Famous gothic novels:1764 Castle of Otranto

1794 Mysteries of Uldolpho

1796 The Monk

1818 Frankenstein

1886 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1897 Dracula

1898 Turn of the Screw

Modern writersStephen KingAnne Rice

The Horror Novel History

Literature of nightmareSettings are remoteIntricate plotGrotesqueHero/heroine threatened by evilPremature burialChainsEvil to come …lure to terrorInsanityImprisonment

Mary Shelley

Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin London 1797 Daughter of two writers Ran away with Percy Bysshe Shelley

right before her 17th birthday She married Shelley after his wife

committed suicide She was widowed when husband

drowned at age 29 in a boating accident She died in 1851

Her Works:

Some Novels:

Valperga 1823The Last Man 1826Lodore 1835

Also wrote short stories, poems, and essays

Spent summer in SwitzerlandIdea for a ghost story was suggested to herFrightening images that formed the basis of the novelDeveloped a haunting character in literatureSubtitle: The Modern Prometheus...reference to Greek myth of the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans

How did the novel happen?

Question...

Did Shelley mean that the spark of life Victor gave to the creature was something no human should have stolen?

The novel:

Published in 1818 She was only 19 when published Her husband wrote the preface, and

people thought he wrote the novel Book was a runaway success Inspired over 50 films

Themes:

Symbols:

Light...dark secrets...scientists see the lightFire...dual nature...title reference

Other Themes:

The monster was played by.....

Movies:

Should Victor make a mate for the monster?

Yes No

Settings in the Gothic NovelWhat is the place?

What are the gothic elements of the place?

What happens here?

The Arctic Remote, mysterious, dangerous

Ice breaks up, the creature is spotted by men on ship, Robert meets Victor, Victor dies, creature boards ship, Walton meets the creature

The mountains Remote, craggy, beautiful, dangerous, cold

Victor meets the creature and hears his story

Victor’s lab Solitary, mysterious, creepy, full of body parts

Victor brings the creature to life

Small Scottish village

Coastal town in Ireland

Evian

Cottage in Germany

Interview with Mary Shelley?

What questions would you like to ask her?