Frankenstein Unit Test

Background

written during political and social unrest in Europe; an era of great discovery and exploration in science, religion, and industry

Shelley was 19 when she wrote this

Wanted credit as an author but did not want her work unfairly mis-interested, so published anonymously at first

How is Frankenstein, the Modern prometheus, a Romantic novel?

Romantic authors linked the draw open upon Greek mythology

Prometheus was a Greek Titan who supposedly created man and gave him time to prosper

Outraged, Zeus punished Prometheus

Where did Shelley write the book?

written in Switzerland

she has many children that died and lost her mother

Gothic literature

a subdivision of Romanticism

Focuses on supernatural events not easily explained, or that which man cannot control

Emphasizes imagination and fantasy

Characteristics of a Gothic Novel

includes supernatural

characteristically set in castles, monestaries, dark towers, torture chambers, and secret passages

filled with intense emotions, suspense, mystery

combines elements of horror and Romantic qualities

includes damsels in distress, explores women in forced or vulnerable situations

often set in gloomy, bleak, and remote landscapes/settings

follows the passion and inner turmoil of an individual

Background to Frankenstein

A frame tale: a story within a story

Letters 1-4 begin volume 1 - this is an epistolary (letters within a novel)

The narrator is an explorer named Robert Walton; he is organizing an expedition through the arctic looking for a passage from Russia to the North Pole