Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Barbara Johnson: Three Key Ideas about Frankenstein

1. Motherhood: impossibility of finding an adequate model for what a parent should be
2. Woman Writer and Feminism: hidden femininity within a book of men
3. Autobiography: A tale of 3 autobiographies (Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein, nameless Monster) and how events from Mary Shelley's life story are subtly used.

The information I learned from this critical analysis really opened my eyes to the reasons behind the book. Learning the back story of how Mary had mixed feelings about child birth helped me relate to the story about why Frankenstein was disgusted with his creation as it relates to a representation of maternal rejection. The analysis also helped me connect the death of Mary's mother when she was an infant with the fact that none of the the characters had mothers. This critical analysis gave me a new understanding of the novel.

3 comments:

  1. I think that you did a great job identifying the three key ideas in Johnson's essay on Frankenstein. However, you can probably clarify how exactly the critical analysis gave you a new understanding of the novel—perhaps flesh it out a bit more. Otherwise, you were able to capture the main idea very well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We had similar three ideas. I liked how you explained more about the child birth and maternal rejection!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can relate to the criticism changing your views about the novel. I started to read Shelley's novel only as a story of a monster, but now I see it as a way of Shelley to tell her life story. You have very good ideas here, good job!

    ReplyDelete