Last Name 1

Name

Professor

Course

Date

The Novel Frankenstein and its Time Period

Mary Shelley wrote her first draft of Frankenstein in 1816, she then anonymously

published the book in 1818 and it was a success. Percy Bysshe Shelley was Shelley’s husband

and was initially thought to have written the book. The idea of the Modern Prometheus

originated from a contest on horror and ghost stories. The contest included the author, her

husband, her stepsister, Jane Clairmont and friends, John Polidori and Lord Byron. Most of what

is the novel aligns with the author´s personal life experiences, for instance, losing her child just

before the horror story contest that inspired the book Frankenstein.

To understand when the period when the novel Frankestein was written, one must first

understand the years preceding 1816. England and France were at war in the late 1700s and early

1800s. England made ties with Europe, which was beneficial; however, the English intended to

impede the revolution that was continually rising within Europe. The English upper class were

worried that the French Revolution influencing their country. After the French and American

revolutions, Europe had become tense due to fear of potential revolutions from the early 1800s.

Meanwhile the masses felt that change was required to ensure equality among all people. Earlier

on, in the early 1800s, Napoleon had waged wars that killed all dreams of Europe building a

better tomorrow. Even so, these seeds of disunity lead to many concluding that class and social

barriers were unnecessary in mainland Europe and England. “…many of the historicities of

Frankenstein- its interactions with French Revolutionary era discourses about gender, class
 Last Name 2

revolution… ” (Randel 465). Equality, fraternity and liberty were the cries of many men. The

novel makes light references to the French Revolution with the idea that the monster turned his

personality just as the revolution did in their hopes for liberty and equality. The idea was that

men could achieve more liberty if it was not for the overbearing government. Masses also felt

that unity would lead to greater liberty and government as it would work towards a common

cause. At the time, social institutions and political institutions were aware of the feeling

originating from the widespread revolution. The United Kingdom was less dependent on

monarchies and thus power was more evenly distributed unlike counterparts like England where

peace was not as easy. Many critics like Percy Shelley and Lord Byron thought England was not

doing enough to ensure that masses had freedom. The novel Frankenstein relates to this period as

the author touches on determinism, free will and opposition. “Man’s yesterday may ne’er be like

his morrow; / Naught may endure but mutability.” (Kern)

The novel Frankenstein was also written in an era when the enlightenment period was at

its peak. This historical period lasted between the 1680s and 1810s. This period was

characterized by new political ideas, philosophical progress and an explosion in sciences. The

key ideologies of this period were scientific progress, new ideas and rationalism. Isaac Newton

invested calculus during this time while Galileo made strides in astronomy. Masses felt that the

progress was unstoppable and that they could make the future better with the new sciences and

new government ideologies. “Hofman and Shelley are fascinated by the process of production. In

their fiction, they represent the manufactured object as initially attractive…”(Michie 21). Many

of the enlightenment ideas have been presented in the novel, notably, advancements in science as

a central theme. The enlightenment era saw experiments with electricity, and during the time the

novel was written by Shelly, many were fascinated with the idea of whether it was possible for
 Last Name 3

electricity to animate the dead through a scientific. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein Is interested

in advancing sciences among men and master nature among humans, concepts that originates

from the enlightenment thinking. Victor creates a body made of corpses and reanimates back to

life. Frankenstein created a life out of unspecified scientific means, which hints the idea of

galvanism law, this can be associated to the surge in scientific experiments in the enlightenment

era. The author of the novel is also aware of the idea that technology was advancing at

unstoppable rates which was creating concern among the readers of the 18th century. However,

her book was not mostly about advances by men, but advances that are unorthodox.

The novel was also written during the romanticism period that lasted between 1879 and

1850. The novel was a clash between the romanticism period and the enlightenment period. With

the enlightenment period, Shelley focused on the idea of scientific and rational reasoning by

suggesting that man is a machine that can be rationally or mechanically controlled. The

romanticism period was a time of artistic, philosophical and literary movements. ‘’ Appropriated

by popular culture and academia, journalists and artists, politicians, and scientists, over decades

the story…’’ (Parrino et al. 136).The romanticism period was of the idea that the enlightenment

period was too restrictive and traditional. Thus, there was a clash in ideas with the two periods

because the former was only focusing on rational, not emotion, and human sensory experiences.

The romanticism period saw readers who were interested in the sublime, intense beauty,

imagination, aesthetics, subjective experiences and intense emotions. Romanticism writers were

mostly focused on dreams, sex, death, nature and its powers and love. Shelley´s novel was

written and published in both the romanticism era, and enlightenment era. The enlightenment era

had quickly made great economic, social and political changes leading to the industrial

revolution. The romanticism period was a rebellion against the reasoning that logic goes beyond
 Last Name 4

imagination or emotion. Shelly in her novel captures romanticism through the sublime by setting

the novel in the Swiss Alps, a rugged region, with beautiful cascading waterfalls and the sharp

snow peaks everywhere. The novel also capture the clash between the enlightenment era and the

romanticism period when Frankenstein bumps into his creature accidentally and they clash.

Romanticism was eras of imagination, individualism, supernatural ad mysterious, which have all

been adequately captured in the novel.

Conclusion

Shelley´s novel was written during the aftermath of the French Revolution. This period

was characterized by political upheaval in Europe. The novel reflects the uncertainties of the era.

The novel was also written in the enlightenment era, which the book explores through scientific

progress, and human ambition. The book also falls under the romanticism period, which the

author captures through exploring concepts of the individual and the power of nature. The author

also uses the grotesque, supernatural and gothic approaches, which fit in the romantic period.

Additionally, the author adequately captures the clash between the romanticism time and the

enlightenment period. Overall, the novel fits perfectly in the period it was written as it reflects

the values and concerns of these times.

Works Cited

Michie Elsie B. Outside the Pale : Cultural Exclusion Gender Difference and the Victorian

Woman Writer. Cornell University Press 1993.

Parrino Maria et al. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 1818-2018. Cambridge Scholars Publishing

2020.

Randel, Fred V. “The Political Geography of Horror in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.” ELH, vol.

70, no. 2, 2003, pp. 465–491., https://doi.org/10.1353/elh.2003.0021.

Shelley, Mary W Frankenstein, Or the Modern Prometheus. Cutchogue, N.Y.;Bucanner Books

1976. Print.

Kern , Stephen. “Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein.’” Origins, 1 Mar. 2018,

https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2018-mary-shelleys- frankenstein?

language_content_entity=en.