Background
Where was Mary Shelley born?
London, England
Who narrates the beginning of Frankenstein through letters?
Robert Walton
What historical movements shape Frankenstein’s ideas?
The Enlightenment and Romanticism.
What is the main moral lesson of Frankenstein?
Ambition without ethics/values leads to destruction.
What scientific idea inspired Frankenstein?
Galvanism, using electricity to bring life to dead tissue.
What event inspires Victor to begin his experiments on life?
The death of his mother and his obsession with conquering death and finding out the secrets of nature.
From a Freudian lens, what drives Victor’s creation of life?
His id, representing repressed desire for power and control.
How does isolation affect both Victor and the Creature?
It drives them both into madness and revenge.
Name three of the settings where Frankenstein takes place.
Switzerland, Germany, England, Scotland, France and or the Arctic.
Why does the Creature kill William Frankenstein?
To punish Victor as revenge for abandoning him and to make him suffer.
From a Marxist perspective, how does Shelley portray class division?
Victor represents the bourgeoisie, while the Creature symbolizes the proletariat and the oppressed.
What theme is shown through the Creature’s rejection by society?
Prejudice and discrimination against those who are different.
What major personal tragedy influenced Mary Shelley’s themes of life and death?
The death of her mother and the loss of her children.
What happens after Victor destroys the female Creature?
The Creature becomes enraged and vows revenge, killing Elizabeth on their wedding night.
From a Historicist view, what does the novel reflect about Shelley’s time?
The ethical fears around scientific progress and morality during the Enlightenment.
What key conflict drives the novel?
Creator vs. creation, symbolizing ambition vs. responsibility.
List one literary technique and an example mentioned in the slideshow.
Simile: “I could have torn him limb from limb, as the lion rends the antelope” (Shelley, 148)
Imagery: “Covered with ice, it was only to be distinguished from land by its superior wildness and ruggedness” (Shelley, 238)
Allusion: “Like Adam, I was created…Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition.” (Shelley, 142)
Personification: “The cold stars shone in mockery” (Shelley, 149)
Personification: “Despair had indeed secured her prey” (Shelley, 240)
Foreshadowing: “Oh! When will my guiding spirit…allow me the rest I so much desire; or must I die and he yet live?” (Shelley, 241)
How does the novel end for Victor and the Creature?
Victor dies in the Arctic, and the Creature mourns him before deciding to end his own life.
This global issue focuses on the moral responsibility behind scientific and medical progress, asking how far humans should go in altering or creating life. What global issue is this?
Bioethics and Medical Ethics
How does Shelley show that the pursuit of knowledge can become dangerous?
Shelley shows this through Victor’s obsession with creating life, which leads him to ignore morality and isolate himself. His success brings only guilt and tragedy, showing that chasing knowledge without limits can be destructive.