Teaching Frankenstein

 

Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus 

  


Mary Shelley 1817 


                                                          Scientific Background
Written at a time of rapid progress in the sciences:
Electricity
Anatomy
Scientists at the time were discussing the possibility of bringing the dead back to life
Key Themes
The desire for knowledge
The desire to understand and control nature
Pro-creation without a woman

                                      What was happening in the world in 1817:

Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata. Director supremos: Juan Martín de Pueyrredón.
British King George III
James Monroe is the American president
San Martín starts his campaign to cross the Andes
Jane Austen dies
Abraham Lincoln is killed at the theatre Ford
LATER ON 1789 – French Revolution



The novel is perhaps the strongest reminder from the Romantic period of the dangers of industrialization – creating monsters we cannot control and dabbling with nature
Frankenstein remains a relevant analysis of the dangers of science, a sensitive, complex exploration of the tension between developing the mind and knowing too much, creating and playing the Creator, exploring new ground and crossing into forbidden territory.

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