Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (or the Modern Prometheus) Frankenstein (or the Modern Prometheus) is a short novel written by Mary Shelly in 1818. It’s told through letter between Captain Robert Walton and his sister Margaret. Robert tells the tale of a man called Victor Frankenstein who he met on his expedition to the north pole. Later on we hear the story through Frankenstein, his creation and some family members of Frankenstein’s.
The story follows Victor Frankenstein as he tries to bring life, succeeds to do so and then his fear of creating such a thing. This fear leads to the creature feeling rejected and therefore lashing out and killing his creator’s family to drown his own sorrow.
Why is the story’s subtitle The Modern Prometheus? - …show more content…
Is he the hero or the villain of the story? -Victor Frankenstein is one complicated guy and that’s why this question is so hard to answer. I would not necessarily categorise him or his monster in a specific hero or villain type situation. They are far too perplex to be categorised into a stereotypic hero or villain. The story of Frankenstein is told through multiple narrators and through different times in Victor Frankenstein’s life. As a young man, Victor Frankenstein can be seen as man who could grow linto the role of a hero. He is a man of science and he wants to create life to help people. But when his creature awakens he instantly fears it and things just go south from there. He runs away from the monster, quite cowardly, only to return to his hometown when he hears of his brothers murder. On his way there he encounters the monster again and becomes convinced that his creation was the one to murder his little brother. Though he is positive that this is the case he still does nothing to prevent the execution of the young girl accused of the murder. And that is something a hero would not do. But I still would not call him the villain. His creation leads to the death of his family and of his best friend. Of course that changes him. He becomes filled with guilt and obsessed with revenge. Basically he’s just human - and I think that is one of the morals of this story. But having read the book I am not sure that I like him very …show more content…
Which themes and thoughts from that age can you identify in the story? - This novel is very much built on emotion. And that is one of the key themes of the Romantic Age. It is the characters feelings and emotions that decides their actions and beliefs. The creature, who to his nature is very kind, becomes an outcast because of his physical appearance. People beats him and because of this he decides to avenge his creator. Frankenstein’s emotion of disgust and fear towards his creation is what sets the whole story spinning. Nature is another important theme from the Romantic Age. And it is also very important part of Frankenstein. The story opens with a description of the weather and the surroundings, setting a tone for the scene. This is a continuing theme in the book. Another big deal in Romantic literature is describing ones emotion as weather, for example ”No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success”. The novel is about breaking free and striving against limitations which is thought that was popularised in the romantic
Why is the story’s subtitle The Modern Prometheus? - …show more content…
Is he the hero or the villain of the story? -Victor Frankenstein is one complicated guy and that’s why this question is so hard to answer. I would not necessarily categorise him or his monster in a specific hero or villain type situation. They are far too perplex to be categorised into a stereotypic hero or villain. The story of Frankenstein is told through multiple narrators and through different times in Victor Frankenstein’s life. As a young man, Victor Frankenstein can be seen as man who could grow linto the role of a hero. He is a man of science and he wants to create life to help people. But when his creature awakens he instantly fears it and things just go south from there. He runs away from the monster, quite cowardly, only to return to his hometown when he hears of his brothers murder. On his way there he encounters the monster again and becomes convinced that his creation was the one to murder his little brother. Though he is positive that this is the case he still does nothing to prevent the execution of the young girl accused of the murder. And that is something a hero would not do. But I still would not call him the villain. His creation leads to the death of his family and of his best friend. Of course that changes him. He becomes filled with guilt and obsessed with revenge. Basically he’s just human - and I think that is one of the morals of this story. But having read the book I am not sure that I like him very …show more content…
Which themes and thoughts from that age can you identify in the story? - This novel is very much built on emotion. And that is one of the key themes of the Romantic Age. It is the characters feelings and emotions that decides their actions and beliefs. The creature, who to his nature is very kind, becomes an outcast because of his physical appearance. People beats him and because of this he decides to avenge his creator. Frankenstein’s emotion of disgust and fear towards his creation is what sets the whole story spinning. Nature is another important theme from the Romantic Age. And it is also very important part of Frankenstein. The story opens with a description of the weather and the surroundings, setting a tone for the scene. This is a continuing theme in the book. Another big deal in Romantic literature is describing ones emotion as weather, for example ”No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success”. The novel is about breaking free and striving against limitations which is thought that was popularised in the romantic