Frankenstein

1
Frankenstein
2
The Modern Prometheus

• Greek god Prometheus gave the knowledge of fire
  to humanity

3
The Modern Prometheus

• Zeus punished him for eternity
• Victor is punished, but his gift to the world
  is kept secret

4
Romantic Character

• love for the marvelous, a belief in the
  marvelous, pushes Robert Walton along the
  perilous lonely path he has chosen

5
Ghost Story

• The novel is narrated by different characters
• Makes the story into a classic ghost story by
  keying in on the importance of the
  narrator/storyteller
• Wins the contest between the romantic authors for
  best ghost story

6
Passive Women

• Only one strong woman
• Caroline Beaufort
• Justine
• Almost created female monster
• Elizabeth

7
Texts

• Frankenstein is overflowing with texts
• Victors story fits inside Waltons letters
• The Monsters story fits inside Victors
• The love story of Felix and Safie and references
  to Paradise Lost fit inside the monsters story
• Narrative structure gives insight into the
  characters attitudes and emotions

8
Sublime Nature

• The natural world is a strong source of feeling
  in Frankenstein
• Victor heads to the mountains to renew his
  spirits after William and Justine are dead
• The Monster feels his heart lighten as spring
  comes
• Finally, nature in the artic desert, is a
  symbolic background to the hopelessness of the
  characters in the end