Discuss the social and ethical themes of frankenstein. in what particular historical period was the novel written? can you find reasons why these themes are central in this novel?

discuss the social and ethical themes of frankenstein. in what particular historical period was the novel written? can you find reasons why these themes are central in this novel?

The idea of the novel was worded in 1816, while Mary Shelley was with his husband at George Byron's home on the Geneva Lake, when Byron suggested to his guests to write down a horror story. With this book Mary Shelly founded the science-fiction genre, melting gothic elements with the realistic ones, supported by biological and galvanism notions.

The main character of the story is a student of chemistry who, with the rests of a human body, creates a human being, imitating the act of creation. Then, scared by his experiment, he leaves his monster who starts to wander in the torment of his completely separation from the rest of the humanity. The consecution of the events reveals a tragic figure, hidden behind a monstrous appearance.

Frankenstein come out during the period of transition from the Enlightenment to the Romanticism. The Enlightenment reached Mary Shelley through the father who was a follower of the Encyclopedists, that thought the development of feelings and ideas, is based completely on the quality of the first sensations of a human being. Indeed the monster become a rude, bad and wicked creature because he was left alone by Victor against the cruelty of the people.

The influence of the Romanticism can be traced in the figure of the 'man-hero', the man who left a trace in the reality and could find, in the strength of feelings, an answer to the problems of life. Victor like an hero tries to discover the secret of life and with conceit to give life to a dead body of course to left a trace in the story. Victor is so arrogant that he continued in his intent  without caring about the consequences and so he fails; here we can find the bitter criticism about the ideals of that period, that could revealing the feminist character of Mary .

The constant of that period is also the mysterious and grim atmosphere with the predilection of the amazing experiences that appeared in two of the main writer of the Romanticism: Byron and P. B. Shelley.

Mary Shelley, was influenced from the absence of the mother and from the male incapacity to take care about the children, showed both from her father and her husband, father of her children. She must see in this desire of scientific paternity and not biological a tragical component of the relationship between the creator and the creature.

The evident oscillation sympathy for the monster and the scientist is of course caused by the fact she can't fell demon like a 'diverse' but she can't side with the human being against this 'outsider'; however we have the feeling that a part of her could say: 'I'm the monster', because in the passages related with the childhood of the monster she takes a liking to him. So in the dark shadow that the destroy project on the family we can see the figure of Mary Shelly animated by her purposes of revenge against an institution that had gave her only pains: the family.

In Frankenstein a lot of attention is reserved to the theme of the people conditioning, for the importance of social behaviors and to the one of the 'persecuted' hero. In the book the persecution appeared in all its aspects:

the monster is persecuted by the mankind because of his horrible look. This is linked with the theme of diversity: at all times people that have something different from the standards of the society in which they live , have been left out and very often also persecuted ('who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me? Agatha fainted [] Felix darted forward [] in transport of fury, he dashed me to the ground and struck me violently with a stick'(chapter 15).

at the same time the monster persecute his creator, the creator's family, and all the human beings.

Victor persecute his creature to destroy it.

The picture that come out is the one of a world where everybody is against  everybody.

In the story is evident the contrast between science and ethic, a conflict that is still present today. This problem hits Victor Frankenstein  only when he have to make another monster: knowing that his first creation was evil, should the doctor make a second one? With the knowledge at hand, to Dr Victor, it is not at all morally corrected to bring another monster into the world. When and if Frankenstein commits the moral sin of creating another monster he maybe rid of both monsters forever. 'With the companion you bestow I'll quit the neighborhood of man'(chapter 9) promises the morally corrupted monster to the doctor before the completion of his partner. When the doctor, if and when he, finished his first creation's mate there his a chance that the monsters won't keep their promise and stay in Europe evoking fear into townsfolk.

The good doctor, trying to act morally, destroys the monster for the good of the world. 'Shall I, in cold blood, set loose upon the earth a demon'(chapter 20) argues Frankenstein with his creation. It is not morally right for one person to unleash such a terror on the world to benefit only himself and his family. The doctor decides to be unhappy instead of all mankind and starts to follow his creature to kill it.

The Historical Period

The 1816 is known as 'the year without summer'. Because of the eruption of the volcano Tamboro, which is in India and also for the dusts that got into the atmosphere, the summery months were very cold and rainy. In this year Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein.

Mary was born in Somers Town, Great Britain, in 1797 and died in 1851 at the age of fifty-three. Her life took place during the period of transition from the Enlightenment to the Romanticism that influenced her in the drafting of her novels.

Here there are some of the main historical events that happened in Europe from the end of the eighteenth century until the middle of the nineteenth one.