Frankenstein – Significance of Chapter 5
Discuss the significance of chapter five, in relation to the novel as a whole. Focus on the writers choice of language and form, and the social and historical context of the book
The text Frankenstein is a book which discusses questions which were going unanswered at the time an gives many different indications as to what might become of these underlying questions. The significance of chapter five, in relation to the novel as a whole, is extremely important when reading the text and makes many interpretations as to what was happening at the time. The writer, Mary Shelley uses an amazing choice of language and form, which discusses the social and historical context of the text. The pure essence of the text is to question the notion of science and just how far it has gone. The nineteenth century setting and the characters gives the text an impressionable meaning and helps the reader to understand the context of the setting and why certain things happen in the text and for what reason.
The text Frankenstein was written in 1916 and published in 1918 when Mary Shelley was at the age of 19 – 21. Mary Shelleys life was characterised by adventure and death which is why I think she wrote such a horrific and meaningful story. Mary eloped at the age of just 16 to Mr. Percy Shelley, a famous poet at the time. They resorted to eloping because the illicitness of their relationship angered both his and her families. Her half sister committed suicide two years later. Mary later met Lord Byron who she became very close acquaintances with. Percy Shelley then drowned in 1922 and Lord Byron in 1924, leaving Mary completely alone isolated and in exile from the rest of the world. Mary Shelley had a very unfortunate life from the beginning which would drive someone to a very dark place such as was Mary Shelley in, and she resulted in putting her thoughts and opinions of the madness of the world around her into a gothic yet romanticised novel. All this happened during the midst of the backlash from the Romantic Movement.
Frankenstein is a text about a man – Dr. Victor Frankenstein – driven by his madness and obsession in uncovering the secret of giving life to matter. He feels strongly that people dont have to and shouldnt die. He his pushed over the edge when his mother dies. A plan manifests in his eccentric mind, telling him that all he needs is the right combination of substances in order to create a living being. His experiment goes awry when the creation is given life has a hunger for killing. This abomination is completely abandoned and left alone to survive by him self and is feared by those around it. It learns to hate humans for fearing it and puts itself in seclusion. Once