MSSU ENG272 - Fall 2025 Dashboard
Description
British Literature II: Revolution, Reaction, Reform examines British literature from the late eighteenth century to the present, a period that witnessed the American and French Revolutions, slave revolts such as the Haitian Revolution, a “revolution in female manners,” the Industrial Revolution, the twentieth-century revolutionary wave in Europe, as well as World War I and World War II, and, of course, artistic revolutions. We will consider how the authors and literary works of this period might be reacting to change, advocating for reform, or participating in literary revolutions—whether revolution is understood in the sense of “revolving” or of “revolting,” going full circle to return to a previous (more perfect?) time or experiencing/effecting a great alteration or rupture.
Access the works for annotations assignments in COVE Studio here: ENG 272, Fall 2025
The digital edition of Frankenstein for annotations and the map project can be found here: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (1818)
Galleries, Timelines, and Maps
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Individual Entries
Perth acts as the last place where Victor is still part of civilization. It’s the place where he and Clerval part ways so that Victor can build a female version of the monster. It’s symbolic because Perth is a place of division “between highlands and ‘civilization’” (“Perth, Perthshire, Scotland”). This basically means that Perth was the last place where Victor went before going abroad to the highlands in order to get to a place of privacy where he could do his work. The reason Victor wanted to go to the highlands, however, was because there’s not many people as a result of the lack of production abilities. This is because the highlands have less optimal factors of production than those of the lowlands. More specifically, due to the elevation of the highlands, the soil...
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St. Petersburg had a lot of symbolic meaning when it came to its presence in Frankenstein. It was the place where Victor boarded the ship to Archangel with Walton. The reason it had so much meaning is due to the care that Walton showed for Victor on the ship while he was sick, and how it symbolized the “pearly gates” of heaven as it acted as the ending point for Victor’s life and hunt for the monster (laconicprose). St. Petersburg was the place where Victor confessed everything that happened, as well as what he’d hoped to do before taking his last breath. In addition to this, it also acted as the place where the monster confessed his feelings and decided that he wanted to take his own life. Overall, St. Petersburg acted as a place of final confession, final place of life, and place of clarity for both Victor and the monster, making it a very important geographical location in the story.
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Tartary was a place that Victor traveled through on his hunt for the monster he created. The role it plays in the story is portrayed by its use from the 13th to 19th centuries as it was used to describe “the land of the Tartars” (Raines). This refers to a group of Turkish people from the western side of Russia; however, the word “Tartary” appears at many different locations on different maps, ultimately pointing to its subjective use, and the fact that it’s not an actual “political designation” (Raines). Because of the subjective use of this word, Victor could’ve meant, in simpler terms, “the boonies.” Taking this into account, it relays to what great extent Victor was willing to go to in his journey to find his monster, highlighting the importance of their relationship within the novel.
Harding, Jeff. Middle of...
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