Why did Mary Shelley begin writing Frankenstein?
Shelley based hers on a dream, writing through the voice of her protagonist: “My dreams were all my own; I accounted for them to nobody; they were my refuge when annoyed – my dearest pleasure when free.” Byron described her story as “a wonderful work for a girl” and she decided to make it into a novel.
What inspired Shelley to write Frankenstein?
After all, it was during their European travels, while staying in Geneva with the poet Lord Byron, that Mary Shelley dreamed up Frankenstein in response to a ghost-story competition among the literary group. “In Mary’s novel, Victor Frankenstein would use animal bones to help manufacture his monstrous creature.”
What was Mary Shelley’s purpose for Frankenstein?
Frankenstein, by English author Mary Shelley, tells the story of a monster created by a scientist and explores themes of life, death, and man versus nature. Read the overview below to gain an understanding of the work and explore the previews of analysis and criticism that invite further interpretation.
What is the main theme of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein?
The novel, Frankenstein, highlights the theme of individual responsibility as well as social responsibility. Victor’s ambitious project of the creation of a new life reflects the lack of realization of the individual responsibility and the lack of government control.
What does the creature in Frankenstein represent?
The monster represents the conscience created by Victor, the ego of Victor’s personality — the psyche which experiences the external world, or reality, through the senses, that organizes the thought processes rationally, and that governs action.
What does creature symbolize?
The creature is symbolic of the human being born as a blank slate, Voltaire’s “tabula rasa,” ready to receive input from the society in which it is born. The creature was “born good” but was turned to evil to rejection from society as a whole, but especially by his creator.
Who is the true protagonist in Frankenstein?
Victor Frankenstein