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... to pursue him throughout Europe and eventually the Artic. After the creature found out that Frankenstein was dead, he felt satisfied. The creature took his leave and went away forever. (Shelley- 11 - 251) There are many different point-of-views on how and why this story was written. Most people believe that Dr. Victor Frankenstein was just a made up character for this story.
Others believe that Mary used Dr. Frankenstein and this story line to portray her life. There are a lot of similarities between Marys life and the events that happened in this story. (L. M. S. - 14) Mary Shelley seemed to have had a lot of problems in her childhood. Not having both her parents there and not having a formal education made her childhood harder then it already was.
As Mary got older her problems still existed. Her and her husband, Percy, had a troubled marriage, and had a lot of deaths she had to overcome. (Evans- 138) Mary seemed to use the novel Frankenstein to portray her life in a way thats not obvious. There are a lot of things that may have just been coincidental, but there are some that could not have been. In the first two chapters of Frankenstein, facts about Victor Frankenstein's childhood and family were being introduced. In the novel it said that Victor was born into a well-known family.
It also said how his mother adopted a girl named Elizabeth. (Shelley- 29 - 42) Those two examples are similarities to Mary Shelleys life. Marys parents were well known and when her father remarried there were two new children in her life, almost like they were adopted. In chapters three and four, it explains how Victors mother dies and how Victor went off to a university to get an education. Victors mother died from nursing her adopted daughter, Elizabeth from scarlet fever. (Shelley- 43 - 59) These are both similarities to Marys life. Marys mother died ten days after she was born, due to complications during birth. Mary never got a formal education but it was something that she always wanted.
In these chapters it also explains how Victor found abilities he had that he never knew he had. This is a similarity with Mary because she never had a formal education, but every time she tried something new, things would come to her naturally. In chapters seven through nine, there was basically one major event that portrays Marys life. The one major event was that Victors brother was murdered. (Shelley- 76 - 104) This is a similarity to Mary because her half-sister committed suicide.
Victor and Mary both lost someone that meant a lot to them, a sibling. This was one event that really made it seem like Mary was portraying her life with Victor Frankenstein's. In chapters ten through seventeen, the creature was learning about himself and life. The creature was slowly learning the concepts of life, and why things happen the way they do. He had a real hard time understanding why people were afraid of him.
Due to his physical appearances people would run from him. While in the woods, the creature came upon a child, approached him seeking friendship. The child was horrified, and started yelling. The creature killed this young innocent child because he himself was terrified, and could not understand why this child was scared. (Shelley- 105 - 170) This is a very vague similarity, but the creature getting to know himself is a similarity because Mary would learn about herself and her family through reading and writing.
It was hard for Mary to except why the things happened in her life the way they did. The child that the creature killed seems to be symbolizing her children that died in infancy. In chapters twenty-two and twenty-three, two obvious events happen that are similarities to Marys life. These events are that Victor and Elizabeth marry and Elizabeth dies. (Shelley- 210 - 226) Victors mother adopted Elizabeth when she was an infant, but Victor still married Elizabeth.
This has the basic similarity as Mary and Percy. Percy was practically part of the family, but Mary still married Percy. In the end of the novel Elizabeth dies. This portrays Marys life with Victors because Elizabeth was to Victor, as Percy was to Mary.
In the final chapter, Victor Frankenstein dies. (Shelley- 227 - 236) This is a similarity to Marys life in several different ways. Victor did not just let himself die. He put up a fight and tried to stay tough through it all. Mary also did the same. There were several incidents in her life that she could have ended her life and probably been happier, but she never gave in and tough everything out.
She went through tough times in her life, just as Victor did. They both lost everyone they ever loved, but still kept living their lives. There are several other similarities between the novel, Frankenstein, and Mary Shelleys life. There were a lot of minor things like the books the creature read, some quotes, and things to that extent. There were also somethings that could have been similarities depending on the way you look at it like where certain things took place, when they took place and who was involved. In some parts of the novel it seemed like Mary gave Victor qualities of herself, but then in other parts it seemed like Mary gave them to the creature.
There were times when Victor went through basically the same events in his life, as did Mary. Victor lost his mother at a very young age, and one of his siblings died. There were also times when the creature went through basically the same events, as did Mary. The creature had to learn about life, and himself on his own. He seemed to have to learn the hard way, and he had nothing handed to him for free.
Mary Shelleys Frankenstein was first published in 1818. Frankenstein is about a man that is so obsessed with the secrets of life that he is driven to create a perfect creature. Frankenstein has been re-made into movies, and books. None of the new versions of Frankenstein will ever compare to the famous, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. Mary Shelley was a prominent, though over looked literary figure during the Romantic Era of English Literature. (L.
M. S. - 1) Mary Shelley was only nineteen when she finished this novel. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein incorporating similarities of her life into the novel. Bibliography: Works Cited Abbey, Cherie D, Ed. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism volume 14. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Co. , 1987.
Bloom, Harold. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein Blooms Notes. Broom all, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1996. Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views; Mary Shelley. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985.
Evans, Denise and Mary L. Onorato, Eds. Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism volume 59. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1997.
Life of Mary Shelley, The. 1996. web
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