Mary Shelleys Influence On Frankenstein

When the Gothic novel was created, it was during a time of most spontaneousness, innovation, and a lot more freedom of expression. Mary Shelley, a Gothic and Romantic author, was not like the average woman, who was raised feminist, and surprisingly independent, much different from the women of her time period even at such a young age (“Buzwell, Greg.”). Her unique life up to the summer of 1816, when she was still only 18 years old, along with the company in which she found herself in June of that year, and even the unusual weather conditions at the time, all contributed to the book’s beginning (“Buzwell, Greg.”). These coincidences gave birth to her famous novel Frankenstein (1818) read like something from a Gothic story in themselves (“Buzwell, …show more content…
Her father was an English journalist and novelist. While her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was a feminist and writer also. She wanted equality of women and men, and women's right to work and education for all children ("Frankenstein.”). Although she died ten days after giving birth to her daughter Mary, her works continued to influence Mary Shelley ("Frankenstein”.). Shelley took other influences also in her stories. The name Frankenstein was most likely taken from a castle in Germany, where Mary and percy travelled (The Origin of a Myth:Mary Shelley's Novel Frankenstein). According to German historian Walter Sheele, Mary had heard of Johann Konrad Dippel, a German alchemist, who had lived at Burg Frankenstein in the early 18th century ("Mary Shelley and Her Novel Frankenstein."). Legends that Dippel had experimented with dead corpses and was able to create a monster, just like Victor Frankenstein ("Mary Shelley and Her Novel Frankenstein."). Chemistry and electricity, or known in that time as alchemy and galvanism were popular topics, Mary added the modern influence of her time into her novels ("Mary Shelley and Her Novel Frankenstein."). Frankenstein also warns of the incautious use of science. The book was written at the earliest stages of the Industrial Revolution. It was a time period of scientific and technological breakthroughs …show more content…
The story starts off with Robert Walton, an explorer trying to find a passage through the Arctic ocean. While traveling, he finds Victor Frankenstein, a man near death, floating on a small piece of ice. Victor then discloses to Robert how he became tormented by a gruesome creature of his own creation. Victor grew up in a wealthy, privileged family in Geneva, Switzerland and hoped one day to study science. he departs for school at the University of Ingolstadt, where he becomes addicted with the idea of bringing the deceased back to life. He begins to build a massive creature out of various body parts he had stolen. He manages to bring his creature to life with chemistry and electricity, but quickly runs away at the sight of his scary appearance. Alone and terror-stricken the creature begins to wander the countryside and hiding in a forest, completely unaware of his ugliness. During his period alone the monster is rejected and harmed by the people such as being beaten, but he manages to teach himself to read and understand language while watching a family in the forest, the De Lacey’s. The monster eventually finds Victor again and demands he build him a female “mate” and Victor refuses. The creature wants revenge on Victor for his misery and begins hunting down Victor’s