Mary Shelley
Story Elements
Historical Context
Vocab
100

Mary Shelley's mother, Mary Wollenstonecraft, was a very prolific essayist & social activist for this cause

feminism

100

In the novel, this is the monster's name.

nothing. He is nameless, often referred to merely as "the creature".

100

While Mary Shelley was actually British, the tale was written in this country- where much of the action takes place.

Switzerland.

100

This term refers to the literary technique of embedding a story within another story. For instance, Frankenstein OR the Princess Bride.

a Frame story

200

Mary Shelley's husband, Percy Shelley, was, perhaps, more famous than she during their time as he wrote this type of literature.

Romantic poetry

200

In the novel, this is the name of the man who creates the monster.

Victor Frankenstein.

200

Frankenstein was created one stormy night while the Shelleys & their friends were on Holiday & decided to have a contest to see who could do this.

write the best ghost story.

200

This type of literature is marked by a new emphasis on emotion, wonder, and the glory & power of the natural world. They shyed away from rationalization & logic and focused instead on escape through imagination.

Romanticism/ Romantism

300

Percy Shelley was married to 2 women at the same time, making him, unfortunately, a _________.

a bigamist

300

The protagonist, Victor, brings a corpse to life using this.

electricity.

300

Mary Shelley published the novel anonymously for the first 5 years it ran in print for this reason.

because she was a woman.

300

In addition to being Romantic, Frankenstein also falls into this category of literature which created an atmosphere of horror or suspense, have an overall gloomy or mysterious tone, and often include elements of the supernatural or dangerous. (Think Poe)

Gothic Literature

400

If we say that this novel falls under the tradition of British Romanticism (or Gothic Literature), we can correctly infer that it was written somewhere between these decades.

the 1800s-1840s (published in 1818)

400

This is how the story will end (spoiler alert) (but not really...).

unhappily

400

This is the age the preceded the Romantic period in which Shelley lived. It was marked by huge advances in science and a shift from blindly accepting religious explanations for natural phenomenal to a push toward inquiry, experimentation, and discovery.

age of Enlightenment

400

Much of the novel's effect comes from Shelley's skill in using language maintain a terrifying  ________ throughout the novel.

tone

500

She died just 10 days after Mary Shelley's birth, leading some academics to speculate that themes of abandonment, indifference, and irresponsibility that exist between Victor & his creature in the novel Frankenstein stem from Shelley's own sense of abandonment growing up.

Mary Shelley's mother

500

The novel is subtitled the modern ___________, referencing the Titan from Greek mythology who stole fire (symbolizing knowledge & progress) and gave it to man.

Prometheus

500

"Wanderer above the Sea Fog" is a famous Romantic painting most commonly found on the cover of this novel (found on yours) and was chosen because it seems to represent the feeling prevalent in the early 19th century that the future was entirely _______________.

unknown or unseen.

500

The monster, created by Frankenstein, goes on to murder many people. This makes Frankenstein simultaneously a creator and, as a direct result, a destroyer of human life. A perfect example of this term.

paradox // (also accepted - irony)