For my First-year literature seminar creative project, I altered an Everyman’s library reproduction of the 1831 edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus. All of the alterations made to the presentation of the original text were designed to emphasize the often-subtle references Shelley makes to political events, her life, and the works of her contemporaries within her gothic novel. In my research paper, I contend that, “although not entirely designed to serve this purpose, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus contains elements that suggest that it is a critique of the socio-political climate of the 1800s. Shelley’s masterful use of diction, characterization, and plot development reinforces the presence of an anti-imperialist sentiment in Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus.”
I chose the medium of an altered book because I thought that literally juxtaposing the text of Frankenstein to other documents would form a particularly compelling visual that supported my claim. Initially, the scope of the project was limited to nineteenth-century news articles that corresponded to events in the plot of Frankenstein; however, as a began my research I found numerous allusions to the work of Shelley’s contemporaries as well as to her travels. Thus, the altered book transformed into a compilation of Shelley’s letters, works of her contemporaries, news articles, and journals. In terms of continuity, I stylistically used printed material and newspaper throughout the piece. For example, on page 43, the interlaced newspaper is symbolic of the integral role Shelley’s political environment had on her writing. The product of two politically active parents, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, Shelley would have been aware of the numerous political ideologies competing for influence during the 1800s. Born at the height of the French Revolution, Shelley observed both the tremendous influence and the destructive power of the mob. Most importantly, during the time period in which she wrote her novel England adopted imperialism as the prevailing political ideology. The period in which Frankenstein was published coincides with the time period, 1815-1919, commonly referred to as Britain’s imperial century. By juxtaposing newspaper articles that predate the publishing of Frankenstein, the reader is able to observe the parallel Euro-centric diction and similarities in the topics. For example, according to her letters, Shelley was particularly concerned with the Greek Revolution because of her friend Lord Bryon’s involvement. Therefore, in the book I included nineteenth-century publications that were written about the revolution.
Shelley incorporated many of her own life experiences in to her gothic novel; therefore, it is logically consistent to conclude that she would have incorporated elements of her own political position into her novel as well. For example, the settings in her novel were places that she and her husband Percy had visited together. Shelley wrote the first draft of Frankenstein while on a trip to lake Geneva in Switzerland; Victor Frankenstein is said to be from Geneva, Switzerland. The descriptions of the settings and the descriptions of her travels in A History of A Six Weeks Tour are almost verbatim.
Ultimately, I hope that the altered book visually articulates the concept that underpins my theory of incidental imperialism, that all writers, whether it be intentional or subconscious, tend to write about what they know best – the world in which they live.
