Mont Blanc is an important location within Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Mont Blanc is the tallest peak in Western Europe, reaching 15,771 feet (or 4,807 meters) in height (Britannica). This peak is within the Alps Mountain range, with Mont Blanc located directly on the border of Italy and France. Shelley uses this peak to display the Romantic ideal of the sublime. When something is described as sublime, it is in reference to a natural scene being awe inspiring, but also intimidating or inducing fear. Mont Blanc surely should instill a sense of fear, as it is one of the most fatal mountains in the world, with an average of 100 climbers dying on the mountain per year (Wallace). The way Victor speaks of the Alps is akin to the way a Romantic poet would write about them. In expressing his initial feeling of viewing the mountains Victor says, “It had then filled me with a sublime ecstasy that gave wings to the soul… The sight of the awful and majestic in nature had indeed always the effect of solemnizing my mind,” (Mary Shelley 75). Victor would go on to describe Mont Blanc in specific as having an “awful majesty” (Mary Shelley 76). The language that Victor uses in discussing Mont Blanc, specifically in the reference to the sublime, can be seen as a reference to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni,” written in 1816 (Percy Shelley). Both Frankenstein and Shelley express similar thoughts when confronted with the sight of Mont Blanc, stating that its imposing grandeur instills a feeling of solitude and self reflection on the viewer. This poem’s focus on the solitude of the human within this natural scene creates a greater tie between the necessity of solitude and the sublime. Thus, Mary Shelley creates this same tie by using Mont Blanc to be a representative of the concept of the sublime and a place of solitude for both Victor and the Creature.

Mont Blanc is also the setting where Victor and the Creature cross paths throughout the novel. In making Mont Blanc the place where the creator and his creation meet, Shelley only highlights the similarities between the two characters and their inescapable connection. Both Victor and the Creature often seek spaces of solitude and hold a deep reverence for sublime nature. The fact that Mont Blanc is a dangerous, glacial mountain calls on the sublime fear induced by nature, as well as the danger these two characters pose to each other. There is also something to say in that Victor is meeting his creation at the highest peak in Western Europe. Not only was the creature meant to be Victor’s highest achievement in his scientific practice, but it also seems to reference Frankenstein’s stance as a modern Prometheus. Prometheus’s hubris caused him to fly too close to the sun, as Victor’s caused him to attempt to reach the level of a god and create life. Thus, the place where he must be confronted by his hubris is the tallest peak in Western Europe.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopedia. “Mont Blanc”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 5

Dec. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mont-Blanc-mountain-Europe.

Accessed 19 November 2021. 

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein. Edited by Marilyn Butler, Oxford University

Press, 2008. 

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. “Mont Blanc: Lines Written in the Vale of Chamouni.” Poetry

Foundation, Poetry Foundation,

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45130/mont-blanc-lines-written-in-the-

ale-of-chamouni.

Wallace, Lane. “Why Is Mont Blanc One of the World’s Deadliest Mountains?” The

Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 25 July 2012,

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/07/why-is-mont-blanc-on

-of-the-worlds-deadliest-mountains/260143/. 

The birthplace of Victor Frankenstein’s ‘daemon’, the small city of Ingolstadt in southeastern Germany was deliberately chosen as the starting point to the end of Victor’s life. The small Bavarian city had a strong identity as a Catholic stronghold against Protestantism, as well as the secret society known as the “Illuminees” or Illuminati. As a critic of Enlightenment thought as well as an individual who “openly scorned…Catholicism”, Ingolstadt and its university were a perfect combination for Mary Shelley to portray as the birthplace of the man-made daemon.^[1]

While Shelley never explicitly declares her belief in a titular religion, the author is described as having “stubbornly clung to a belief in God”.^[2] A witness to religious instability as well as a passive participant in British abuse of Catholicism, Shelley’s demonization of Ingolstadt’s reputation as a Catholic stronghold and eventual bulwark of intellectual reasoning comes as no surprise in context of the author’s life.^[3] While the story of Frankenstein is set outside of the United Kingdom, the novel’s context within the Shelley’s homeland is also significant: the writing and first publication of Frankenstein comes eighteen years before the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 which removed legal barriers facing Catholics within the British Isles. A member of a majority Anglican and Protestant country, Shelley’s contempt for Catholicism is discernable in the deliberate choice of Ingolstadt for the birth of a “monster to haunt mankind”.^[4]

Located in the central part of the Bavarian state of Germany, Ingolstadt was known “a bastion against Protestantism” for the centuries following the Protestant Reformation.^[5] The area, known contemporarily and historically for its counter-reformation orthodoxy, quite noticeably attracted the disdain of Mary Shelley. During Shelley’s time, however, the city was inhabited by Napoleon Bonaparte for much of her early life and until shortly after the publication of Frankenstein. While Ingolstadt’s contemporary existence is important, Shelley is heavily influenced in her novel by the city university’s ties to Catholicism. The university, which eventually moved to Landshut in 1800 and later Munich, was an amplifier for Catholic power as well as an intellectual powerhouse during its peak. 

The Bavarian university that Victor attends in Frankenstein is the same that exists within the city of Ingolstadt. Much like in Shelley’s novel, the University of Ingolstadt “possessed a medical school of stature”.^[6] It is in the medical field of anatomy that Shelley once again utilizes religious differences: there were deviations between how Protestant universities and Catholic universities engaged in scientific endeavors concerning anatomy.^[7] This is best conveyed by Shelley utilizing Gothic literature’s canon of Catholicism and “its links to the bleeding [and/] or mutilated body…”^[8]As Victor mutilates dead bodies in order to create his creature, Shelley is providing an allusion to earlier depictions of Catholicism and the inherent evilness she sees in it. For Shelley, “Catholicism was the very source of subjugation…” that Victor tries to build upon in her novel by creating a new life in the creature.^[9]

Those at the University of Ingolstadt such as Adam Landau describe medicine as “been given by God to our just parents,”.^[10] The Catholic belief in miracles is also prevalent in both contemporary Catholic medicine as well as Frankenstein. Shelley’s act of integrating a miracle between the creator and the created ‘daemon’ in her novel can be seen as a mocking parallel. The creature’s body becomes a site of rebuff of religion. When Victor creates a the ‘daemon’ through the mutilated body, the Geneva native acts as God.^[11]

While Shelley utilized Ingolstadt’s reputation as Catholic stronghold to critique the religion she felt distaste for, the English woman also utilized the city’s more contemporary reputation as the home of the reason-based society known as the “Illuminees” or the Illuminati. As Professor Stephen Kern from Northern Illinois University states, “The novel dramatizes the clash between eighteenth-century enlightenment [reasoning] and nineteenth-century romanticism”.^[12]The clash described by Kern is best depicted by the formation of the secret society created by University of Ingolstadt professor Johann Adam Weishaupt in 1796.^[13] While Ingolstadt’s secret society did little other than attract dissenters and future conspiracy theorists, the very existence of the Illuminees was to create a reason-based society.^[14]  The secret society that developed in the university was aligned to the French Jacobins.^[15]

Although the daughter of radical English thinker who depended heavily upon Enlightenment thinkers and human reason, Shelley targets “the enlightenment idolatry of reason…by attacking the idea that man was a predictable and rationally controllable machine”.^[16] Between the pure reason utilized by her father, William Godwin, as well as the contemporary political happenings early in Shelley’s life, the author utilized the German city’s connection to pure reason and uncontrollable revolution to echo (French) Conservative critiques.^[17]

It is due to pure human reasoning and free will that allows for Victor’s creature to be unleashed on humanity. While also a critique of Catholicism in the depiction of the creation and the creator, the journey to the monster’s creation owes itself to pure reason and will. As Yale’s Jeremy Kessler writes, “The more powerful applied reason became, the more creative…Dr. Frankenstein marks the moment when the work of reason threatened itself with success”.^[18] While Frankenstein was debating on how he should create the creature, the Genevan’s pure absolutist pursuit of reason destroyed him and nearly society. 

^[1] Schiefelbein ,Michael. “”The Lessons of True Religion”: Mary Shelley’s Tribute to Catholicism in “Valperga”.” Religion & Literature, vol 30, no. 2 (1998): 59.

^[2] Schiefelbein, Michael  “The Lure of Babylon: Seven Protestant Novelists and Britain’s Roman Catholic Revival”. (Macon, GA: Mercer University Pres): 2001, 74.

^[3] “Roman Catholic.” Romantic Circles. Romantic Circles. Accessed November 22, 2021. https://romantic-circles.org/editions/frankenstein/V1notes/catholic.html?width=400&height=300. 

^[4] Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus: The Original 1818 Text. Edited by Kathleen Dorothy Scherf and David Lorne Macdonald. 3rd ed. Broadview Press, 2012. 

^[5] Helm, Jürgen. “Protestant and Catholic Medicine in the Sixteenth Century? The Case of Ingolstadt Anatomy.” Medical History 45, no. 1 (2001): 83-96. doi:10.1017/S0025727300067405.

^[6]  Curran, Stuart, ed. “‘Societies – Illuminati’ .” Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. UPenn. Accessed November 22, 2021. http://knarf.english.upenn.edu/Contexts/illumin.html. 

^[7] Helm, Jürgen. “Protestant and Catholic Medicine in the Sixteenth Century? The Case of Ingolstadt Anatomy.” Medical History 45, no. 1 (2001): 83-96. doi:10.1017/S0025727300067405.

^[8] Greenway “Dangerous Bodies: Historicising the Gothic Corporeal. By Marie Mulvey-Roberts”

^[9] The Lessons of True Religion: Mary Shelley’s tribute to Catholicism in Valperga Schiefelbein

^[10] Helm, Jürgen. “Protestant and Catholic Medicine in the Sixteenth Century? The Case of Ingolstadt Anatomy.” Medical History 45, no. 1 (2001): 83-96. doi:10.1017/S0025727300067405.

^[11] Peters, Ted. “Playing God with Frankenstein, Theology and Science”. Vol 16, no. 2, 2018, 145-150, 

^[12] Kern, Stephen. “Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’” Origins. Ohio State University , March 2018. https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2018-mary-shelleys-frankenstein. 

^[13] Hernandez, Isabel. “Meet the Man Who Started the Illuminati.” History. National Geographic, May 3, 2021. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/history-magazine/article/profile-adam-weishaupt-illuminati-secret-society. 

^[14] Vickory, Matthew. “The Birthplace of the Illuminati.” BBC Travel. BBC, November 28, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20171127-the-birthplace-of-the-illuminati. 

^[15] Michael Taylor. “British Conservatism, the Illuminati, and the Conspiracy Theory of the French Revolution, 1797–1802.” Eighteenth-Century Studies 47, no. 3 (2014): 293–312. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24690289.

^[16] Kern, Stephen. “Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’” Origins. Ohio State University , March 2018. https://origins.osu.edu/milestones/march-2018-mary-shelleys-frankenstein. 

^[17] Sterrenburg, Lee.”Mary Shelley’s Monster: Politics and Psyche in Frankenstein”. In The Endurance of “Frankenstein”: Essays on Mary Shelley’s Novel, ed. George Levine and U.C. Knoepflmacher (Berkley, Los Angeles:University of California Press, 1979), 143-171.

^[18] Kessler, Jeremy. “Creating Frankenstein.” The New Atlantis, September 26, 2020. https://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/creating-frankenstein. 

In Victor Frankenstein’s youth at the age of thirteen, he came across the works of Cornelius Agrippa, a 16th century natural philosopher. Frankenstein recalls this book as that which catapulted him into his obsession with mastering the mystical, alchemical sciences; he says, “My dreams were therefore undisturbed by reality; and I entered with the greatest diligence into the search of the philosopher’s stone and the elixir of life.” It was discovering this field of study and the non-accepting way his father had received his interest in the field that he claims ultimately led him to take on a quest for curing human malady and “rendering man invulnerable to any but a violent death.”

“If, instead of this remark, my father had taken the pains to explain to me, that the principles of Agrippa had been entirely exploded, and that a modern system of science had been introduced, which possessed much greater powers than the ancient…., I should certainly have thrown Agrippa aside… It is even possible, that the train of my ideas would never have received the fatal impulse that led to my ruin.” (Shelley, 68)

Agrippa considered himself a “magus,” someone who practices what was called natural or white magic, one who could perceive the connections of everything in the universe and manipulate them for the greater good. It was the idea of being able to create life out of dead matter by manipulating what was already in existence, that Frankenstein had which was a direct application of Agrippa’s described “natural magic.”

Agrippa’s most famous work, “Three Books of Occult Philosophy,” is one of the most well-known books on the subject to date and led to his repudiation by religious leaders and theologists. However, in Agrippa’s later years he published a book titled, “De Vanitate,” (short for “De Incertitudine Et Vanitate Scientiarum Liber,”) which surprisingly refuted everything he had written in his earlier years in his previous books on the occult. “De Vanitate” was even more widely printed and published in more languages. In it, Agrippa proposes the uncertainty and uselessness of every known field of study, including the occult, which was the heart of his work not too long before. He challenges the disconnect between different schools of thought and seeks cultural, religious, and scientific reform.

There is a lot of speculation as to why Agrippa wrote two books with such contradictory messages. Some scholars, such as Henry Morley in 1856 have posited that “De Vanitate” is a denunciation of the heedless quest for knowledge; a revelation of the dangers of knowledge when met with hubris. As to Victor Frankenstein’s reception of Agrippa’s writings, only the occult writings made an impression on Victor. It’s unusual that Victor didn’t acknowledge such an important aspect of a scholar whose work he admired so much.

It seems fitting that through disregarding an entire element of Agrippa’s works, one which should have made him rethink “his creation,” he did exactly what Agrippa was possibly warning us about. He allowed the innocent pursuit of knowledge to be corrupted with ego and selfish motivation.

I believe the tunnel vision he developed for one aspect of Agrippa’s works while disregarding the other, was Shelley’s intention. Her incorporation of someone with such powerful yet conflicting ideas into Frankenstein’s young impressionable self, was meant to reflect humanity and the motivations that drive our quest for knowledge, the obsession that takes over, and the insatiability that is inherent to it. It was also a perfect foreshadowing of Victor’s fate.

Bowen, Barbara C. “CORNELIUS AGRIPPA’S DE VANITATE: POLEMIC OR PARADOX?” Bibliothèque d’Humanisme et Renaissance 34, no. 2 (1972) http://www.jstor.org/stable/41430209.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41430209

Nauert, Charles, “Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, first published March 30, 2007

https://stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/sum2010/entries/agrippa-nettesheim/

How much of a human is Frankenstein’s monster? Is he a pseudo-human? Does Frankenstein’s monster contribute to our understanding of what it means to be a human? These questions floated around my mind as I read Frankenstein. Immediately, I was fascinated by the Monster’s interest in books, specifically when he reads Paradise Lost, Plutarch’s Lives, and Sorrows of Werter. The Creature’s reaction to the books, however, I think is similar to my own reaction to novels in general, which somehow both complicated and reassured my understanding of humanity throughout Frankenstein. The humanity the readers perceive within the Creature raises an epistemic question: What constitutes a human? In Chapter 7 of Volume II, The Creature laments,

I can hardly describe to you the effect of these books [. . .] as I read, however, I applied much personally to my own feelings and condition. I found myself similar, yet at the same time strangely unlike the beings concerning whom I read, and to whose conversation I was a listener. I sympathized with, and partly understood them, but I was unformed in mind [. . .] what did this mean? Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination? These questions continually recurred, but I was unable to solve them.”

(Shelley 142-143).

To react with honesty, I frequently ask myself these questions. I don’t think people can deny their own feelings of alienation, isolation, and difference; at least I certainly can’t. These books and their relation to the reader, in any case, highlight the conflicting feelings the creature feels about his own humanity– and has the readers question how they belong in a world that frequently rejects them based on differences. In relation, an essential feature of Romanticism, as I’ve learned in Professor George’s “The Romantics,” is its reaction to the Enlightenment period. The Enlightenment Period is characterized by its limitations of freedom, industrialization, and organized authoritative attitudes; examples include Rousseau’s The Social Contract and Hume’s “Of the Origin of Government.” Much of the Enlightenment Period attempts to create an organized society with societal roles and stricter ways of thinking, while the Romantic Period reacts with rebellion, rejection, individualism, and the freedom of each person

Moreover, the characteristics of each novel that the Creature listed reflect the historical impact on Romantic ideals. According to Romantic-Circles, Plutarch’s Lives was praised by Rousseau in his book Confessions. Additionally, the footnotes in Romantic-Circles note that “the accounts draw [the Creature] forth from his own isolation to imagine a larger cultural sphere of action in which he might participate.” Just as with the Enlightenment period, Plutarch’s Lives draws the Creature to think about the societal significance of individuals at a large scale since the book tries to compare Roman and Grecian leaders in order to bring the two empires together (Briticanna, “Parallel Lives”). Ultimately giving the Creature an understanding of humanity at a societal level, and as Frankenstein later reveals, begins to resent for rejecting him.

Sorrows of Werter, on the other hand, brought new ideas to the Creature. According to Briticanna, Sorrows of Werter is about “a sensitive, artistic young man who demonstrates the fatal effects of a predilection for absolutes,” showing the philosophical endeavors of Geothe. The Creature claims that he was moved by the philosophical endeavors of Geothe, but in the end, the Creature says “I did not pretend to enter into the merits of the case, yet I inclined towards the opinions of the hero, whose extinction I wept, without precisely understanding it.” (Shelley 142). Here the readers are introduced to the Creature’s understanding of sympathy, where he does not understand the hardships of Werter, but feels bad for him for suffering and eventually committing suicide. 

The most profound book that the Creature read, however, would have to be Paradise Lost. Not only was the book well-known and well-read at the time of Shelley’s Frankenstein, but Paradise Lost captures the Romantic period ideals because of its heavy religious and individualistic characteristics. Percy Shelley, for example, wrote The Necessity of Atheism, which highlights how humans unwillingly, subconsciously follow organized religion, and he himself cannot help but be an Atheist and resist religion. In a similar manner, the cover of Frankenstein quotes Paradise Lost: “Did I request thee, Maker from my clay / To mould me man? Did I solicit thee / From darkness to promote me?” (qtd. in Shelley 47). The imposed existence of man in Paradise Lost reflects the rebellious nature of the Romantic Era, hence why Mary Shelley quoted John Milton in her story. Paradise Lost captures the uncertainty of existence, how it is sprung upon each individual and how conformity attempts to shape our understanding of the world. In a similar manner to Percy Shelley, the Creature feels as if his own existence was forced, and that he did not choose to be the being that he is. As it seems, there are references to books within a book in comparison to another form of literature written in the Romantic Era. In the end, Paradise Lost, The Necessity of Atheism, and Frankenstein share a similar characteristic: rebellion against conformity. 

Because the Creature feels so isolated, it is obvious why he might feel comforted by Paradise Lost. As stated before, reading Paradise Lost lead the Creature to ask many questions about his own existence, why he was there and what his purpose was. The Creature also states, “Like Adam, I was created apparently united by no link to any other being in existence,” followed by “Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition” (Shelley 143). Here, the Creature relates to the characters, such as the isolation Adam feels and the outsider, outcasted feelings that Satan expresses as he watched Adam and Eve. Additionally, the Creature states, “Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and detested’” (Shelley 144). In contrast to Satan, Frankenstein is reminded of his isolation. Naturally, the readers have empathy for his unfortunate, forced creation, followed by his isolated state and undesired intellectual abilities.

All of these books are much more complex than the understanding Briticanna, Romantic-Circles and Sparknotes provided. However, with a simple understanding of each novel, the Romantic period, and its influencers, it is clear how the Creature gains a sense of humanity through books. In its own way, the novels reflect the way that humanities can intensify our own understanding of humanity: there is a reason why English is a Humanities rather than a science. Just as Frankenstein grapples with the question of ‘What does it mean to be a human?’ it’s important to remember that we, as readers, do as well. 

Works Cited:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Parallel Lives”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Feb. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parallel-Lives.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “The Sorrows of Young Werther”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Oct. 2013, https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Sorrows-of-Young-Werther.

“Paradise Lost.” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005, https://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/paradiselost/summary/.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Edited by D.L. Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf, 3rd ed, broadview editions, 1818.

Wollstonecraft Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Romantic-Circle, Edited by Stuart Curran, Published by Romantic-Circle 2009, https://romantic-circles.org/editions/frankenstein.

In 1803, J. DeWitt was brought into Dr. John Bogardus’s physician’s office suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm. It can be speculated that J. DeWitt was accidentally shot in the line of duty as at the time he was the sheriff of Dutchess County (DeWitt Family Papers, 1750-1890). Suffering from a gauging wound and multiple fractured bones Bogardus was forced to amputate the arm. His physician records are extremely detailed in the amputation process, yet the document I continued to look at was the second page of the record he kept. This page described the process and meticulous steps that Bogardus had done to ensure a safe healing. 

    21st-century medicine has come an extremely long way from the 19th century yet the same foundation of understanding what physiological process must take place for proper healing essentially remains the same. In his physician notes, he discusses how he ensures that the wound will close and the medications involved. While some of the steps are illegible two distinguished treatments are used: chamomile tea and Laudanum. The healing properties of chamomile tea have been documented for centuries as it is an  anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, mild astringent and healing medicine. Chamomile is a medical practice of the native world and comes in both German and Roman forms (Srivastava et al., 2010). It has properties that allow for treatment of the “ skin and mucous membranes, and for various bacterial infections of the skin…as well as wound healing.” (Srivastava et al., 2010). In a recent study conducted on wound healing, it was found that chamomile is statistically significant in wound drying and epithelialization ability (Srivastava et al., 2010). This medical practice was not new to the 19th-century medical field and was widely practiced. However, Laudanum was a different story. Not knowing much about the drug, to begin with, I became fascinated with this seemingly new and foreign treatment. 

Laudanum, had been deemed as of 1803 as “God’s own medicine” for its reliability, long-lasting effects, and safety (PBS Frontline, n.d). They first entered the United States market in 1800 when the British Levant Company purchased almost half of the opium that was coming out of Turkey with the pure intention of importing it to Europe and the United States (PBS Frontline, n.d). Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium, prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy into alcohol (Wikipedia, 2021). The preparation method of this drug is known as a whole opium preparation since it contains all of the alkaloids found in the poppy. Laudanum is extremely bitter, and reddish-brown in color. In the context of this physician’s note, he was most likely using it as a pain medication as it contains morphine and codeine. Historically speaking this drug was also used as a sleeping aid and cough suppressant. In the physician notes Bogardus notes that DeWitt did not once complain of pain and this can explain why.

    When looking at this document and the nuance of this drug (as it was only just approved for medical use in 1803, the same year this note was written) it gives us insight into how the opioid crisis started. With doctors prescribing this “miracle drug”, as well as it becoming over the counter, with very little (if any) longitudinal research done, this would explain how addictive properties of it were seemingly unknown. It is said that “It wasn’t until the late 1890s that the medical community began to understand the seriousness of the country’s opiate addiction problem. By the turn of the century, the estimated number of addicts in the United States was 250,000.” (Fernadez & Libby, 2011). This document can be considered one of the first accounts of the medicinal usage of Laudanum in the United States, as well as gives us insight into how trade and importing must have looked like in New Paltz over 200 years ago. It marks the beginning of an opioid epidemic that rivals that of the mid-1990s. 

References

Fernandez, Humberto, and Therissa A. Libby. Heroin: History, Pharmacology & Treatment. Simon and Schuster, 2011, https://books.google.com/books?id=aEXXDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Heroin:+Its+History,+Pharmacology+and+Treatment%22+(Hazelden,+2011),&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s.

“Laudanum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum#History.

“New York State Library.” DeWitt Family Papers, 1750-1890: New York State Library, http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc15161.htm.

“Opium throughout History | the Opium Kings | Frontline.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heroin/etc/history.html.

Putt Corners, hpc.townofnewpaltz.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1852&Itemid=78. 

Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with a bright future. Molecular medicine reports, 3(6), 895–901. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2010.377

Throughout the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Geneva, Switzerland is marked as a location that holds significance in Victor Frankenstein’s life. The significance of this location led me to wonder why Mary Shelley chose that specific location, why Geneva? Why not a more widely known and recognized city like Paris or London or even Berlin? Was choosing this location purposeful or was it just chosen randomly? With these questions swirling around my head I decided to find out more so I could finally understand Mary Shelley’s thought process in choosing this location. 

Geneva as a key location to the story of Frankenstein was presented in the very first chapter of the story when Victor Frankenstein “introduces” himself to the reader for the very first time. This introduction begins with Victor saying “I am by birth a Genevese; and my family is one of the most distinguished in the republic” (Shelley 64). From this statement I learned that Geneva is the location of the Frankenstein family’s “legacy,” and is Victor’s original home. Later in the story Geneva also serves as the location where William and Justine’s murder by Victor’s Creature takes place. Sure this provides the reason behind why the location is repeated throughout many points of the story due to the personal connection Victor has to the location, however it doesn’t provide the reason why Shelley chose this location out of all the possible cities in Europe. My questions have still been left unanswered. This then led me to dig deeper to  find out whatever I could about Geneva as a location, and hopefully I would discover the true significance of this location. 

My first step to discovering the true significance of Geneva involved a quick Google search of Geneva’s climate. Throughout the novel images of ice and cold and talks about arctic weather are repeated at multiple different parts. This lead me to my first hypothesis: maybe Shelley chose this location because it went along with the very prevalent ideas arctic exploration seen throughout the story with Walton’s arctic exploration and Victor Frankenstein’s own Arctic Travels. However upon looking at a map of Europe (Image 1), it became exceedingly clear that Switzerland was not located anywhere near the Arctic. If fact it was a landlocked country located in-between France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. Geneva’s climate also doesn’t match that of the arctic locations that Victor and Walton venture to throughout the story, however it does have cold winters that can reach freezing temperatures (https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/switzerland/geneva). Despite the fact Geneva has cold winters, that still didn’t answer my question of why did Shelley choose this location. There are many places in the world that have cold winters, so why did she choose Geneva?

My next step was to find the answer to my next hypothesis— Mary Shelley chose Geneva Switzerland to be a key location in her story because she had some personal connection to it. This led me to my next Google search: “Mary Shelley and Geneva.” This Google search was far more successful, with the first search result being a history.com article titled “‘Frankenstein’ Was Born During a Ghastly Vacation” written by Erin Blakemore. This article begins by mentioning how Shelley wrote the novel while on a vacation to Lake Geneva which is located in Geneva, Switizerland after the 1815 eruption of Indonesian volcano Mount Tambora, which had a death toll over 100,000. What does a volcanic eruption have to do with a novel?

As an environmental science major I have learned about volcanoes and how in the past they have contributed to climate change in somewhat significant ways, however I would have never thought that this eruption would have led to one of the major pieces of literature. Before reading this article I already knew that large enough volcanic eruptions can create volcanic ash cloud cover covering enough of the atmosphere to the point where it blocks any sunlight from making its way through causing a cooling effect that can last for several months. 

As I continued to read the article, the reason why Shelley chose Geneva, Switzerland became quite clear. From the article I learned that Shelley had arrived in Lake Geneva in May 1816 where she became immediately trapped due to bad weather that had been caused by the Mount Tambora eruption. This poor turn of events most likely provided Shelley with inspiration to write due to there being limited things to do, writing could be used by Shelley as a way to escape the current situation she was in. The reason for Shelley’s “vacation” to Lake Geneva goes further than just the desire to go on a vacation, in fact the main reason had to do with an affair. Mary Shelley went on the trip to Geneva with her husband Percy Shelley and her stepsister Claire Clairmont who had become pregnant with poet Lord Byron. Once it became public knowledge across Europe that Lord Byron had been having an affair with his half sister, Lord Byron exiled himself and left Europe. This then provided Claire with a good enough reason to go on a vacation, which Mary Shelley and her husband accompanied her on, without the knowledge that Lord Byron would also be there. Due to their status as writers, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron became close friends and acquired bought property on Lake Geneva where they spent immense time together at Villa Diodato where they became stuck due to rain, likely to be caused by the cloud cover from the Mount Tambora eruption. 

As most could imagine, being stuck with each other led to conflicts between those staying in Villa Diodato leading them to read horror stories. It is at this point of the article when it became clear that the main reason that Shelley chose to have one of the key locations in the article be Geneva was the fact that it was where she developed the inspiration to write the novel after Lord Byron gave his vacationers a prompt to write a scary story she saw terrifying man assumed to be dead show signs of life. Immediately all my questions were answered, and whether or not I believe this story is to be determined, however in some ways it makes sense. Mary Shelley just happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right conditions to write one of the most famous and well known pieces of literature, Frankenstein. This story also makes senses especially when you consider how rainy and “gloomy” weather is presented as a very present theme throughout the story. So in conclusion, Geneva was used as a location of great importance throughout the novel because it was essentially where the “birth” of Frankenstein as a story and idea was formulated.

Source:

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, et al. Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus. Broadview Press, 2012. 

https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/switzerland/geneva

https://www.history.com/news/frankenstein-true-story-mary-shelley

Letters have been part of human society since ancient Egypt and India. Paper is a relatively new medium for letters. In a story from the Roman poet Ovid, there is a reference to a letter written on an apple. The prominence of paper has since removed apples as a medium for letters, but long-ago people wrote letters on whatever they could get their hands on. Early letters were generally used to communicate with people and to send information. The purpose of letter writing has changed very little over time, the modern letter can look like an email that holds the same purpose as a letter written on an apple.

The story of Frankenstein is passed on through a tale told by Victor Frankenstein in the form of several letters written by Robert Walton to his sister Margaret Saville.  The format of a novel like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein told through letters is considered an epistolary novel. This tactic of writing allows the reader to feel as if the story is being told to them directly. The connection the audience feels with the story enhances the plot and emotional connection to the characters. The use of letters bridges the gap between private and public storytelling which Mary Shelley uses to her advantage. By having the reader see into private letters between Walton and Margaret, Shelley can portray the story as one told among acquaintances rather than one that is given to the public. The letters themselves are physical objects that build the story. The intangible entity that is a story is constructed through the tangible object of letters.

The novel contains more letters than those between Walton and his sister. Throughout the story, letters between Victor and Elizabeth pop up. These are different from the ones from Walton in that they help tell the story rather than frame the plot. These letters give the reader firsthand insight into how Elizabeth and The novel contains more letters than those between Walton and Victor are feeling. The use of these letters takes the account that Victor is giving Walton and allows the audience to understand how Elizabeth is thinking while Victor is not in Geneva. These letters make the story far more personal than if they were not included.

The story of Frankenstein begins and ends with several letters that could seem out of place when thinking of general information already known about Frankenstein. The letter at the beginning frames the story by giving some background to how the story is being told. The letters at the end bring the story full circle, making the ones at the beginning make complete sense. These several letters are objects that allow the story to be passed on. The letters bring the story into existence which makes it one of the most important objects in the story. These objects create the story that is an epistolary novel. This type of writing became popular in the 18th century because during this period letter writing was in its hay day. This period is considered the “great age of letter writing” and came with the increasing popularity of epistolary novels. Shelley likely wrote Frankenstein around this time and published it in 1818. The period she wrote the novel probably influenced the structure in the way of it being in the epistolary form.

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, has stood over nearly two centuries as a literary masterpiece. Shelley gives birth to these two very essential characters, who we come to know as the creature and the creator of this being, scientist Victor Frankenstein. Throughout the novel, we see the battle between these two opposites, both physically and mentally, bringing to light many life lessons and struggles, one of them being what it means to be different and shunned from society. Victor Frankenstein’s creation, the creature, is neither man nor inhuman, but rather another species all on itself who has trouble navigating through this new life he was brought into. Often shunned, mocked, and ridiculed, the creature quickly realizes this world does not accept his nature. 

Upon beginning this novel, I was highly interested in Mary Shelley herself. Shelley, daughter of the infamous feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, followed in her mother’s footsteps in her ideas regarding women’s status in society. This knowledge and background on Shelley herself are interesting to show that Shelley’s life piece, Frankenstein, did not include a strong female protagonist. Instead, Shelley wrote in two leading male characters: a well-respected and genius scientist and an inhuman monster-like being. However, after reading further into it and keeping in mind Shelleys very own background, the connection between the creature and the female race can be made.

The creature is often shunned and mocked for things out of their control, just like women in Shelley’s time. Because of a woman’s appearance and features, they were deemed incapable of specific jobs, duties, or the ability to do things that the male race could physically do. The creature is also judged heavily on its appearance, looking inhuman and being described as grotesque and horrifying to some who cross his path. “A mummy again endured with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I have gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived”(Shelley, p.55). Shelley describes through the creator’s eyes how horrific the creature is to the eye and making a comparison Dante inferring hell and satanic ideas. This comparison is attractive in how Shelley included how women were perceived in history, tying in women as evil and satanic creatures during the witch hunt era. In addition to appearances and physical differences, the creature is also viewed as Frankenstein’s property. The creature is not its being but rather an object associated with Victor. This idea of people being property to others is very similar to what women were encountering daily when Shelley was around. “But I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property”(Shelley, p.143). Women at that time were not viewed as separate entities, but rather an accessory to their husband, with no thoughts, actions, or views held separately. 

Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein ties in feminist ideals by introducing the creature as one of the main protagonists. The beast is shunned, mocked, and treated as unequal to men throughout the novel, similar to how women were treated and viewed during Mary Shelley’s time. Shelley brought her background and beliefs into Frankenstein, making this novel even more complex, genuinely allowing it to stand the test of time.  

    This was not the first time I had read Frankenstein. Still, it was the first time that I read it diligently enough to catch on to the themes of alchemy, specifically the reference to the Philosopher stone and the elixir of life. I’m not going to lie when I read over this passage “My dreams were therefore undisturbed by reality; and I entered with the greatest diligence onto the search of the philosopher and the elixir of life.” (Shelly, p.23) where these items were mentioned my mind was kind of blown. I had never heard either of these terms used outside of the Harry Potter books before so to say I was surprised to learn that these are actual objects that have been studied throughout time was a shock to my system, to say the least. 

    The Philosophers Stone is a substance that could turn any metal such as iron, tin, lead, zinc, nickel, and copper into metals like gold and silver (Pruitt, 2018). It is said to come in a variety of substances ranging from anything from powder to red and white stones. The white stone is said to be a more immature version only being able to turn metals into silver, while the red can change them into gold. The history of this stone is said to date back to biblical times where Adam received the knowledge of it from God. According to the legend it was passed down to biblical patriarchs through the years. This stone was also mentioned in connection to the Temple of Solomon (Psalm 118). However, the first written account of the Philosopher’s stone was found to be c. 300 CE in Cheirokmeta by Zosimos of Panopolis. From the Philosopher’s stone, it was said that the elixir of life or the elixir of immortality could be created. The elixir of life is a potion that is said to give its drinker immortality, as well as cure any disease. If you believe the legend that it was passed to biblical patriarchs it would explain the longevity of their lives. 

    Both the Philosopher stone and the elixir of life have been studied by alchemists for centuries as alchemy is the study of finding ways to transmute metals, prolong life, and even create life (cough cough Victor Frankenstein). The history of alchemy goes all the way back to Egyptians and their beliefs of life, death, immortality, and mummification, as well as the Arabs and their beliefs of transforming metals into noble metals which they then brought to Spain. However, the height of alchemy came with both the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment period. 

The historic periods shaped the way Shelly created this story as the Enlightenment period was a time where philosophy and intellect dominated Europe and the Scientific Revolution shined a light on biology, mathematics, physics, astronomy, and chemistry. Using these major scientific advances Shelly integrated them into Frankenstein by making it the foundation of Victor’s character. We learn very early on about Victor’s love of natural philosophers such as Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus despite the criticism he receives for enjoying their works. These philosophers were monumental figures in alchemy science outside of this novel, making it very obvious that Shelly had outside influence from these scientific movements. These initial philosophers Victor fell in love with as an adolescent shaped the actions he would do later in life. When reading through Frankenstein Shelly really just name drops the Philosopher’s Stone and the elixir of life and moves on with the story, yet I think this is such a turning point within the story. This is where Victor’s fascination with alchemy goes from something he reads about and studies to something real. After he mentions the stone and elixir he begins his work on creating the creature and challenging life and death. With both the stone and the elixir there is a lot of worry about the soul not being complete if you are to create life using these methods and I think that is also really emphasized throughout the story. Victor views his creation as a soulless monster which aligns with the theories and worries that alchemists used to discuss. Shelly uses these objects in order to foreshadow and really create a foundation for this story. She integrates the science and philosophy of the time into a work of fiction and storytelling. Maybe this is Shellys way of theorizing what could happen if these real scientific and philosophical theories were to become real? Regardless I think the mentioning of these objects was extremely important for the structure of the story and can be overlooked if not engaging in the reading. 

                        References 

“Elixir of Life.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Nov. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elixir_of_life.

Nobes, Patrick, et al. Frankenstein. Oxford University Press, 2008.

“Philosopher’s Stone.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Oct. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone.

Pruitt, Sarah. “What Was the Philosopher’s Stone?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 25 Sept. 2015, http://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-philosophers-stone.

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, one of Victor’s greatest sources of inspiration in his journey of scientific inquiry is German alchemist Cornelius Agrippa. In chapter two of the novel, when recalling his studies of natural science, Victor states: “When I was thirteen years of age… I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate, and the wonderful facts he relates, soon changes this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind…”. Victor is immediately drawn to Agrippa’s works, and is so overjoyed by this newfound wisdom, that he shows it to his father. Upon reading Agrippa’s works, William Frankenstein tells his son “do not waste your time upon this; it is sad trash” (68). After his father shows him simple experiments with electricity, Victor abandons his devotion to Agrippa’s work, stating ” “This last stroke completed the overthrow of Cornelius Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, and Paracelsus, who had long reigned the lords of my imagination.” (70), After his father demonstrates to him the natural principles of electricity, Agrippa’s wisdom is nothing but fiction to Victor. However, it may be possible that Shelley purposefully chose to mention Cornelius Agrippa as one of Victor’s first mentors in his passion for scientific knowledge, despite his ultimately small role in the novel.

Mary Shelley was known to have radical political beliefs for her time, and she was inspired by her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft’s beliefs, which, by today’s standards would be considered feminist ideas. Mary Wollstonecraft was the author of The Vindication of the Rights of Woman, which defended the concept of natural rights, especially those of women. Coincidentally, Cornelius Agrippa had published his own proto-feminist book in 1529, titled, Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex. In this book, Agrippa argues that woman are superior to men, and combats discriminatory portrayals of the female body in the Bible, Greek medicine, and other sources considered canon at the time. Agrippa states: “Woman was created as much superior to man as the name she has received is superior to his. For Adam means Earth, but Eve is translated as life. And as far as life is to be ranked above earth, so far is woman to be ranked above man”. He also defends Eve, and condemns men for being the source of evil and sin in all of us. He states, “it was therefore the man who committed the sin in eating, not the woman, the man who brought death, not the woman. And all of us have sinned in Adam not in Eve, and we are infected with original sin not from our mother, who is a woman, but from our father, a man” (Agrippa). As an early feminist, Shelley’s beliefs had an impact on her novel Frankenstein, and her ideas were shaped by earlier influences such as Agrippa, and her mother.

Despite the lack of prominent female characters in the novel, Frankenstein can be seen as an empowering work, through Victor’s contemplation of the creation of a female companion for the creature. Victor ponders, “She who, in all probability, was to become a thinking and reasoning animal, might refuse to comply with a compact made before her creation. They might even hate each other…and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form? She also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man; she might quit him, and he be again alone, exasperated by the fresh provocation by being deserted by one of his own species”. Victor is not concerned about there being two of the monster, he is worried that the female will develop autonomy, and have the rationality to make her own decisions. He is anxious that the female creature may not want to submit herself to the will of the original creature, which is what men at this time assumed was natural for women. Without this feminine influence, the creature grows hateful towards its creator, and this is what ultimately causes it to take its revenge on Victor. Despite the fact that he is only briefly mentioned in the beginning of the novel, mentioning Agrippa was a deliberate choice made by Shelley to reflect her radical beliefs, and alludes to the fact that the absence of a female mate is what causes the creature to cause Victor so much grief.

Works Cited:

Agrippa, Cornelius. “Declamation On The Nobility And Preeminence Of The Female Sex (1529)”. Mrdivis.Yolasite.Com, 2021, http://mrdivis.yolasite.com/resources/Agrippa’s%20feminism.pdf.

“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed November 18, 2021, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/579.

O’Shea, Ayla. “The Fear Of Femaleness: How “Frankenstein” Acts As A Feminist Platform”. Medium, 2016, https://medium.com/@aylaoshea/the-fear-of-femaleness-how-frankenstein-acts-as-a-feminist-platform-bfd3dfdf5b02.