"Frankenstein" and "Paradise Lost"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how Mary Shelley was, without a doubt, reacting to Milton's "Paradise Lost" when she wrote "Frankenstein". The paper also examines how many of the characters in "Frankenstien" seem to reflect Milton's. Additionally, the paper examines how Shelley updated the way the people of her generation perceived the relationship between God and Satan, just as Milton had in his time, in his poem.

From the Paper:

"One of the main reason why "Frankenstein" and "Paradise Lost" are so captivating is the author's ability to create a personal connection between the reader and the anti-hero in their works. Frankenstein is the story of a Creator, Victor Frankenstein, and his Creation/Opponent, the Creature or Monster, just as Paradise Lost is the story of a Creator, God, being foiled by that embodiment of Evil, Satan. Victors problems started when he chose not to follow the path of a common natural philosopher, who "might dissect, anatomize, and give names" , but never acquire the true knowledge of God, the secrets of nature which he desired to "divine". Victor places the role of God upon himself. He has the power to create, but unlike God's power, his is not divine, but comes from science. Victor attempts to create a man in his own image, but what he created was a hideous creature, "a thing
such as even Dante could not have conceived"(Chapter 5), which implies that Victor himself is flawed."

Sample of Sources Used:

• William. Moeck, Earl, Roy. Miner, Steven, Edward Jablonski. "Paradise Lost, 1668-1968: Three Centuries of Commentary", Bucknell University Press, 2004: p15-31.
• Biography, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1759-1797, http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/wollstonecraft.html
• Lamb, John B. "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Milton's Monstrous Myth," Nineteenth Century Literature, 1995; p303-319.
• Mary Shelly, "Frankenstein, or the modern Prometheus".
• John Milton, "Paradise Lost".

More papers on "Frankenstein" and "Paradise Lost":

• Comparison Essay # 102892 : "Allusions to "Paradise Lost" and "Faust" in "Frankenstein"
• Book Review # 102984 : "Nature and Science in "Frankenstein"
• Analytical Essay # 49241 : "Cloning and Literature"

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