Allusions In Frankenstein Research Paper

Allusion in Frankenstein

The modern Prometheus as it is famously known is the novel written by Mary Shelley in 1818, otherwise originally renamed as Frankenstein. The novel tells the story of a young scientist who came up with a sapient creature in an orthodox experiment. Frankenstein is deliberated to be the first science fiction story to be written in both ancient and modern histories. The story is derived from the author’s travelling experience through Europe, from England along the Rhine River in Germany to Geneva, Switzerland where much of the novel story takes place. Initially, Frankenstein was an inspiration from the author’s dream, which was about a scientist who created life and was very shocked of what he had done thereafter. This dream later evolved into a story, which made the …show more content…
The novel is made up of features of gothic and romantic movements, which are infused with science fiction. Another popular feature of the story is the fact that it has great influence in culture and literature borrowing from popular genres such as plays, horror and films. The name Frankenstein referred to the monster, creating an allusion in the novel. Initially the usage of the reference was heavily criticized as erroneous, but was later found to be appropriate considering the novel’s science fiction aspect. Apart from the use of the name ‘the monster’ in the novel in reference to the young scientist, there were several other forms of allusions used in the novel. The allusions not only help the reader comprehend the story and understand the characters more, but also help the characters function in the novel. Therefore, the use of allusion by Mary Shelley is relevant in the novel in helping to understand the