Shelley's "Frankenstein" as a Modern Metaphor Book Review by Writer83
Shelley's "Frankenstein" as a Modern Metaphor
Reviews the famous 1818 novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelly as a modern metaphor and a cult favorite.
# 147538
| 1,865 words
| 10 sources
| MLA
| 2009
| 
$19.95
Buy and instantly download this paper now
Description:
This paper explains that, in her novel "Frankenstein", although Mary Shelley did not invent the scientific romance, she was the first to combine it with a horror story to create what now is called the first '"robot" book, "pseudo-scientific thriller" and "philosophical romance". The print edition differs from the familiar film versions, the author stresses, in that in the movies much of the creature's humanity is lost and replaced. However, the story remains as a modern metaphor reflecting society's own increasing uncertainty and mounting fears about the ability to control the forces unleashed. The paper includes Mary Shelley's personal history and why cult readers identify with outcasts like Frankenstein and often feel most rejected by those who are responsible for bringing them into the world.
From the Paper:
"Mary Shelley was only nineteen when she wrote this novel, and sometimes it seems as if some mysterious force had guided her pen, for the circumstances surrounding the composition of the novel hardly indicate any larger purpose or meaning. It all began simply enough with Lord Byron's proposal that he and his friends join in a story contest to pass the time during the long days of a rainy Swiss summer. Having just gorged themselves on German ghost tales and romances, they elected to write of the macabre. Neither Byron nor Percy Shelley produced anything of consequence, but Byron's friend Dr. Polidori did manage to come up with a rather impressive vampire story."Sample of Sources Used:
- Brennan Matthew C. "The Landscape of Grief in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." Studies in the Humanities (June 1998): 33-34.
- Ellis Reuben J. "Mary Shelley Reading Ludvig Holberg: A Subterranean Fantasy at the Outer Edge of Frankenstein" Extrapolations (Winter 1990): 317-25.
- Freeman Barbara. "Frankenstein with Kant: A Theory of Monstrosity, or the Monstrosity of Theory." SubStance: A Review of Theory and Literary Criticism 16.1 (1997): 21-31.
- Hindle Maurice. "Vital Matters: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Romantic Science." Critical Survey 2.1 (1990): 29-35.
- Elizabeth Nitchie, Mary Shelley: Author of "Frankenstein". Greenwood Press. Westport, CT. 1990.
Cite this Book Review:
APA Format
Shelley's "Frankenstein" as a Modern Metaphor (2011, May 12)
Retrieved September 28, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/book-review/shelley-frankenstein-as-a-modern-metaphor-147538/
MLA Format
"Shelley's "Frankenstein" as a Modern Metaphor" 12 May 2011.
Web. 28 September. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/book-review/shelley-frankenstein-as-a-modern-metaphor-147538/>