Frankenstein

Mary Wollstonecraft

Shelley 1797-1851

• Born to the infamous parents: William Goodwin (journalist, political

philosopher, radical & novelist) and super feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women)• Raised by her father and older sister, Fanny• Family scandal came to light when Fanny was 11

and was told by her father (Goodwin) that she was the illegitimate daughter of Wollstonecraft and American Gilbert Imlay.

• More drama ensued when Goodwin remarried the neighbor woman and added three more children to the mix.

• Because of Goodwin, Mary as able to mingle with the intellects of British society (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Humphrey Davy, and William Nicolson).

• These men influenced Frankenstein –as seen in Shelley’s blending of literature, the fantastical and science.

• At 14, Mary is sent to Scotland b/c she and her step-mother do not get along.

• Mary returns home in 1814 (she is 16) and quickly falls for Percy Bysshe Shelley whom she had met two years prior with his wife.

• Percy Bysshe Shelley & Mary eloped to the continent (Europe) in July of 1814.

• They were outcasts—no one would take them in—they had no money and debt-collectors wanted their money.

• Goodwin did not acknowledge the relationship and technically the two simply ran away together—Shelley was still married to Harriet and now Mary was pregnant.

• As Shelley begins to secure financial security, the couple is able to make friends and Mary begins writing again—her step-sister Claire is determined to compete with her & begins a tumultuous affair with Lord Byron.

• Claire gets pregnant with Lord Byron, who runs back to his wife and refuses to acknowledge the child

• Mary convinces Shelley to claim the child has his own and makes a deal with the Devil, aka Lord Byron

• Lord Byron does not have to acknowledge the child but he must provide financial support and support Shelley as a writer

• The two men become close intimate friends and Mary begins writing on her own

• Returns to England in the summer of 1816 and then tragedy strikes the Goodwin family– Fanny commits suicide in October and then Shelley’s wife commits suicide in December

• Mary and Shelley finally marry in late December of 1816

• The Shelley family moves to Italy where Shelley becomes the famous poet we know him to be.

• January 1, 1818: Frankenstein is published anonymously

• Mary’s career continues to flourish under the name, “The Author of Frankenstein”

• Shelley drowns in 1822• Mary dies quietly in her home in 1851

FrankensteinStarted as a round table ghost story between Mary,

Percy, and Lord Byron.Fueled by opium, and insecurities Mary is encouraged

by Lord Byron to turn “little ghost story” into a novel.Lord Byron, Mary and Percy begin a weird long-lasting

relationship –seen in Frankenstein.

Characteristics of Romantic Poets

• Beauty of the Supernatural: British Romantics believed something existed beyond the physical world. The Spirit world, according to Romantics, had unleashed its power and inspiration to overthrow tyranny in government and in literature.

• Championing of the Individual: British Romanticism attempted to free itself from traditional forms and subjects.

• The Importance of Nature: The poet, according to the Romantics, is only at peace when in nature; moreover, while in nature, the poet intervened with the great Universal Mind. Romantic poets made frequent use of personification with nature, ascribing human traits to daffodils, fields, streams, and lakes. Nature, in essence, became emotionally expressive.

• The Dangers of Technology: A natural consequence of celebrating nature was a disdain for technology and industrialism.

Major Later Romantic Poets• Lord Byron (1788-1824): Lord Byron enjoyed unmatched

popularity. Byron's most famous creations are his dark heroes, called Byronic heroes, who, in fact, were not heroes at all, but stood out from ordinary humans as larger than life. The Byronic hero brooded, possessed insatiable appetites and incredible strength, rebelled against societal norms, and forced upon himself exile.

• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): Like all Romantics, Shelley was a radical non-conformist. He campaigned for social justice, even marrying the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, an English leader in the women's rights movement. His wife would later write Frankenstein.

• John Keats (1795-1821): Perhaps the most popular Later Romantic poet, Keats accomplished great things during his short life. Keats considered contact with poets as a threat to his independence and therefore shunned his contemporaries.

Romanticism• Gothic Novels: were long

stories that contained elements of suspense, mystery, magic, and macabre that included exotic settings such as haunted castles and untamed wilderness

Characteristics of Romanticism

• Ancestral Curse• Anti-Catholicism• Body-Snatching (Grave

Robbing)• Cemetery• Claustrophobia• Gothic Counterfeit• Devil

GROUP A

Characteristics of Romanticism

• Haunted House or Castle• Inquisition• Literature of Terror vs.

Literature of Horror• Marvelous vs. the Uncanny• Masochism

GROUP B

Characteristics of Romanticism

• Mist• Mystery• Necromancy• Gothic Parody• Possession• Pursued Protagonist• Pursuit of the heroine

GROUP C

Characteristics of Romanticism

• Revenant• Revenge• Dark Romanticism• Sadism• Sensibility• Somnambulism• The Sublime

GROUP D

Characteristics of Romanticism

OSupernatural GadgetryOSuperstitionOTransformationsOUnreliable NarratorOVampireOVillain-Hero (Satanic, Promethean, Byronic Hero)

GROUP E

Characteristics of Romanticism

OWerewolfOWitches and Witchcraft

All Groups

Characteristics of Gothic Literature

For your assigned group, you need to use the resource on Splitek’s website to create a succinct definition for each of the terms in your group. You must also identify a modern day pop-culture example of the term.

You will be sharing these terms with their definitions with your table mates tomorrow (Tuesday) in class. If you don’t finish, they will have to do it for homework on their own on Tuesday night.

All of the terms must be defined with an example by the start of class on Thursday.

Characteristics of Gothic Literature: EXAMPLE

Werewolf Definition: A normal human by day that turns into a wolf at night. The condition can be hereditary, or acquired through a werewolf bite. Also, some werewolves are able to control when they change shape, while others are unavoidably turned by the full moon.

Pop-culture Reference: Teen Wolf or Professor Lupin from Harry Potter series