Frankenstein vs. the Terminator: Themes of Science, Feminism, and Romanticism

1874 Words4 Pages

Author of Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; Born on 30th August 1797-Died on 1st February 1851. In her time she was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, a travel-writer and her Gothic novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus 1818. Marry Shelley, when she made a conscious decision to produce Frankenstein, she literally collected her own demons together to create her own autobiography in Frankenstein. Her book shows heartbreak towards conception. In other words where she had problems of having children of her own, she wanted to show this in her book. The author of Frankenstein also managed to make it a science-fiction novel of its time as one of the classics.

Mary Shelley knew her book would be in trouble if she didn’t go along with her husband Percy’s wishes. When she asked him to edit Frankenstein he did it in hid own style, which she didn’t like. Even though, she was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft the creator of feminism there was still mail dominance in publishing. Percy published her first book anonymously in 1818 They both knew it would be a flop if she went along with her own name therefore Percy took upon himself edit and change the text to suit his own standards before he went along and published it. So by the time it was published there was nothing left to say that she had written the novel.

Shelley’s mother Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the very first women to champion equal rights. After her mother’s success with feminism, eventually freedom for women had enabled her to gain authority to her own novel and she was able to republish the novel under her own name in 1831.

For my Frankenstein essay I will be focusing on how to critically compare the original text of F...

... middle of paper ...

...the idea of marrying Victor. Elizabeth keeps her character as very girly, flowery and stays week in character through the book. With Sarah’s character she does start with girly character but you can actually see the strength through her personality that the plot has given her to start with. After the terminator shows his face to her she becomes a protector of her son, saver of the future. By the end of the terminator film, Sarah has been shredded all her feminine side what was left of it after sleeping with again from the future male character.

, how it drowns to his attention how much he had longed for his sister/future wife to be. Yet he never felt so lonely whilst within her company. Whether it was the fact that the burning desire driven him away. Or just his sheer highly intelligent curiosity got in the way of settling for second best.

Show More
Related

  • Frankenstein Annotated Bibliography

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    Merriam Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature highlights Frankenstein as the work of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, published in 1818, and it brought into the Western world one of its best known monsters. Elements of gothic romance and science fiction help in telling the story of young Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein, as he creates a horrible monster by putting together limbs and veins, leading to destruction and his later regret. The creature is left alone in the world, even by his own creator, for his hideous appearance, and through watching humans he learns their ways of living. Haunting Victor due to his loneliness, he forcefully makes Victor agree to make him a female companion, but Victor’s regret and misery enables him to tear up his

    Read More

  • "Frankenstein": The Modern Prometheus, Boldly Creative

    2070 Words  | 5 Pages

    Mary Shelley was the second wife of famous English poet Percey Shelley. She had three children during her lifetime, but only one survived birth. Her most famous work was this novel, Frankenstein; it was not until long after she was dead that she received any real credit for her other novels.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein: Examples Of Feminism In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    When first reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley the examples of feminism are not apparent. Although learning more about Mary Shelley 's history helps one relate the events in Frankenstein to what occurred in Shelley 's actual life. Shelley 's feminist pedigree plays a huge role in her novel Frankenstein as it sublimely elaborates her own tragic loss of her first born child, reflects a man 's decision to create life, and Victor the creator of Frankenstein, leaves despite the connection with his own creation, and last influences Shelley 's jargon throughout her novel.For example, the moment the monster was created and throughout the rest of the story he was isolated from society. All the characters in the novel automatically feared the monster

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Relationships

    1402 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley used biographical strategies to write her well-known novel. Frankenstein has plenty of tragedy included to form the storyline. Many women passed away throughout the entire novel. Perhaps the reason for these mishaps was because Shelley watched many women and children die all through her life. For instance, her mother died after giving birth to Shelley. Also, only one of Mary’s children survived infancy. Mary herself almost died after a miscarriage. Percy Shelley’s wife, Harriet, committed suicide. (Percy married Mary after his wife took her own life.) Shelley also demonstrated a bond between specifics such as names, dates and events. For example, the letters that form the narration of the novel were written to Margaret Walton Saville

    Read More

  • Is Frankenstein’s Monster a Victim or a Villain?

    426 Words  | 1 Pages

    Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley and is a gothic horror. It is an important book because it tells us about when scientists and doctors started to experiment with bringing back the dead. I will look at arguments for both sides of the question. This is an important question because there is a strong argument for both sides and in a lot of modern films about him he is portrayed as a villain who likes nothing more than killing and lightening. Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein’ also known as ‘The Modern Prometheus’ in 1818, when she was seventeen.

    Read More

  • Dangerous Knowledge in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley, who was more known by her real name Mary Godwin, who was a English novelist and short story writer during the early 19th . Shelly was born in Somers Town, London on August 30, 1798, and was the first child of the popular William God win and Mary Wollstonecraft, which eleven days later died and was left with her older sister, Fanny Imlay, to be raised by her father. Shelly became greatly influenced in English literature and liberal political theories by her father who provided her with a very rich and informal education. Shelly began a romantic relationship with one of her father’s political followers, and they later married in 1816. Shelly and her new husband began to travel throughout Europe and became pregnant with the...

    Read More

  • Frankenstein-value for modern readers

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Shelley’s text, Frankenstein is a text, which is highly regarded in today’s society for its outstanding literary worth. However, the text as it was seen during the time of Shelley and its appearance and appeal today, most certainly differ. The most significant difference is that over a hundred years ago, the text was seen as a popular text, our modern day Simpsons, if you like. Conversely, today it appeals to the cannon of high culture. Its gradual change over time has been based on a number of deciding factors.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Over Time In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Over Time

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Frankenstein Over Time Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is impressive, entertaining, and fascinating, so it is no surprise there have been so many films and artworks influenced by her novel. Many of which have put their own spin to the horror novel, especially the character of the creature that remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. However, there have been critics who argue modern versions and variations have lost the horror and passion that is an essential to the creature. The start of the Creature is bound to be one book. However, public impression of the Creature has changed severely since the publication of the original novel, leading to diverse styles and plot lines in its diverse film adaptations.

    Read More

  • Loneliness and Isolation Caused by Rejection

    2021 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many novelists base their books on real life experiences and in Mary Shelley’s case, it is no different. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley was born on August 30, 1797. At a young age, she was exposed to her father’s library of English authors and listened in on her father’s educational discussions with his friends. She never went to school, but was home schooled so this was one of the ways she learned. Her father owned a publishing company so, at a young of 13, she published her first work, Mounseer Nongtongspaw, which is a verse poem. She never knew her biological mother and hated her stepmother because she was the exact opposite of her real mother. As a result of this hatred, she was sent to Dundee by her father and when she returned to London, she was introduced to her future husband, Percy Bisshe Shelley. After meeting for the first time in 1812 at a dinner hosted by her parents, they did not see each other again until 1814 when they became very close. Mary’s father did not support the couple at first and tried to separate them . They were atheists and found themselves in controversial situations because of this and their political beliefs . After several disputes between the couple and family, Mary and Percy departed on a trip to Switzerland and France to escape. They began to discuss ideas on this trip and Mary used her hectic experiences to write her stories (Means 2).

    Read More

  • Frankenstein Essay

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people know that Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, was part of a family of famed Romantic era writers. Her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, was one of the first leaders of the feminist movement, her father, William Godwin, was a famous social philosopher, and her husband, Percy Shelley, was one of the leading Romantic poets of the time ("Frankenstein: Mary Shelley Biography."). What most people do not know, however, is that Mary Shelley dealt with issues of abandonment her whole life and fear of giving birth (Duncan, Greg. "Frankenstein: The Historical Context."). When she wrote Frankenstein, she revealed her hidden fears and desires through the story of Victor Frankenstein’s creation, putting him symbolically in her place (Murfin, Ross. "Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein.”). Her purpose, though possibly unconsciously, in writing the novel was to resolve both her feelings of abandonment by her parents, and fears of her own childbirth.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Reading of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    Smith begins her essay by looking at the historical factors that may have contributed to this seemingly sexist book. Shelley, writing in the first half of the 19th Century, was in a period in which a woman "was conditioned to think she needed a man's help" (Smith 275). In the novel itself, no women speak directly. The book has three basic narrators: Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein's monster. The female characters are very weak in this novel, especially Elizabeth, Victor's cousin/fiancé (no they aren't from Arkansas). She is portrayed as the perfect woman, especially after Victor's mother, Caroline dies. She takes the place of the mother figure in the household. But just like all the female characters in the story, her character has little substance. Victor's character is described in detail, as is that of the monster, and Henry Clerval. When Henry gets killed, sympathy is really felt toward Victor, because he has just lost his lifetime friend. When Elizabeth is murdered, the reader finds it hard to connect with what Frankenstein is feeling. Elizabeth (and the other main female characters: Justine and Caroline) are there to reflect the men characters. Professor Smith states in her essay that "women function not in their own right but rather as signals of and conduits for men's relations with other men" (283). This is especially clear when the monster kills Elizabeth on their wedding night. The monster is upset with Victor, so instead of hurting him, he kills his wife. Elizabeth is used as a sort of ruler to measure the relationship between Victor and his monster.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Dulce Et Decorum Est And Frankenstein

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    A stylistic and thematic comparison of ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est.’ and ‘Frankenstein and His Creature

    Read More

  • Feminism in Frankenstein

    1757 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over the years, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become universally portrayed in one way: a tall, green-skinned, dumb brute with no language or reasoning abilities. Society has turned the story of Frankenstein into a mere horror story, dehumanizing the monster more than was intended in Shelley’s novel. However, the message of Frankenstein is a far cry from the freak show displayed by the media. While many people may only see Frankenstein as a grotesque story meant to thrill its audience, its purpose goes much deeper as it advocates for the equal rights of women in society.

    Read More

  • Reaction of Readers to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    2632 Words  | 6 Pages

    In your view, how do you think that Mary Shelley wanted her readers to respond to the character of Frankenstein? Justify your response by use of quotation and close reference to the text and relevant background information. Written by Mary Shelley in 1816, the book ‘Frankenstein’ – subtitled ‘The Modern Prometheus’ – was in many ways ahead of its time. When it was first published in 1818, Mary Shelley was using her husband’s name. It was unheard of in those days, for a woman to write literature of this sort.

    Read More

  • Modern Feminism In Frankenstein

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Wollstonecraft is the mother of modern feminism today. (Campbell). Her most known and most popular book, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”, is widely viewed as the first great feminist treatise. (Campbell). Wollstonecraft was raised by an abusive drunk for a father. At the age of 19 she took in her sister and saved her from an abusive marriage. For the longest time she was opposed to marriage until she fell in love with William Godwin. When she got pregnant with his child, they married. (History). Unfortunately, eleven days after she had their daughter, who would later write Frankenstein, she passed.(Purinton). Luce Irigaray has argued that the relationships we have with our mother’s body is the

    Read More

More about Frankenstein vs. the Terminator: Themes of Science, Feminism, and Romanticism

Open Document