Which character does the reader feel most sympathy towards: Victor Frankenstein or the creature?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein belongs to a number of literary genres. It belongs to science fiction as it is a story of a scientist who wants to create life without using the natural process between man and women. The idea of creating a being from dead flesh belongs to gothic horror. Gothic horror is used to create powerful emotions in the reader and explore the unknown and the supernatural which Mary Shelley succeeded in doing. It also helps create feelings of fear, suspense, and disgust which are done so in the novel. In addition, to gothic horror and science fiction, the genre, romance is also included in the book through Frankenstein and Elizabeth’s’ relationship and also in the letters that the novel contains. In Captain Walton’s letter to his sister he writes about the beauty of his surroundings and about Frankenstein. Frankenstein is a classic novel as it was written in 1818 and is still being read now in the 21st century. Frankenstein is a good example of the disadvantages of human cloning, the effects in can have on us and the moral issues surrounding organ transplant.
Mary Shelley’s background influenced the novel Frankenstein in many ways. As her father was a novelist, Mary was introduced to the world of reading and writing at a young age. Her husband was interested in science which helped create Victor as he was a scientist. Mary Shelley saw a lot of deaths in her own life, first her mother and then three of her children. This might explain why there are a lot of deaths in the novel. Also, as Shelley lost loved ones, it puts more emphasis on Victor’s obsession to beat death.
At the age of 17, when Mary eloped to Geneva with her husband, they came across a castle named Frankenstein which was inhabited by the Salteri family. This is probably where she got the family’s name from. Furthermore, the son of the Salteri’s family was expelled from his...