Exhibit:

Frankenstein Gallery (England in 1819) Brittney F. McGinness

Preview of images

Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein was influenced greatly by events in England in 1819. These events will be explored in this gallery.

Images in this Exhibit

Galvanism

Shelley’s main character, Victor, uses the theory of Galvanism to give life to his creature. Galvanism involves the application of electrical current to body tissue which leads to muscle contraction. In the article “Galvanism and Scientific Discovery” the birth of Galvanism is explained: 

Late in the 18th century, Scientist Luigi Galvani, who was experimenting on dissected frogs, mistakenly touched a brass rod to a steel scalpel making a clear contraction of muscle in an otherwise dead frog.  He believed that this form of electricity, which he called “...
Prometheus

Before a reader enters the novel, the subtitle, “Or, the Modern Prometheus,” links Victor Frankenstein to Prometheus. “Prometheus is the creator of humankind in Greek mythology” (Smith).  This can be seen as foreshadowing. There are parallels between creation and suffering. Victor creates a being as does Prometheus. Prometheus steals fire from the Greek god Zeus and gives it to the humans and is punished for eternity by having an eagle eat his liver each day (Smith). Victor challenges God by taking on the role of creation. Victor suffers until death due to his creation. The creature...
Villa Diodati

In the summer of 1816, Mary Shelley found herself in Geneva, Switzerland accompanied by her to be husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, her step-sister Claire Claremont, Lord Byron, and Lord Byron’s physician William Polidori at the Villa Diodati (Perrottet). Lord Byron rented this house for several months to escape scandalous separation from his wife, rumors of an affair, and increasing debt (Perrottet). He hosted Mary and Percy many nights at this home where they discussed scientific discourses and experiments, philosophical debates, art, and shared ghost stories. Perrottet reports: “That summer...
Percy Bysshe Shelley

It has been reported that Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley often encouraged each other in writing, proofread each other’s works, and made edits. A portion of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Mutability” is found within Frankenstein when Victor returns to Geneva after being at University for several years. “In the passage, Mary Shelley has taken “Mutability,” assigned it a character (Victor), and converted it to prose” (“Mutability”). Percy’s poem is about the changes and contradictions among people, not places so it leads readers to wonder if he is truly concerned about changes...
Mount Tambora and the Sublime

Edmund Burke introduced the concept of the sublime. "Burke argued that feelings of the sublime occur when the subject experiences certain types of danger, pain, or terror"(Tarr). The sublime is a common theme in gothic literature.

Mount Tambora erupted in 1815 and is recorded as the most powerful volcanic eruption in human history (Wikipedia contributors). "The ash from the eruption column dispersed around the world and lowered global temperatures in an event sometimes known as the Year Without a Summer in 1816" (Wikipedia contributors). This created a sublime setting in which...