Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, was one of the first and one of the most well known Gothic novels. This infamous work of literature contains an unforgettable storyline and characters that were derived remarkably drawn from a friendly ghost telling contest. Shelley was accompanying some friends on vacation, when one of them, Lord Byron to be exact, challenged everyone to tell the scariests story. This frivolous challenge helped created one of the many notable classic novels. Mary Shelley’s incredible intelligence for a women of her time is well portrayed throughout her novel Frankenstein from her many themes that displays the undeniable truth about humans. She tries to caution her readers about the many positive and negative affects
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This era had an international movement that shaped various types of art, not just writing. Often times romantics were drawn to the concepts of nature, the supernatural, or mysterious (Furst). Shelley shows this writing style by incorporating into the novel letters and journals. Frankenstein begins with four letters that set the scene for the rest of the piece. Walton, the writer of these letters, initially is the first to express his ambition for knowledge through his letters to his sister. In his last letter he states, “One man 's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought...” (Shelley 23). In these letters Shelley not only captivates her audience by her descriptive language but also uses the style of the time and hints at the parallelism between her characters and those of her readers. Mary Shelley also gives one of her main characters, scientist Victor Frankenstein, a journal that plays an important part of the novel. Journals, like letters, also show the example of a romanticism writing style. Along with letters, and journals, Shelley appeals to the romanticism era by replacing God as the creator of life to …show more content…
The novel starts with Robert Walton as the narrator yet it quickly shifts to the narration of Victor Frankenstein, and from Frankenstein the creature tells part of its tale. Then Frankenstein becomes the narrator once again, and lastly concludes with Walton. Almost instantly after Walton begins the story through the preface and the letters that Shelley subtly switches to Frankenstein. From the last few lines of the preface, “Strange and harrowing must be his story;...and wrecked it-thus!” (Shelley 26) Shelley switches to the new narrator of Frankenstein by the beginning of chapter one, “I am by birth a Genevese…” (Shelley 27). Another example is the switch between Frankenstein to the monster. Chapter ten began with the interaction between Frankenstein and the monster but from Frankensteins view; however, at the middle of the chapter by just a single line, “He easily eluded me, and said -” (Shelley 97), the monster became the voice of the novel. The same motion happens for every switch of narrators. This style narration change makes this novel multilayered by having stories within stories. Essentially the narrators make a circle, starting with one and finishing with the same person that started. This shift in perspective is undoubtedly marked by the three main characters; never-the-less, it is used for the audience’s benefit in allowing them to glimpse into each mind, and not
This era had an international movement that shaped various types of art, not just writing. Often times romantics were drawn to the concepts of nature, the supernatural, or mysterious (Furst). Shelley shows this writing style by incorporating into the novel letters and journals. Frankenstein begins with four letters that set the scene for the rest of the piece. Walton, the writer of these letters, initially is the first to express his ambition for knowledge through his letters to his sister. In his last letter he states, “One man 's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought...” (Shelley 23). In these letters Shelley not only captivates her audience by her descriptive language but also uses the style of the time and hints at the parallelism between her characters and those of her readers. Mary Shelley also gives one of her main characters, scientist Victor Frankenstein, a journal that plays an important part of the novel. Journals, like letters, also show the example of a romanticism writing style. Along with letters, and journals, Shelley appeals to the romanticism era by replacing God as the creator of life to …show more content…
The novel starts with Robert Walton as the narrator yet it quickly shifts to the narration of Victor Frankenstein, and from Frankenstein the creature tells part of its tale. Then Frankenstein becomes the narrator once again, and lastly concludes with Walton. Almost instantly after Walton begins the story through the preface and the letters that Shelley subtly switches to Frankenstein. From the last few lines of the preface, “Strange and harrowing must be his story;...and wrecked it-thus!” (Shelley 26) Shelley switches to the new narrator of Frankenstein by the beginning of chapter one, “I am by birth a Genevese…” (Shelley 27). Another example is the switch between Frankenstein to the monster. Chapter ten began with the interaction between Frankenstein and the monster but from Frankensteins view; however, at the middle of the chapter by just a single line, “He easily eluded me, and said -” (Shelley 97), the monster became the voice of the novel. The same motion happens for every switch of narrators. This style narration change makes this novel multilayered by having stories within stories. Essentially the narrators make a circle, starting with one and finishing with the same person that started. This shift in perspective is undoubtedly marked by the three main characters; never-the-less, it is used for the audience’s benefit in allowing them to glimpse into each mind, and not