himself for a very long, time and it was his decision to let him out. Mr Hyde does the things that Dr Jekyll would like to do but he doesn't because they are not allowed in the Victorian times. Mr Hyde is the evil inside of Dr Jekyll. When Mr Hyde comes out he does what Dr Jekyll is telling him to do, he does not think about the crimes he is going to commit. Dr Jekyll lets Hyde out whenever he wants to, he is responsible for letting him out but that does not mean that he is responsible for the crimes Mr Hyde commits. Stevenson is trying to portray the point that everybody has a Mr Hyde inside themselves and he is just showing one of them. Stevenson uses the techniques of that they have different handwriting, same house and same memory. Stevenson is making their appearances different but inside they are the same person. Dr Jekyll has a mask on, he doesn't let Hyde out during the day, and he lets him out during the night. He only lets him out during the night because he doesn't want society to judge him, but neither can Hyde, society can. Also when Hyde is let out at night you know something scary is going to happen as all horror films occur during night time. Everybody has a Mr Hyde inside themselves. On page 7
Of the vampire tales to date, Bram Stoker's Dracula has unquestionably become the most popular and the most critically examined.
Of the vampire tales to date, Bram Stoker's Dracula has unquestionably become the most popular and the most critically examined. It constitutes, however, the culmination of a series of nineteenth-century vampire tales that have been overshadowed by Stoker's 1897 novel. To be sure, many of the earlier tales provide little more than a collective history of the vampire lore Stoker incorporated in Dracula, but Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's little known Carmilla (1872) is the original tale to which Stoker's Dracula served as a response. In Carmilla Le Fanu chronicles the development of a vampiric relationship between two women, in which it becomes increasingly clear that the lesbian relationship between Carmilla and Laura defies the traditional structures of kinship by which men regulate the exchange of women to promote male bonding. On the contrary, Le Fanu allows Laura and Carmilla to usurp male authority and to bestow themselves on whom they please, completely excluding male participation in the exchange of women, as discussed by Claude Levi-Strauss and Gayle Rubin. Stoker later responded to Le Fanu's narrative of female empowerment by reinstating male control in the exchange of women. In effect, Dracula seeks to repossess the female body for the purposes of male pleasure and exchange, and to correct the reckless unleashing of female desire in Le Fanu's Carmilla. In Victorian
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Some of the Medical, Ethical and Legal Issues Presented by the Novel Today.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Some of the Medical, Ethical and Legal Issues Presented by the Novel Today Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay To mould me man? Did I solicit thee From darkness to promote me? - Paradise Lost1 A Brief Synopsis of Frankenstein Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus as Mary Shelley subtitled it, was first published in 1818. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a student in anatomy and physiology. He becomes set on finding the source of life, both for the personal acclaim it will bring him but also, he claims, to better the human race. Frankenstein secretly collected the body parts from which to build his creation, he then infused the creature with "the spark of being".2 Upon the creature's animation Frankenstein's triumph turned to terror, and he ran away and abandoned his hideous 'child'. We later learn that, despite his horrible appearance, the creature possessed an intelligence and benevolence that exceeded that of any of his human counterparts. Contextual Similarities Between 1818 and 2004 Shelley was writing during the Enlightenment, a movement which aimed to free the human race from superstition and the unexplainable through science. This faith in the power of science is reflected in the words of Victor Frankenstein's professor: "They [the scientists] have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the