3.2.1

Edmund Burke

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Edmund Burke (1729-97)

Both Mary Shelley's parents were radically political. She grew up in a house surrounded by political, scientific and philosophical ideas that would have influenced her writing of Frankenstein.

Burke

Burke

  • Edmund Burke (1729-97) was the son of an Irish Protestant lawyer and his Roman Catholic wife.
  • He wrote An Enquiry into the Origins of the Sublime and the Beautiful (1757) which was extremely influential in the formation of aesthetic taste in relation to the natural world.
Nature and man

Nature and man

  • Many of Shelley’s passages in Frankenstein dwell upon the sublime power of nature over man ("the sublime shape of the mountains"), which Burke argues produces a sense of astonishment and fear in the observer.
Lightning

Lightning

  • The incident with lightning in Chapter 2 when Victor witnesses the "blasted stump...reduced the thin ribands of wood" displays to him the power and force of nature.
  • He states "I have never beheld anything so utterly destroyed".
Warning

Warning

  • It is almost as if nature is warning Victor of the consequences of tampering with it, but he is too self-centred to understand:
  • "I ceased to fear, or to bend before any being less almighty than that which created and ruled these elements."
  • Victor’s arrogance and vaulting ambition cause him to think he is as powerful as nature itself, displaying his hubris and eventual hamartia.
Soothing nature

Soothing nature

  • Burke also theorised that the ‘beauty’ of nature has the power to calm and soothe the human soul, and we see this occur many times in the novel.
  • Victor is rejuvenated by his sojourns in nature, as he "sought in the magnificence, the eternity of such scenes, to forget myself and my ephemeral, because human, sorrows."
Revolution

Revolution

  • Even though he supported the American Revolution, Burke, along with many Romantics, were appalled by the violence of the French Revolution, especially during the bloody Reign of Terror.
  • Burke described violent political rebellion, resulting in revolution, as a ‘political monster, which has always ended up devouring those who have produced it’, which appears to be reminiscent of the fate of Victor, if we view his rebellion as the usurping of nature and taking over the life-giving process.
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1

Narrative Structure

1.1

Narrative Structure

1.1.1Narrative Structure1.1.2Narrative Distancing1.1.3End of Topic Test - Narrative Structure
2

Character Summaries

2.1

Walton & Frankenstein

2.1.1Walton2.1.2Victor Frankenstein2.1.3End of Topic Test - Walton & Frankenstein
2.2

The Monster

2.2.1The Monster2.2.2The Monster 22.2.3End of Topic Test - The Monster
2.3

Elizabeth, Justine & Henry

2.3.1Elizabeth Lavenza2.3.2Justine Moritz2.3.3Henry Clerval2.3.4End of Topic Test - Elizabeth, Justine & Henry
2.4

Families & Other Characters

2.4.1The Frankenstein Family2.4.2The De Lacey Family2.4.3Other Characters2.4.4End of Topic Test - Families & Other Characters
3

Intertextuality & Allusions

3.1

Intertextual References

3.1.1The Modern Prometheus3.1.2The Rime of the Ancient Mariner3.1.3The Bible3.1.4Mutability & Tintern Abbey3.1.5End of Topic Test - Intertextual References
3.2

Philosophical & Scientific Theories

3.2.1Edmund Burke3.2.2Thomas Paine3.2.3John Locke3.2.4Jean-Jacques Rousseau3.2.5Historical Figures3.2.6End of Topic Test - Philosophy & Science Theories
4

Biographic Context

4.1

Biographic Context

4.1.1Shelley's Parents4.1.2Loss & Maternal Anxiety4.1.3Literary Legend4.1.4End of Topic Test - Biographical Context
5

Chapter Summaries

5.1

Letters

5.1.1Letters 1 & 25.1.2Letters 3 & 45.1.3End of Topic Test - Letters
5.2

Chapters

5.2.1Chapters 1-25.2.2Chapters 3-45.2.3Chapters 5-65.2.4Chapters 7-95.2.5Chapters 10-115.2.6Chapters 12-155.2.7Chapters 16-195.2.8Chapters 20-235.2.9Chapter 24 & Walton’s Last Letters5.2.10End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-65.2.11End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-155.2.12End of Topic Test - Chapters 16-235.2.13End of Topic Test - Chapter 24 & Walton's Letters
6

Key Themes

6.1

Key Themes

6.1.1Curiosity & Knowledge6.1.2Science & Society6.1.3Loss & Companionship6.1.4Connection to Nature6.1.5Injustice
6.2

Key Locations

6.2.1Extreme Landscapes6.2.2Industrialised University Cities6.2.3End of Topic Test - Key Themes & Locations
7

Recap: Main Quotes

7.1

Characters Quotes

7.1.1Walton - Quotations7.1.2Victor Frankenstein - Quotations7.1.3The Monster - Quotations7.1.4The Educational Texts - Quotations7.1.5Elizabeth Lavenza - Quotations7.1.6Justine Moritz - Quotations7.1.7Henry Clerval - Quotations7.1.8Alphonse Frankenstein - Quotations7.1.9The De Lacey Family - Quotations
7.2

Quotes by Chapters

7.2.1Letters 1 & 2 - Quotations7.2.2Letters 3 & 4 - Quotations7.2.3Chapters 1-6 - Quotations7.2.4Chapters 7-13 - Quotations7.2.5Chapters 14-20 - Quotations7.2.6Chapters 21-24 & Waton's Last Letters - Quotations

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End of Topic Test - Intertextual References

Thomas Paine