MM Sept 17

Today's class began the discussions on the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. Frankenstein is an Epistolary- meaning that the novel is often seen through the form of letters, a layout very popular during the eighteenth century. The class spent the majority of the period discussing the author's background history and what might have caused her to write the novel that she did. Mary Shelley was born into a highly intellectual and well off family in 1797 (this having much to do with the fact that she wrote Frankenstein at only age eighteen.) Shelley's father, William Godwin (1756-1836), was one of the forefathers of Anarchist ideas and was known for his work "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice" in 1791. Much of his work was influenced by historical events including the United States gaining independence in 1776 as well as the French Revolution in 1789. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) was the first activist of women's rights to be documented, one of the first founders of a sign of early feminism in society. Her main thesis was that women were not naturally inferior to men but appeared only to be because they lacked the education that men received at the time. We learned that Mary Wollstonecraft died while giving birth to Mary Shelley, which we later realized had influence on the motive of Shelley's writing of Frankenstein. The next major discussion in class was on the influences of Mary Shelley's life on the writing of Frankenstein. As mentioned earlier, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley's mother, died eleven days after the childbirth of Shelley. Mary Shelley became romantically involved with the poet Percy Shelley at a young age, a man who was already married. She became pregnant with his child but had a miscarriage, followed by times of hard debt and ostracism. Upon Percy Shelley's first wife committing suicide, the two became married. The death of her mother from childbirth, her own miscarried child, and the suicide of her lover's first wife all attributed to her influences of writing Frankenstein. Another influence of Frankenstein was the literature of the time. Romanticism idealizes the over reacher who breaks through human limitations to defy rules of society and infringe the realm of God. This is evident in the novel from the doctor's desire to create life from the dead, something which humans do not have the power to do. Shelley was part of a group called the Romantic Circle with her husband, George Gordon, Lord Byron, and John Polidori. A challenge was made to see who could write the best Gothic style story, from which Frankenstein derived. The Gothic Style impressed the idea that fantasy dominated over reality, the strange over the commonplace. There was one intent: to scare. DISCUSSION ONE Why does Victor Frankenstein want to create new life? What are his expectations? Is he a mad scientist, or can we sympathize with him? To what extent does Victor fulfill the Romantic notion of the heroic rebel/over reacher? Why does he want to create new life: He's lost life, to bring back his lost ones (mother), he is bitter with God for taking life, so he wants to be able to do the same, sets himself up as an alternative to God. What are his expectations/why does he use the methods he takes: by creating Frankenstein as his son instead of producing offspring with Elizabeth, he avoids the natural process of courtship, sex, and childhood. He creates a full-grown man without the dangers of childbirth. Why we can sympathize with him: He is inspired by science and how it is constantly changing, he has the hope that one day science will be the answers to all problems, Why is he a mad scientist: He takes on the role of God in his own eyes by trying to bring life to the dead, "A new species would bless me as its creator and source," Victor starts as a normal scientist but becomes obsessed and loses track of normalcy, a displacement of blame. DISCUSSION TWO Why does Victor reject his creation? Who do you sympathize with: Victor, or the monster Frankenstein? Sympathy for Victor: "What have I done...” shows remorse, two years of work for nothing, got so caught up in his work he didn't realize that it spun out of control. He sees himself IN the monster (sunken eyes, etc). Compared to Grendel who is inherently evil, Victor wants to succeed in his work but instead ends up creating the 'evil' of the monster Frankenstein. Sympathy for Frankenstein: rejected by his father figure (Victor), may have not wanted to be brought into the world but now that he is here he is unwanted. 	The class ended with the idea that humans are scared that their creator will disown them, the created.