Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on August 30, 1797, and died on Feb.
She wrote Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by the time she was 19. The .
book was first published in 1818. She was the daughter of two great intellectual rebels of .
the 1790's and her mother wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. After .
miscarrying a baby, she had dreams, one of which became chapter 4 of Frankenstein.
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Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a gothic science-fiction novel told .
through the letters of Robert Walton, who, in his letters, quotes Victor Frankenstein's .
first-person narrative at length; Victor, in turn, quotes the monster's first-person .
narrative; in addition, the lesser characters Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein .
narrate parts of the story through their letters to Victor.
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Because there are so many narrators, the point of view shifts with each change of .
narrator. From Walton to Victor Frankenstein to Frankenstein's monster. Then back to .
Walton, with a few digressions from Elizabeth Lavenza and Alphonse Frankenstein in the .
form of letters.
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There are three main characters in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.
Victor Frankenstein is a young, innocent dreamer fascinated by science, but, over the .
course of the novel, he changes into a disillusioned, guilt-ridden man determined to .
destroy the fruits of his arrogant scientific endeavor. Frankenstein's Monster has been .
abandoned by his creator and is shunned by society, creating a very bitter, murderous .
monster. There is also a softer side to this monster as he is very eloquent and gracious to .
those who do not shun him, in fact, he saves a young girl from drowning, but once again, .
no thanks is given to him, he is merely shunned again, cursed and told to go away.
Robert Walton is a ship captain with an unnatural obsession with reaching the North .
Pole. He starts a meaningful, deep, loving friendship with Victor, but Victor suddenly .
