A Coleridge said that ‘a willing suspension of disbelief’ is an essential ingredient of fantasy and she uses this in the beginning by setting this fantastical tale in the ice-bound arctic.
B Feminist Mother who died a few days after Shelley’s own birth.
C Myths– obviously the Prometheus myth but also Faust who sells his soul to the devil for the secrets of the universe; also the Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man – the hovel in the woods?; and Paradise Lost by Milton in which Satan is banished by God for leading a rebellion.
D The scenery – she was excited by the Alpine setting
E Her husband
F Rousseau – who said men’s nature is harmless but that men are made evil by society – a new idea!
G Science and the supposed power of electricity – at this stage held an almost alchemical fascination.
Shelley’s purposes
Irony and dramatic irony are used to help the reader take a critical view of the narrators
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The evil within man? |
see the ‘meaning of the monster’ |
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Parent- child relationships |
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As a political tale |
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Moral tale |