Frankenstein intertextuality

Frankenstein intertextuality

1. Paradise Lost by John Milton

   • Adam vs the monster
     • Both enter the world with a mature body but an 'unformed' mind
     • Monster is banished from 'Eden' in the form of the possibility of a loving relationship with his creator
     • Unlike Adam, the monster is refused a companion, neither does he have hope of a coming saviour
   • Adam vs Frankenstein
     • Forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge - Frankenstein indulges in experimentation which allows death to enter the novel
   • God vs the monster
     • Like God, the monster holds power of life and death over Frankenstein
   • God vs Frankenstein
     • Both experiment in anatomy and creation
     • Unlike God, Frankenstein displays no love or care towards his creation and isolates him for no good reason
   • Satan vs the monster
     • They both rebel against their creator in the form of seeking to attack the things they love. Satan = Adam and Eve. Monster = Frankenstein's loved ones
     • Both have strange attraction to the reader -> feelings towards the monster are frequently ones of sympathy and pity -> 'Evil thenceforth became my good' / 'Evil be thou my good'
   • Satan vs Frankenstein
     • Frankenstein 'plays' God by creating life himself and Satan displaces God

2. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

   • The Ancient Mariner is forced to carry the albatross he has killed around his neck -> Frankenstein is cursed to carry with him the burden of what he has done
     • He refers to his promise to create a companion for the monster as 'this deadly weight yet hanging round my neck, and bowing me to the ground'
   • Both texts make effective use of polar regions to achieve an atmosphere of eerie strangeness
     • The pole is a place of nemesis, where all of the characters are forced to come face to face with their destinies and the reality of the consequences of their actions

3. Prometheus and Pandora - Greek Mythology

   • Frankenstein is also known as The Modern Prometheus
     • Creation of Pandora under the control of Zeus (moulded from mud) echos creation of monster -> at first she bought good but her curiosity induced terrible worldly things