Frankenstein Test

Romanticism

a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the late 18th century with an emphasis on the imagination and emotions

"Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from his door with contumely? Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the savior of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings! I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on" (240).

-Abortion- mother doesn't want the child and they terminate the child -Creature is a living abortion- unwanted mistake -Abortions are bloody and violent and ugly- that is how he understands himself to be -It is society's fault -Society can be harsh on people- why do we only punish certain people? -Creature wasn't evil until people made him be evil

Why is Satan "the fitter emblem of my condition" (139)?

-Biblical allusion - filled with envy - creature is ultimately jealous because he desires the love of higher human beings -Pride is the sin that all other sins are born from -Characterize him as envious, jealous of other's happiness and companionship -Doesn't think he is a good person when he is jealous. Trying so hard to be good/what he thinks he should be -Wretched appearance connects to being marked by the devil -He is more like Satan not because of his appearance, but because of his jealousy. more like Satan because he doesn't think he is a good person because of his jealousy -Envy is one of the seven deadly sins, pride is the basis for all other sins, pride, one of man's hubris, interconnection between sins and creation of the creature.

"I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers - their grace, beauty, and delicate complexions; but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool! At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification" (121).

-Characterize him as being extremely self-conscious ----Constantly compares himself to other people, especially in terms of beauty -Afraid of what people think of him -Sees the beauty of mankind that contrasts with his deformities- just wants to be accepted -Provokes emotion from readers who see the delicate side of Frankenstein- just wants to be loved and accepted -Diction- "bitterest" "monster" "mortification" "despondence"- negative connotations, shows how this outlook and perception of the world was affected by his rejection ----despondence connotes hopelessness -Thematic development of the hopelessness of the creature - his rejection -Convinced himself that he is the monster that he is- he is judging based on appearance just like the humans -He is "mortified"- embarrassed by his looks but he can't fix it -Romanticism- the extremes- shown through diction

"When I looked around, I saw and heard of none like me. Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?" (128).

-Characterizes him as being extremely isolated and lonely -Diction- "blot"- plain, unnoticeable, indistinguishable, he feels worthless, dehumanizes himself. A blot has no effect on society, no unique purpose -Blot, metaphor with a negative connotation- all due to a lack of companionship

"Seek happiness in tranquility and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries" (236).

-Choose happiness -Shelley telling us thematically to choose happiness over success -Warning us of the dangers of ambition and knowledge -"Tranquility"- peace -Most people are not happy with a tranquil life

"This was then the reward of my benevolence! I had saved a human being from destruction, and as a recompense I now writhed under the miserable pain of a wound which shattered the flesh and bone. The feelings of kindness and gentleness which I had entertained but a few moments before gave place to hellish rage and gnashing of teeth. Inflamed by pain, I vowed eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind" (151-152).

-Context: Creature saves the girl from drowning in the river, the man who was with her thought creature was monster, creature chased them and got shot -Creature thought that he could figure out why he was rejected by mankind ----Also wanted to know if girl was okay -Creature loses innocence -Violence: Piercing wound by a man made object that hits him, kinda like how mankind hurt him -The diction of hellish- negative connotation and an extreme -First time where there is monster like behavior from the monster- until this point, Frankenstein was acting like a monster before the monster was acting like a monster -Inflamed- Prometheus bringing flame -Theme statement: wanting to get back ar mankind for mankind rejecting him

"My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature; the past was blotted from my memory, the present was tranquil, and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of joy" (123).

-Context: The spring where he hopes to learn what the family is thinking and feeling ----Yearns for knowledge of these emotions -Wants to learn how to read to understand the emotions and actions of the villagers- wants to be able to connect with them and understand their emotions -Imagery- visual image of beautiful and peaceful nature- makes a positive attitude -Spring is also new awakenings- that is when he visits the family and tries to win them over -Positive connotation of the passage, despondency to joy. Romantics followed the extremes. -The creature feels good when in nature as Frankenstein does -looks like a monster, acting like a human (feels better in nature like how Walton does)

"...sometimes he himself, who feared that if I lost all trace of him I should despair and die, left some mark to guide me" (221).

-Creature wants a connection with someone- companionship -The creature had to kill Victor's family to get his attention -Desire to companionship is still there -Frankenstein needs this relationship to continue following him

"Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust? God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow devils, to admire and encourage him, but I alone am solitary and abhorred" (140).

-Demonstrating Victor Frankenstein's inner ugliness -Biblical allusion -Reinforces idea that Victor did not make him look good on purpose\ -Filthy version of the human form- dehumizes him -Solitary and abhorred- "Why am I alone?" "Why do they hate me?"- this is because Victor Frankenstein is not God, doesn't know how to do this in a perfect way ----when man tries to be God this is what happens -Not accepted based on the way he looks

"I saw at the open window a figure the most hideous and abhorred. A grin was on the face of the monster; he seemed to jeer, as with his fiendish finger he pointed towards the corpse of my wife" (213).

-Duality of man- evil side. Diction- "jeer"- like making a joke out of killing Frankenstein's wife -Making sure Frankenstein knows that the creature is the one who kills his wife -We see the monster asking like a monster but reminded of how human it is- revenge, wanting others to hurt when you hurt -"Fiendish finger"- when he acts in such evil ways, it really is like a human -External conflict- Frankenstein vs. the creature

"...until from the midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me - a light so brilliant and wondrous, yet so simple that while I became dizzy with the immensity of the prospect which it illustrated, I was surprised that among so many men of genius who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret" (52).

-Frankenstein sounds like Walton- he wants glory and fame -God is the only one who is supposed to know the secrets of creation. Like prometheus wanting to be like god --when people try to be god, bad things happen -When thinking about this, it made him dizzy- physically ill because of mental and physical anguish of thinking about being like god

"Oh! When will my guiding spirit, in conducting me to the demon, allow me the rest I so much desire; or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, swear to me, Walton, that he shall not escape, that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death. And do I dare to ask of you to undertake my pilgrimage, to endure the hardships that I have undergone? No, I am not so selfish. Yet, when I am dead, if he should appear, if the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live..." (226-227).

-Frankenstein talking to Walton about killing the creature if he comes into contact with him -Is this noble or base?- noble= saving mankind. base=getting revenge because creature killed his family -Humans are complex, you can be motivated by nobility and selfish at the same time

Throughout the whole novel, but especially this section of the text, there is a constant back and forth between life and death or joy and despair. Offer some examples of this.

-Frankenstein trying to appreciate the beauty of nature but is unable to because he is constantly reminded of his unfortunate past miseries -Beauty in nature setting but still eternal conflict

"Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds. My spirit will sleep in peace, or if it thinks, it will surely think thus. Farewell" (241).

-Going to be extinct- Prometheus suffered and he is died -Now he is going to die so the burning will be over -The mistake can end

"I cannot pretend to describe what I then felt. I had before experienced sensations of horror, and I have endeavored to bestow upon them adequate expressions, but words cannot convey an idea of the heart-sickening despair that I then endured" (89).

-He has felt horror before and could express it but now he can't even describe the words to Walton to describe the torture he felt after Justine was condemned because of his actions -characterizes Frankenstein- says "I" a lot

"Sometimes I endeavored to gain from Frankenstein the particulars of his creature's formation, but on this point he was impenetrable" (227-228).

-Humans are stupid- our curiosity pushes us but we still desire for knowledge -Frankenstein says knowledge will destroy you but Walton still wants to know

" 'Do not despair. To be friendless is indeed to be unfortunate, but the hearts of men, when unprejudiced by any obvious self-interest, are full of brotherly love and charity. Rely, therefore, on your hopes; and if these friends are good and amiable, do not despair'" (144).

-Irony: Humans are full of brotherly love, supposed to be the guy who can see however humans in the novel are almost always doing things in self interest. -Ironic- his friends are the cottagers; they aren't amiable by blind man's own standards -Humans are good and because the creature was judged based on appearance alone he became evil -Dramatic irony- we know he is talking about his family but the blind man does not -Context: Having a nice conversation with Mr. DeLacey, then his children got home and attacked the creature. -De Lacey's are prejudice- thrown him out of their home

"When I thought of him I gnashed my teeth, my eyes became inflamed, and I ardently wished to extinguish that life which I had so thoughtlessly bestowed. When I reflected on his crimes and malice, my hatred and revenge burst all bounds of moderation. I would have made a pilgrimage to the highest peak of the Andes, could I when there have precipitated him to their base. I wished to see him again, that I might wreak the utmost extent of abhorrence on his head and avenge the deaths of William and Justine" (96).

-calling for revenge of the monster -geography (FOSTER)- lead him up to the mountain and kill him (high landscape is bad because it's hard to breathe up there) -do we accept that the monster murdering person = Frankenstein murdering monster

"Oh what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind when it has once seized on it like a lichen on the rock. I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and feeling, but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain and that was death - a state which I feared yet did not understand" (129).

-Lichen- Moss, comes from cyanobacteria. Sets the stage for more complex things to grow, similar to knowledge however knowledge also is dangerous -Simile shows knowledge being like a lichen on a rock -Knowledge is alive- doesn't want that knowledge -Knowledge deteriorates his mind and corrupts his personality -Knowledge has duality- there are things you wish you didn't know (ignorance is bliss) -Parallel to Victor Frankenstein- Victor has expressed that knowledge can be controlling and made him crazy

Themes

-Man should not play god by crossing boundaries in science -Hatred is a learned behavior -Knowledge/ambition/determination is dangerous -People judge others differently based on their appearance -There is monstrous behave within humanity -Mankind longs for purpose and companionship -Humans don't heed the warnings they are given and instead follow their innate curiosity that overpowers the rationality of things

"Oh! Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not. Do not return to your families with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows. Return as heroes who have fought and conquered and who know not what it is to turn their back on the foe" (233).

-Manipulative behavior -Thinks he is convinces them to be brave but is he convincing them to be dumb -Mocking human pride- stupid choices we make to look a certain way -They would rather die than take a hit to their ego

Is Frankenstein a tragic hero?

-Not a tragic hero- too much glory-seeking and too many mistakes -Has high place in society- educated, well-respected, comes from good family -Fatal flaw- his desire for glory, hubris -Is he heroic or not?- he did not save anyone -One could argue that he saves mankind by chasing the creature an wears the creature down so that he can not harm anyone else

"Shall each man...find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and scorn. Man! You may hate, but beware! Your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness forever. Are you to be happy while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness?" (182).

-One Story- nature of humanity to want to find a partner -Desire for companionship -He is bad because of what happened to him- rejected by society -Man- he is not god, he is the creator -nature of humanity to take revenge

"What chiefly struck me was the gentle manners of these people, and I longed to join them, but dared not. I remembered too well the treatment I had suffered the night before from the barbarous villagers, and resolved, whatever course of conduct I might hereafter think it right to pursue, that for the present I would remain quietly in my hovel, watching and endeavouring to discover the motives which influenced their actions" (117).

-One story (FOSTER)- observing the nature of humans from afar -Feelings of love and horror expressed towards the creature and he is yet to comprehend emotion as a whole -Humans are inherently good theme is demonstrated through the goodness of the creature being corrupted by the villagers -The villagers are the ones that are barbarians- the monsters -He is afraid, not plotting to hurt anyone, needs to figure out why they acted that way towards them (doesn't know what he looks like yet)- he is smart ---staying in the cottage to figure out why the people reacted to him in that manner

"Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous and magnificent, yet so vicious and base?" (127).

-One story (FOSTER): Duality of mankind- can be so genuine and kind while so evil ----the story of how mankind can be born good and then can become evil, sharing components of both sides of personality -Characterization of Creature as a being of increased intelligence - in about a year he learns and understands so much about mankind -Learns complex things in a year, shows magnificence of character -The answer to this question is yes

"You throw a torch into a pile of buildings, and when they are consumed you sit among the ruins and lament the fall. Hypocritical fiend!" (239).

-Prometheus -Frankenstein "lit the torch"- he created him. He gives the creature the ability to light the world on fire -Walton is mad that the creature is upset that Frankenstein is dead- it is his fault

"'That is also my victim!' he exclaimed. 'In his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close! Oh, Frankenstein! Generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst'" (237).

-The creature wouldn't kill Frankenstein because he sees him as a companion- will have nothing if Frankenstein dies -This quote shows us that our monster feels remorse and regret for his actions -He is calling Frankenstein generous and self-devoted - irony -Something that humans do- praise people once they are dead -Only thing making him a monster is the way he looks -He wants forgiveness- complexity of the creature -He is at fault for destroying Frankenstein because he killed Frankenstein's family

How is Frankenstein characterized in the time after his creature is created and then disappears? How does Shelley incorporate some "Romantic" notions into her characterization of Victor?

-physically ill after- torturing himself -brought out of the physical pain by introducing him to nature (romantic notion), letting the environment make him feel better

"One of the best of these I entered, but I had hardly placed my foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The whole village was roused; some fled, some attacked me, until, grievously bruised by stones and many other kinds of missile weapons, I escaped to the open country and fearfully took refuge in a low hovel, quite bare, and making a wretched appearance after the palaces I had behold in the village" (112).

-There is visual imagery, instead of just walking in, he describes a vicious attack by the villagers -Geography Matters (FOSTER): he runs to open ground which symbolizes freedom of choice -Characterizes him as wanting acceptance- isn't able to attain it because of his appearance -A foot in is significant because it characterizes people at the time, a simple moment equals a monstrous reaction -The need to flee is in direct contrast to what a village symbolizes-civilization, duality of human nature -in civilization's eyes- if you look different than most people, you must be a monster- very basic idea. That in itself is monstrous behavior (mankind are the real monsters rather than the creature) ---not trying to be mean- actually have fear guiding their actions ---the creature just wants to be accepted- longing for companionship like Walton

"He raised her and smiled with such kindness and affection that I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature; they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food, and I withdrew from the window, unable to bear these emotions" (114).

-Tone- wistful, bitter ---It's a beautiful thing that you're seeing, however he's not taking part of it ---He's not treated this way by anyone, not even his creator -Confused on how such happiness can exist, but not for him -Showing him what love actually love likes- he is watching love play out in front of him -All he knows is that he has no love, unable to bear these emotions -Romantic moment-seeing something emotional between two people and you have to look away Demonstrating human emotions -Duality that love is beautiful but can be painful when you lack it

"What a glorious creature he must have been in the days of his prosperity, when he is thus noble and godlike in ruin! He seems to feel his own worth and the greatness of his fall" (229).

-Tragic hero- used to be great but now declined. "Glorious"- Walton wants glory, sees Frankenstein as one with glory and knowledge that he also wants -Tragic hero makes a mistake and recognizes it

For this purpose I will preserve my life; to execute this dear revenge will I again behold the sun and tread the green herbage of earth, which otherwise should vanish from my eyes forever...Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me" (220). What then, is human?

-Victor is driven by the revenge -Ironic because the creature is saying this too -Frankenstein sounds like the real monster -Saying he is only alive to get this revenge on the creature -Frankenstein defying the bounds of what man should be- trying to be a god

"In my joy I thrust my hand into the live embers, but quickly drew it out again with a cry of pain. How strange, I thought, that the same cause should produce such opposite effects!" (110-111).

-Visual and tactical imagery - see the fire - helps to imagine pain -Shows irony - first experiences the fire -warms him but as he gets closer it hurts him -Interaction with the cottagers - first had good experience with cottagers but then as he got closer to them they rejected him which hurt him -People tend to judge someone based on their appearance before getting to know them -He touching the fire because it intrigues him - like a child - until the child touches the stove or the fire, they don't understand what you mean -Human nature- know you shouldn't do it but curious -Duality- beauty (like a fire) can destroy just like the beauty of humans being destructive

"From this time a new spirit of life animated the decaying frame of the stranger" (23). Why?

-Walton told the man how he saw the other man on the sledge before -animation: bringing Frankenstein back, creating life out of death (ROMANTICISM) -Victor Frankenstein is animated again when he thinks about the one thing floating out there (word choice- animated)

"How can you, who long for the love and sympathy of man, persevere in this exile? You will return and again seek their kindness, and you will meet with their detestation; your evil passions will be renewed, and you will then have a companion to aid you in the task of destruction. This may not be; cease to argue the point, for I cannot consent" (158).

-When we are angry at someone, we want to get back at them -Tragic hero- trying to do the right thing

Characteristics of Prometheus

-a Titan -more human than God -wants to give the humans fire because he sympathizes with them because he's like them. -thinks they can use the fire to help them survive.

"...you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine" (11).

-characterizes Walton as egotistical -some prothmethian-like characteristics -need for fame and glory -diction: "secret"- secrets are good for a reason, we aren't supposed to know secrets, when we know them, they can change things in a negative way. "secret of the magnet" -trying to find faster passage to the new world so he doesn't have to go all around -he's a scientific explorer

"Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!" (25)

-creature used to be noble but now he is destroyed -archetype: tragic hero -definitely will have a flaw that leads to his own destruction -walton explaining his passion of knowledge to the man and he doesn't care if someone has to die for him to get it -this quest for knowing things is biblical, and mythical -man's quest for knowledge ends with tragedy or pain - "cup from your lips"- cup of knowledge

"I have thus endeavored to preserve the truth of elementary principles of human nature" (8).

-criticizing society -diction: truth -truth legitimizing something, actual, is real -Foster: one story about human nature

"Do you understand this feeling?" (10)

-describing the wind -romantic moment -question of the romantic moment as a whole- romantic writers were trying to use really descriptive language -need to be understood, part of one story (FOSTER), in this moment its something as simple as the wind

"...for nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye" (11).

-diction: tranquilize- negative connotation- means drugged, the rest is drug-induced -sense of danger of being tranquilized -one steady purpose can also be dangerous

What does Prometheus do?

-disobeyed Zeus to give humans fire -Prometheus gives warning to humanity when he gives them the fire- disobeyed Zeus and then he has to warn so humans don't disobey him (important advice)

Impact of structure

-frame story (a story within a story) -included monster's perspective to show the parallels ands enhance the themes - The narrative of monster attempts to convince his creator, Victor, to take his responsibility as parent and to make a mate for him. This results in the reader feeling sympathy for the monster, however these feelings could be mixed as he also commits terrible acts. Victor's narrative ventures to persuade Walton to end his journey and to destroy the monster (the cautionary tale). Through the narratives, the parallels between the characters are sketched that link the stories together, such as the shared ambition and desire for knowledge of V & W, and the shared thirst for revenge from Victor and the monster.

Why might the monster want to tell his tale in the hut upon the mountain? (106)

-geography (FOSTER)- going up to place of enlightenment or it's hard to breathe -keeps the suspense of the reader -is the creature gonna kill him or just wants frankenstein to think clearly -being around people can cloud your judgement -wants him alone so he can try to convince him

"I desire the company of a man who could sympathize with me, whose eyes would reply to mine" (14).

-romantic language -personification: "eyes would reply to mine" -Walton is on a ship with others but none of them make him feel understood -introduces thematic topic of desire for companionship- has to be the right companion

"The sun sank beneath the horizon as we landed, and as I touched the shore I felt those cares and fears revive which soon were to clasp me and cling to me forever" (210).

-romantic moment -cares and fears being personified -"clasp" and "cling"- being trapped, unescapable-will never let go of him

"I am not mad...the sun and the heavens, who have viewed my operations , can bear witness of my truth. I am the assassin of those most innocent victims; they died by my machinations. A thousand times would I have shed my own blood, drop by drop, to have saved their lives; but I could not, my father, indeed I could not sacrifice the whole human race" (201).

-he would not actually shed his own blood for the death of others- selfish -He truly believes in his mind that he would sacrifice for others, but he would not actually do it -"assassin"- negative, purposely being hired to kill someone- a PLAN, ruthlessness, he recognizes this about himself -the creature is assassinating all of Frankenstein's loved ones -tragic hero moment- saying that by not creating the second monster, he saved the entire human race from destruction and death -he sacrificed his own family and friends since that who is dead because of the creature

"Much as they were attached to each other, they seemed to draw inexhaustible stores of affection from a very mine of love to bestow them upon me. My mother's tender caresses and my father's smile of benevolent pleasure while regarding me are of my first recollections. I was their plaything and their idol, and something better - their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them by heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me" (31-32).

-his parents spoil him -he was his parent's everything -he can't say that he doesn't know how to be a good parent -calls himself a "creature"- animal like, foreshadowing him later creating a creature

"I concluded that the justice due both to him and my fellow creatures demanded of me that I should comply with his request" (159).

-justice- the noble thing -struggling with inner conflict- should he make the creature, thinks he has the resolution -"creatures"- dehumanizes the human population, driving home the question of who is the real creature?

What is Frankenstein's motivation for creating life from death? (54)

-main motivation- power, glory, and fame, being like a god for this creator -doesn't want others to feel the same grief that he felt when he lost his mother

"A flash of lightning illuminated the object and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity, instantly informed me that it was the wretch, the filthy demon to whom I had given life. What did he there? Could he be (I shuddered at the conception) the murderer of my brother? No sooner did that idea cross my imagination than I became convinced of its truth...Nothing in human shape could have destroyed that fair child. He was the murderer! (79).

-marked for greatness- monster is the more human once despite his deformities -frankenstein- yellow skin -Frankenstein isn't beautiful so that the creator and him aren't on the same plain, showing that the beauty of what makes someone look human isn't always humanlike --he wants to be above and superior to the monster- doesn't want it to be as human and beautiful as him -if he made a beautiful monster, he wouldn't run from it -monster's ugliness could show creator's failure to create life out of death -man is not god- man might try to create beautiful creature but will mess up -size of the creature = size of his ambitions ? -judging his creature off of his appearance -"nothing in human shape"- boundary between what we consider human and what we consider a monster

"But I am a blasted tree; the bolt has entered my soul; and I felt then that I should survive to exhibit what I shall soon cease to be - a miserable spectacle of wrecked humanity, pitiable to others, and intolerable to myself" (174).

-metaphor- comparing him to the tree getting blasted -he is the tree that has been destroyed -tragic hero- only existing to demonstrate this is what happens when you do what I do -Frankenstein is only alive to display this miserable and tolerable self to show to others -Prometheus- gets eaten alive every day -Frankenstein is tortured

What is the apparent connection between Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein?

-one has had a traumatic event that took away innocence -one has innocence -they both wanted knowledge- become so determined for one purpose -idea that knowledge is dangerous, we want to learn things, can be dangerous

"Such were the professor's words - rather let me say such the words of the fate - enounced to destroy me. As he went on I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanism of my being..." (48).

-personifying the soul- "grappling"- diction, really intense, saying his soul is fighting, romanticism, everything is alive -describing himself in a dehumanizing way- making him the true monster -fate drove him to do it- he is not acknowledging his flaw, not a tragic hero

"There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand...there is a love for the marvellous, a belief in the marvellous" (17). -romanticism

-romanticism -movement of intense emotion, exaltation of the common man, power of the imagination (components of romanticism) -emotion overpowers the logical

"It was the secrets the heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world" (36).

-romanticism- passion, wants to know about humanity -Foster: one story- wants to make his contribution to the one story -"secrets"- we're not supposed to know the secrets- thematic development of the danger of knowledge, certain things we're just not supposed to question

Other elements of Romanticism

-romantics were interested in the discovery or re-discovery of the self -things could not be perceived directly- only through the senses (descriptive writing was mandatory)

"The event on which this fiction is founded has been supposed...as not of impossible occurrence" (8).

-scary -saying don't dismiss this as crazy fiction -Frankenstein is a scientist looking for discovery -Shelley wants us to be afraid -working hard to legitimize it

Presence of Romanticism in Frankenstein

-seen in descriptive language that appeals to the senses -exaltation of the common man -power of the imagination

"What I ask of you is reasonable and moderate; I demand a creature of another sex, but as hideous as myself; the gratification is small, but it is all that I can receive, and it shall content me. It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another. Our lives will not be happy, but they will be harmless and free from the misery I now feel. Oh! My creator, make my happy; let me feel gratitude towards you for one benefit! Let me see that I excite the sympathy of some existing thing; do not deny me my request!" (157).

-shows the human like characteristic of the creature- trying to reason with Frankenstein -First was mad and wanted to seek vengeance, then stepped back and regrouped -doesn't know how to get what he wants- desperate -Same thematic idea- desire for companionship- someone who is like me and gets it -wants someone just as ugly as him -Assumes that the creature will fall for him just bc they are similar and be good like him -Flaws in his logic

"It was a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet" (58).

-spark- think of Prometheus with the fire. This is frankenstein's promethean moment --spark also when the lightning strikes the tree and destroys it, real science- connection to the Old Testament- burning bush- moses thinks god giving a sign through the burning bush -Winter is the season of death -not ironic because the life that he creates is that natural -can be ironic because life is born -diction- "instruments of life"- surrounded by them, reinforces his passion of science, science tools but he sees them as instruments of life, misunderstanding that he isn't god -lifeless "thing"- sees the creature, gave it life, sees it as a thing before it even opens its eyes

"Before I come on board your vessel...will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?" (21).

-the guy doesn't necessarily want to save his life -strength of character -connects to prompt 7 because he has determination that could be dangerous

Remember that I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good; misery made me a fiend" (105).

-the monster can speak in a very articulate way -primary theme of the book- anti Lord of the Flies -we are inherently good- we become evil -god makes adam and eve -puts adam in beautiful paradise place -the monster saying Frankenstein should have done this for him -Lucifer is the fallen angel- tries to stage a rebellion,. makes him the devil -lucifer used to be good and then god punished him --Monster says he should have been adam but you treated him like lucifer for no reason -mankind excludes him because of his appearance- wants to be like everyone else

"...for the first time, the wickedness of my promise burst upon me; I shuddered to think that future ages might curse me as their pest, whose selfishness had not hesitated to buy its own peace at the price, perhaps, of the existence of the whole human race...I thought with a sensation of madness on my promise of creating another like to him, and trembling with passion, tore to pieces the thing on which I was engaged" (180).

-thinking about the greater good of humanity- wants to destroy the monster -also selfish because he is afraid and wants to destroy the monster because of what it has done to his family -shows Frankenstein's internal conflict -"future ages must curse me as their pest"- he created the monster so future generations would think of him with glory and now. Him thinking that future generations would think he is horrible scares him -more base than nobel- cares about his reputation -"I was engaged"- he was engaged to Elizabeth, he is also "engaged" in the work of creating his monster. Also "engaged" to this scientific pursuit -One Story- the validation of others -integrity- doing the right thing, even when no one is watching (not Frankenstein)

If Frankenstein is the "Modern Prometheus" what does that mean?

-this character might disobey the laws of nature -the motivation might not be the same -We can look for what happens to humanity and what happens to Frankenstein -we can look for destruction and danger -looking for defying god and torturous consequences: tied to a rock, getting to be tortured, continuous torture

"Learn from me...how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow" (53).

-tone of regret -thematic development- knowledge is dangerous -irony- he is a scientist, also because people reading Frankenstein is knowledgeable and smart -Shelly saying knowledge is dangerous but if you don't have any, you can't understand this book -fighting against the will of humanity

"A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility" (56).

-tranquility- calm and peaceful, positive connotation (different than tranquilize- negative, makes you feel drugged) -irony- Is passion bad?

"In a fit of enthusiastic madness I created a rational creature and was bound towards him to assure, as far as was in my power, his happiness and well-being. This was my duty" (235).

Frankenstein recognizes his purpose, Walton wanted to find his purpose as well and wants glory like Frankenstein

Why doesn't Frankenstein tell his tale to the court?

J-ustine pleas guilt early on so they'll show her some mercy -she spoke with a priest, thought she'd be granted some forgiveness -Some people say he didn't even try- can he be considered a tragic hero?

Allusion to Paradise Lost

John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, written in 1667, is based on the Biblical story in which God creates Adam and then Eve. The reader is encouraged to link Victor to God, the Monster to Adam and the uncompleted female creature to Eve. The key figure in Paradise Lost, however, is Satan. He is an angel who rebels against God, is expelled from Heaven and brings sin and misery to the world. The Monster declares to Victor: 'I am thy creature; I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom they drivest from joy for no misdeed.' Victor also links himself to Satan when he says 'Like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in an eternal hell.' One of the books the Monster finds in the forest and which helps him to learn to read is a copy of Paradise Lost.

What was emphasized by romanticism?

intense emotion, placing an emphasis on the emotions of apprehension, horror, terror, and awe.

Literature from romantic era was marked by an exaltation...

of the primitive and the common man, an appreciation of external nature, and a preference for melancholy

Romanticism was a reaction to...

the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment- literature of reason -emotions and the imagination were considered "dangerous" -poets and writers were supposed to be writing about religion, politics, social issues

Premise of the Romantic Movement:

to create life out of death, something out of nothing, passion out of reason