Frankenstein

Introduction

This paper is a brief analysis of the work of Mary Shelley, with which they seek to establish the ideological and stylistic influences present in the work of this English novelist of the nineteenth century. A brief analysis of what Romanticism represented in England, to establish the connection of Frankenstein with the same and try to explain the critical and the underlying message in this novel will also be analysed.

When Mary was only fourteen years old, she met the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and flees to France with him. "Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus." was her first book and it was a remarkable achievement for the young author of 20 years old, as the novel became an instant critical and commercial success. None of Mary's later works achieved the popularity of the same level as Frankenstein, although she wrote four other novels, several travel books, stories and poems but they failed to achieve the Frankenstein's status.

Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley born in London in 1797 was the daughter of William Godwin and the famous feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, and she was also the wife of the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. When Mary was only fourteen years old, she met the young poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and flees to France with him. "Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus." was her first book and it was a remarkable achievement for the young author of 20 years old, as the novel became an instant critical and commercial success. None of Mary's later works achieved the popularity of the same level as Frankenstein, although she wrote four other novels, several travel books, stories and poems but they failed to achieve the Frankenstein's status.

The Romantic Movement

The Romantic Movement arose in Europe in the late eighteenth century as a reaction to Enlightenment rationalism, classicism, and continued until the mid-nineteenth century.

The appearance and formation of the theoretical-philosophical romantic phenomenon occurred under the influence of the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution. In the context of the consequences caused by the widespread breakage of ties with the past after the fall of the Old regime, and the social changes brought about by the gradual transfer of an agro based economy to one characterized by industry and mechanical manufacturing (Smith, pp. 3). The break with the feudal order gave rise to a period characterized by the revolutionary processes, which overcame all of the Europe until mid-century and the threat of Napoleonic expansion hanging over the heads of leading powers of the world. After the defeat of Napoleon by the Sixth Coalition in 1814, the revolutionary upheavals escalated following periods of reaction and counterrevolution, leading to changes in social and political landscape of Europe (Magill, pp. 102).

Reduction of scientific rationalism, among other things, had no place for the notion of mystery, led to the awakening of romantic ideas. They recovered a poetic discussion that prioritizes the world existential problems, while seeking to unite man and nature. Characterized by its claim of individuality, subjectivity, irrationality and emotion, Romanticism tried to recover ...