Novel I. Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (1818)

  • From the Novel:

“There is something at work within my soul, which I do not understand. I am practically industrious – pains-taking; – a workman to execute with perseverance and labour: but besides this, there is a love for the marvelous …”(Shelley 32)

Shelley, mary, and Johanna M. Smith. Frankenstein. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
  • Critical Commentary:

“To conclude his essay, Smith returns to the subject of his first paragraph, namely, that the high respected critics who do not take a postcolonial apparoch, whose work does not foreground the issue of race and slavery…Smith maintains that “there is no evidence of such deeper dives in Frankenstein.” Although Frankenstein is responsible for the actions of his Creature, just as a slave-holder would be held responsible for the actions of his slaves”(p. 565)

Shelley, mary, and Johanna M. Smith. Frankenstein. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000.
  • Historical Context:

“Treat a person ill, and he wil become wicked…It is impossible to read this dialogue – and indeed many other situations of a somewhat similar character – without feeling the heart suspend its palpitations with wonder, and the tears stream down the cheeks! – Athenaum Magazine, 1832

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “ON FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS.” University of Pennsylvania , knarf.english.upenn.edu/PShelley/frankrev.html. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
  • Visual: