Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper
Natalie Maio Professor Levinei
English 153 April 27, 1998
PARALLELS BETWEEN MARY SHELLEY and FRANKENSTEIN
It is clearly evident that there are many parallels between the novel Frankenstein and the life of its author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Throughout her life, Shelley experienced many deaths of loved ones. These tragedies led her to create a monster story that expressed her psychological state of mind. From researching biographical texts of Shelley, I learned that the deaths of loved ones that Mary Shelley experienced had a significant influence on the plot of Frankenstein.
Mary Shelley was born into a family that contained notable writers, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft. These two writers influenced Mary Shelley?s decision to become a writer. One night as Shelley was going to sleep, she began thinking of a horror story. Before she realized it, pages and pages of words were flowing and soon enough, Frankenstein was created. Without realizing it, Shelley was incorporating events that were taking place in her life to the story that she was writing.
Mary Wollstonecraft became very sick when Shelley was born. She had suffered due to complications during childbirth. Everything happened all at once and two weeks after she gave birth, Mary Wollstonecraft died. Mary Shelley was the cause of the death of her mother. Never would she be able to get close and bond with her mother the way mothers and daughters
do. She realized that she had to stay strong and accept what life had to offer her. ?Though she had struggled to reject that instinctive guilt, carefully schooled as she had been in logic throughout her thirteen years by her renowned philosopher father, the thought continued to haunt her? (Leighton 3). Thoughts of her mother would always be with her, but life had to go on. There was no better way for Shelley to keep the spirit of her mother alive then by following in her mother?s footsteps and becoming a writer. Now she would be able to be as expressive as she wanted and release all her grieves and emotions.
The way Shelley?s mother died is quite similar to the way Frankenstein?s mother died. While his mother was taking care of Elizabeth, his ?sister,? from scarlet fever, she became very sick and simultaneously died. Here, Elizabeth feels that she is the one responsible for her mother?s death. If she had insisted that her mother stay away from her while she was sick, she would have still been alive. Elizabeth and Victor had to accept what happened and move on with their lives. ?My mother was dead, but we had still duties which we ought to perform; we must continue our course with the rest and learn to think ourselves fortunate whilst one remains whom the spoiler has not seized? (Shelley 43). They would both always feel the pain and sorrow of the loss of their mother, but they knew that going on with life and doing well for themselves would make their mother both happy and proud.
When Mary Shelley gave birth to a boy, she decided to name it William in honor of her father. After two years of happiness, little William became seriously ill and died. This was the most traumatic thing Shelley had to encounter. It was hard enough having a mother die, now it was her son. Life did not seem to have much meaning to her anymore. ?The world will never be to me again as it was ? there was a life and freshness in it that is lost to me?I ought to have died on the 7th of June last? (Walling 19). This was a very upsetting and chaotic time for Shelley. She could not come to any realizations as to why her baby was taken away from her.
It seemed very ironic that Shelley named Frankenstein?s little brother William, especially since William dies. Frankenstein could not
understand the real reason as to why this happened to William. Was he the cause? No matter what the implications were, Frankenstein knew that Justine, his cousin, could not kill her own family member. Questions were left unanswered and things were always a mystery to Frankenstein.
As Shelley was growing up, she had a lot of step/half brothers and sisters from different marriages. She was not able to get very close to them because she was always moving around and living in different places. One significant half-sister that Shelley remained close with was Fanny Imlay. She was four years old when their mother had died and as she and Shelley were growing up, Fanny would talk about Mary Wollstonecraft and tell her everything she remembered about her. Shelley remained close to Fanny throughout all her years of writing and during her marriage to Percy Shelley. Just as everything seemed good, Shelley receives a letter from Fanny saying her final good-bye; she had committed suicide. Shelley was devastated and blamed herself. ?Mary was tormented by the thought that if she had not been so wrapped up in her own affairs, she might have sensed Fanny?s despair and somehow helped her overcome it? (Leighton 84). Now Shelley felt that she was responsible for two deaths, her mother and her sister.
Victor Frankenstein created a monster through his scientific genius. The creation was a representation of the life that Victor desired to live until it started overpowering Frankenstein?s life and destroying it. The creature is very sensitive and when it is told how ugly and disgusting it is, anything could happen. One day, Frankenstein?s little brother William saw the monster and was scared. William told the monster how ugly he was too. Without any warning, the creature approached William and killed him. At first, Frankenstein had no idea who had done this to William; but he knew that his cousin Justine was falsely accused . The death of William broke Frankenstein?s heart; he loved the little boy so much. William was taken away from Frankenstein the way his mother was and again, he had no control over it.
When the monster began controlling Frankenstein?s life and making demands, Frankenstein knew something was wrong. Frankenstein would not create a mate for the monster so it promised to put revenge on him. Sure enough, on the night of Frankenstein?s wedding to Elizabeth, the monster raped her and killed her, leaving Frankenstein all alone with no one to love. Now he realized that the monster killed little William. This was so overwhelming for Frankenstein. He felt that he was the cause of these two deaths. If he had never created this monster, his brother William and his future wife would be alive and well. Frankenstein began to breakdown and was self-destructing. How was he going to live with himself knowing that he caused these deaths?
Frankenstein?s attitude is very similar to that of Shelley. She feels utterly responsible for two deaths as well, her mother and her half-sister. She regrets being born so that her mother could have lived a long, happy life and if she was not so involved with her career and love life, she would have been able to save Fanny?s life. Shelley did not make the best decisions but she had to come to the realizations that things happen in life that nobody has control over.
Dealing with the death of loved ones is probably the hardest thing that a person has to go through and when tragedy occurs time after time, it is not easy to gain back hope. Although Frankenstein is not an autobiography of Mary Shelley?s life, all of the incidents of death in the novel have shown to have some similarities to her life. Frankenstein experienced death and overcame death the same way that Mary Shelley did. Having an author resemble its character allows the reader to get a true insight on the life of the author. It also helps the reader understand why the author chooses certain characters and why certain actions take place.
Другие работы по теме:
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper Philip HwangPer 1
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Philip Hwang Per 1 Mc Cracken 9/5/00 Summer Reading Drearier enough it all began with a choice to chose what was to be read this summer. Many book to select from, yet one with a magical tone to it caught my eye, Mary Shelley?s Frankenstein. Reading it gave a 2nd person point of view, interchanging with Dr.
Why Viewers Have Compassion For Frankenstein Essay
, Research Paper Because each person reacts to differences in different ways it is a difficult subject to explain. In my opinion the films “Frankenstein” and “Edward Scissorhands” both mirror how society as a whole reacts to differences.
God Makes All Things Good Man Meddles
? With Them And They Become Evil?. Show How Frankenstein Illus Essay, Research Paper Mary Shelley wrote the novel Frankenstein in the early part of the nineteenth century.? Frankenstein has been considered as possibly
Frankenstein 4 Essay Research Paper Throughout the
Frankenstein 4 Essay, Research Paper Throughout the course of Frankenstein, the acquisition of knowledge is one of the most important themes in the novel. In this classic Romantic Novel, knowledge comes in many forms and is used in many ways. Knowledge can be credited with saving someone s life, or it can be the justification for ending another s.
Frankenstein 2 Essay Research Paper Frankenstein
Frankenstein 2 Essay, Research Paper Frankenstein’s Creation and Rejection of the Creature As the reader reads farther into the story Frankenstein, the reader learns more about Victor Frankenstein and his creature that he hopes to create. The reader understands why he wants to create his creature and why after he creates it, he rejects it.
Frankenstein Reanimation Essay Research Paper Frankenstein ReanimationIn
Frankenstein: Reanimation Essay, Research Paper Frankenstein: Reanimation In the story Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a mad scientist named Victor Frankenstein is intrested in natural philosophy. One day when Victor was fifteen, he saw lightning strike an oak tree, and blast the oak tree in half, leaving nothing but a stump in its place.
Frankenstein Themes Still Present In Today
’s Society Essay, Research Paper Many of the themes of Frankenstein relate to the life and times of today. Classics such as Frankenstein contain many of the qualities of a timeless book, because people today can still relate with the same issues and problems as the people during Frankenstein’s time. I believe the reason Frankenstein has remained a classic is because so many of the themes still relate to the times of today.
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper The theme of
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper The theme of Mary Shelley s Frankenstein is when you play God it will always come back to plague you. Frankenstein is a creature created from dead flesh sewn together like a jigsaw puzzle of human parts. Victor Frankenstein is the mastermind behind the creation and becomes haunted with the unthinkable of what nature can produce.
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper Life is full
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Life is full of choices; however a ?right? choice made by one may seem barbaric to another. In Mary Shelly?s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein the protagonist, struggles in making a decision. He must determine which situation concerning himself, his family, and the world is morally correct.
Frankenstein Versus Prometheus Essay Research Paper Frankenstein
Frankenstein Versus Prometheus Essay, Research Paper Frankenstein Versus Prometheus What do a god and a crazy doctor have in common? Nothing right! Wrong! In the stories Prometheus and Frankenstein the protagonists are very alike in many ways. They both tried to play god, steal, and they both get punished for what they did.
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper Mary Shelley 192ppFrankenstein
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Mary Shelley 192pp. Frankenstein Copyright1957 Almat Publishing Pyramid Books The conflict in the story Frankenstein is self vs. another. Victor Frankenstein is a man interested in chemistry, who alters dead flesh therefore creating a superhuman being of rotted corpses.
FRANKY Essay Research Paper Main Theme Mary
FRANKY Essay, Research Paper Main Theme Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, gains increasing significance in the modern world with its relevant theme of “man playing God.” Creation
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper The story of
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is about a man who createdsomething that messes with nature, and nature came back to mess with himbecause nature is more powerful than man. Victor Frankenstein was very interested in natural philosophy andchemistry and basically tried to play G-d by creating life.
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper Reading Response on
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Reading Response on Frankenstein When reading Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, I found myself having a hard time understanding it. I also found it hard to stay motivated to read it. I was really disturbed by the thought of bring someone back in the way Victor did. As being one of the people who’d lost a loved one, it was hard to imagine them coming back in the way the novel described.
Mary ShellyS Frankenstein Essay Research Paper The
Mary Shelly?S Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper The Monster’s Human Nature In the Christian religion, I was taught that if a man who has never heard or learned of God commits a sin, this man goes to hell. Who was there to tell this man that what he did was a sin and he is going to hell to pay for this? Because the Bible says God created us with the ability to reason, this man has to figure ut right and wrong on his own.
This Is An English Book Report On
“Frankenstein” Essay, Research Paper The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is about a man who created something that messes with nature, and nature came back to mess with him
Comparison Of Mary Shelly
’s Frankenstein To Movies And TV Show’s Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Comparison Of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein to Movies and TV Show’s Frankenstein
Frankenstein By Mary Shelley 1797
– 1851) Essay, Research Paper Mary Shelley wrote this novel on a dare at the age of nineteen. While she and her husband (the renowned poet Percy Bysshe Shelley) were vacationing with Lord Byron and others in the Alps
Frankenstein NovelVideo Assignment Essay Research Paper FRANKENSTEINFrankenstein
Frankenstein Novel/Video Assignment Essay, Research Paper FRANKENSTEIN Frankenstein is a book about how mans’ attempt to become perfect/create perfection. In a religious perspective this is what will happen if you try to create life without GOD but in my perspective this is what will happen when you try to understand the unknown with an uneducated mind.
Frankenstien
–Playing God Essay, Research Paper The theme of Mary Shelley?s Frankenstein is when you play God it will always come back to plague you. Frankenstein is a creature created from dead flesh sewn together like a jigsaw puzzle of human parts. Victor Frankenstein is the mastermind behind the creation and becomes haunted with the unthinkable of what nature can produce.
Untitled Essay Research Paper FrankensteinFrankenstein
Untitled Essay, Research Paper FrankensteinFrankenstein Morality. It has been questioned by people, honored by people and revered since the beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a matter of opinion. It was Dr.Victor Frankenstein’s opinion that it was alright to create a “monster”.
Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay Research Paper Mary
Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Mary Shelly`s Frankenstein The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is about a man who created something that messes with nature, and nature came back to mess with him because nature is more powerful than man. Victor Frankenstein was very interested in natural philosophy and chemistry and basically tried to play Gud by creating life.
The Real Monster Victor Frankenstein Essay
, Research Paper The Real Monster, victor frankenstein Mary Shelley s narrative, Frankenstein is the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.(52) This was the time and the place in which the creature came to life.
Frankenstein Essay Research Paper FRANKENSTEINMary Shellys Frankenstein
Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper FRANKENSTEIN Mary Shelly?s Frankenstein, directed by Francis Ford Copola, is a movie about a creature named Frankenstein that is created from various body parts. The creature turns into a monster when the creator, Dr. Frankenstein, rejects him. The director guides us through the story of Frankenstein?s quest for knowledge, and his creatures search for his “father”.
Evolution Of Frankenstein Essay Research Paper Frankenstein
Evolution Of Frankenstein Essay, Research Paper Frankenstein s Evolution In the novel, Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, the major character, Victor Frankenstein, evolves synonymously with the character of his monster. The evolution of Victor from a man of good to a man of evil leads to his isolation and eventual destruction.
Analysis Of Frankenstien Essay Research Paper Who
Analysis Of Frankenstien Essay, Research Paper Who Is The Real Monster Through out the novel we are under the assumption that the demon in the novel is the man who is disfigured and hideous on the outside. While we view Victor Frankenstein as the handsome and caring victim, even though sometimes a monster can not be seen but heard.
Human Nature Essay Research Paper Shawn Gullberg
Human Nature Essay, Research Paper Shawn Gullberg Dr. Katz 4-01-01 Human Nature Man is constantly attempting to be better, faster, stronger, and smarter. This has been occurring for many years and has become human nature to strive forward and advance. It is uncommon for an individual to be reasonable and make the decision to stay within his limits.