Frankenstein Mindmap

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  • FRANKENSTEIN
    • Characters
      • Victor Frankenstein
        • Lives in Geneva
        • Protagonist (most heroic)
        • Commonly found in a depressed state
        • Loves science - wants to bring back life (reanimation)
        • Has an arrogance in his abilities (hubris and hamatia)
          • Hubris: fatal pride
            • 2: Know Thyself
          • Hamatia: fatal flaw
            • 1: Nothing in excess
              • 2: Know Thyself
        • Abandons and rejects the creature (his progeny)
        • Science, Humanity and Existence
          • Books
            • Philosophy, Religion and Ethics
              • The Monster
                • Wants love/a mate
                • Kills Clerval, William and Elizabeth
                • Seeks comfort from the DeLacys
                • Innocent, untainted view of the world - childlike
                  • Learning, knowledge
                    • Infant-like
                    • Learns from the DeLacys
                • Feels responsibility at the end - his death
                  • Kills himself in isolation
                    • Gains humanity
                    • Gives himself up for the good of mankind
                      • Christ-like allegory
                        • Salvation, sacrifice, rejection
                        • Allegory - A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
                          • Allegory for creation, nature, humanity and destruction
                  • It also shows love for Victor at the end. Its last action is to commit suicide when it discovers its 'father' is dead.
                • Although Victor selects the Monster's body parts so that it will be beautiful, when it is given life it looks hideously ugly. This leads ordinary people to be scared of the Monster and mistreat it.
                • It is turned bad through Victor's and other's mistreatment.
        • Victor Frankenstein comes from a wealthy, supportive family, which he neglects when he becomes overly absorbed in his studies at university.
          • He is both extremely clever and egotistical. He is a star student, but wants to use his knowledge to obtain the god-like power of creating life.
        • He rejects the Monster immediately after its creation, calling it a 'wretch' and leaving it to fend for itself. This shows how irresponsible he is. It is also another example of him neglecting his family, since the Monster sees him as its father.
        • His desire for vengeance is very strong. He chases the Monster from Switzerland to the North Pole, enduring great hardships along the way.
        • Before dying, Victor says his actions are not 'blameable', and that he still believes he was right to create the Monster.
          • This lack of guilt, and his destructive pursuit of scientific knowledge for personal glory, makes us wonder if Victor is in fact the real monster of the story.
      • The Monster
        • Wants love/a mate
        • Kills Clerval, William and Elizabeth
        • Seeks comfort from the DeLacys
        • Innocent, untainted view of the world - childlike
          • Learning, knowledge
            • Infant-like
            • Learns from the DeLacys
        • Feels responsibility at the end - his death
          • Kills himself in isolation
            • Gains humanity
            • Gives himself up for the good of mankind
              • Christ-like allegory
                • Salvation, sacrifice, rejection
                • Allegory - A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
                  • Allegory for creation, nature, humanity and destruction
          • It also shows love for Victor at the end. Its last action is to commit suicide when it discovers its 'father' is dead.
        • Although Victor selects the Monster's body parts so that it will be beautiful, when it is given life it looks hideously ugly. This leads ordinary people to be scared of the Monster and mistreat it.
        • It is turned bad through Victor's and other's mistreatment.
      • Clerval and Elizabeth
        • Elizabeth is Victors adopted sister
          • CONTEXT - was not illegal at that time
          • Monster kills Elizabeth on her wedding night
        • Monster kills Clerical (ch 20-22) but Victor blamed for it
        • Clerical and Walton take care of Frankenstein when he is ill
      • The DeLaceys
        • The Monster learns how to speak whilst spying on them teaching a foreign visitor (Safie) their language
          • DeLacey is  a blind old man, and shows the monster kindness
            • No Prejudice
              • Can't see the monsters physical appearance
          • DeLacey, Felix, Safie and Agatha
            • De Lacey is an old, blind man who is looked after by his son (Felix) and daughter (Agatha).
          • Exiled from France
            • De Lacey was once a wealthy man, but Felix caused the family to be exiled from their native France and they now live in utter poverty. Despite this, De Lacey does not feel sorry for himself, nor show any anger towards Felix
              • Felix pre-judges the Monster. This leads to him beating it out of fear for his father's safety, causing it much distress. The Monster becomes exiled from the one family it thought might accept it. As a result, the Monster tells us: 'Evil thenceforth became my good'.
          • Teaches the monster love
            • The Monster yearns for a love like theirs
          • The family inspires the Monster with their love and kindness to each other, and to their exotic visitor, Safie.
        • Justine Moritz
          • She is brought up in the Frankenstein family home, and acts as their servant.
          • She is bullied into confessing by a priest. Her calmness and virtue are emphasised and contrasted with the immorality of those who should know better - like Victor, the priest and the judge.
          • She is especially fond of Victor's youngest brother, William, and feels responsible when he is murdered by the Monster.
        • Robert Walton
          • The main narrator of the story
            • Walton is an explorer on his way to find the North Pole when he meets Victor. On hearing Victor's story, he records it in a series of letters to his sister.
          • He is similar to Victor in his passion for scientific discovery, ambition and desire for glory.
          • When Victor dies Walton feels very sad and thinks about carrying out Victor's wish to find and kill the Monster. But when he discovers the Monster grieving over Victor's corpse he feels sorry for it.
          • He learns from Victor's story the foolishness of great ambition, and turns back rather than continue his search for the Pole. This shows he is at last aware of other people and their safety, something Victor ignored.
      • Context
        • Mary Shelly
          • In 1814 Mary met and fell in love with, Percy Shelley
            • She ran away with him to France and they were married in 1816 after Percy's wife committed suicide
            • Percy was a prominent poet of the Romantic Movement
              • Mary was exposed to the same influences as her husband, and this Romanticism influenced her work
          • She wrote Frankenstein after Byron introduced a challenge to see who -Percy, Mary or Byron could write the best ghost story
          • The original idea for Frankenstein appeared to Shelley in a nightmare
          • Frankenstein deals with loss, which Mary Shelley knew a great deal about
            • In 1822 Percy Shelley drowned and Mary remained unmarried and died in London in 1851
        • Backgrounds
          • Scientific
            • Written at the time of rapid progress in the sciences
              • Electricity
              • Anatomy
          • Historical
            • Published anonymously in 1818
          • Social
            • Written at a time of social unrest. (e.g. Luddites)
            • The novel is one of the strongest reminders from the Romantic period of the dangers of industrialization – creating monsters we cannot control and dabbling with nature
            • First stages of the Industrial Revolution (threaten the Romantic ideals of the importance of the individual and nature)
      • Key Themes
        • Social Responsibility
        • Parenting
        • Injustice
        • Justice
        • Prejudice
    • Social Class
      • Divide
      • Elizabeth was born of noble birth, but then became poor
        • Clerval and Elizabeth
          • Elizabeth is Victors adopted sister
            • CONTEXT - was not illegal at that time
            • Monster kills Elizabeth on her wedding night
          • Monster kills Clerical (ch 20-22) but Victor blamed for it
          • Clerical and Walton take care of Frankenstein when he is ill
    • Justine Moritz
      • She is brought up in the Frankenstein family home, and acts as their servant.
      • She is bullied into confessing by a priest. Her calmness and virtue are emphasised and contrasted with the immorality of those who should know better - like Victor, the priest and the judge.
      • She is especially fond of Victor's youngest brother, William, and feels responsible when he is murdered by the Monster.
    • This beauty angers the Monster when it finds her sleeping, as it knows it will never be allowed to love anyone so attractive. The Monster then places the locket around her neck, knowing it will lead to her being put on trial for the murder.
      • She is very beautiful

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