Frankenstein : complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives

Cover image for Frankenstein : complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives

Frankenstein : complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives

Format:

Book

Title:

Frankenstein : complete, authoritative text with biographical, historical, and cultural contexts, critical history, and essays from contemporary critical perspectives

Author:

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851.

ISBN:

9780312191269

9780312117627

9780312249489

Edition:

Second edition.

Publication:

Boston : Bedford/St. Martin's, [2000]

Physical Description:

x, 470 pages ; 21 cm.

Series title(s):

Case studies in contemporary criticism.

Contents:

Frankenstein: The Complete Text in Cultural Context -- Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts -- Contextual Documents -- from Things as They Are, or The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794) / William Godwin -- from Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman (1798) / Mary Wollstonecraft -- [On Creation] (1531-1538) / Paracelsus -- from Emile, or On Education (1762) / Jean Jacques Rousseau -- A Discourse, Introductory to a Course of Lectures on Chemistry (1802) / Humphry Davy -- from The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) / Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe -- from De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari (1791) / Luigi Galvani -- A Galvanized Corpse (1836) -- Frankenstein's Laboratory (James Whale's Frankenstein, 1931) -- The Creature and His Bride-to-Be (The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935) -- The Creature Enchained (The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935) -- Frankenstein and the Racialized Creature (The Model Man, 1850) -- "The Brummagem Frankenstein" (1866) / John Tenniel -- "The Irish Frankenstein" (1882) / John Tenniel -- Charles Ogle as the Creature (Edison's Frankenstein, 1910) -- Boris Karloff as the Creature (James Whale's Frankenstein, 1931) -- Christopher Lee as the Creature (The Curse of Frankenstein, 1957) -- Keith Jochim as the Creature (Victor Gialanella's Frankenstein, 1981) -- The Creature Attacking His Maker (Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 1994) -- Frankenstein: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism -- A Critical History of Frankenstein -- Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein -- What Is Psychoanalytic Criticism? -- Psychoanalytic Criticism: A Selected Bibliography -- A Psychoanalytic Perspective -- The Monster and the Maternal Thing: Mary Shelley's Critique of Ideology / David Collings -- Feminist Criticism and Frankenstein -- What Is Feminist Criticism? -- Feminist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography -- A Feminist Perspective -- "Cooped Up" with "Sad Trash": Domesticity and the Sciences in Frankenstein / Johanna M. Smith -- Gender Criticism and Frankenstein -- What Is Gender Criticism? -- Gender Criticism: A Selected Bibliography -- A Gender Perspective -- Lesbian Panic and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein / Frann Michel -- Marxist Criticism and Frankenstein -- What Is Marxist Criticism? -- Marxist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography -- A Marxist Perspective -- The "Workshop of Filthy Creation": A Marxist Reading of Frankenstein / Warren Montag -- Cultural Criticism and Frankenstein -- What Is Cultural Criticism? -- Cultural Criticism: A Selected Bibliography -- A Cultural Perspective -- Frankenstein of the Nineties: The Composite Body / Bouriana Zakharieva -- Combining Perspectives on Frankenstein -- Reflections of Excess: Frankenstein, the French Revolution, and Monstrosity / Fred Botting.

Summary:

"This revision of a widely adopted critical edition presents the 1831 text of Mary Shelley's English Romantic novel along with critical essays that read Frankenstein from five contemporary critical perspectives. A sixth essay by Fred Botting demonstrates how several critical perspectives can be combined." "Each critical essay is accompanied by an introduction to the critical perspective and by a bibliography that promotes further exploration of that approach. The text and essays are complemented by introductions to biographical and historical contexts of Frankenstein and to its critical history and by a glossary of critical and theoretical terms."--Jacket.

Personal Subject:

Frankenstein, Victor (Fictitious character)-Fiction.

Frankenstein's Monster (Fictitious character)-Fiction.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851. Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, Victor (Fictitious character) (OCoLC)fst01734569

Frankenstein's Monster (Fictitious character) (OCoLC)fst01750124

Title Subject:

Frankenstein (Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft) (OCoLC)fst01357605

Subject(s):

Scientists -- Fiction.

Monsters -- Fiction.

Science fiction, English -- History and criticism.

Horror tales, English -- History and criticism.

Scientists in literature.

Monsters in literature.

Horror stories.

Geneva (Switzerland) -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Geneva (Switzerland) -- Fiction.

Switzerland -- Geneva.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Added Author:

Smith, Johanna M.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Dallas Public Library	823.7 Shelley	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

This revision of a widely adopted critical edition presents the 1831 text of Mary Shelley's English Romantic novel along with critical essays that introduce students to Frankenstein from contemporary psychoanalytic, Marxist, feminist, gender, and cultural studies perspectives. An additional essay demonstrates how various critical perspectives can be combined. In the second edition, 3 of the 6 essays are new. The text and essays are complemented by contextual documents, introductions (with bibliographies), and a glossary of critical and theoretical terms.

Author Notes

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born in England on August 30, 1797. Her parents were two celebrated liberal thinkers, William Godwin, a social philosopher, and Mary Wollstonecraft, a women's rights advocate. Eleven days after Mary's birth, her mother died of puerperal fever. Four motherless years later, Godwin married Mary Jane Clairmont, bringing her and her two children into the same household with Mary and her half-sister, Fanny. Mary's idolization of her father, his detached and rational treatment of their bond, and her step-mother's preference for her own children created a tense and awkward home. Mary's education and free-thinking were encouraged, so it should not surprise us today that at the age of sixteen she ran off with the brilliant, nineteen-year old and unhappily married Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Shelley became her ideal, but their life together was a difficult one. Traumas plagued them: Shelley's wife and Mary's half-sister both committed suicide; Mary and Shelley wed shortly after he was widowed but social disapproval forced them from England; three of their children died in infancy or childhood; and while Shelley was an aristocrat and a genius, he was also moody and had little money.

Mary conceived of her magnum opus, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, when she was only nineteen when Lord Byron suggested they tell ghost stories at a house party. The resulting book took over two years to write and can be seen as the brilliant creation of a powerful but tormented mind. The story of Frankenstein has endured nearly two centuries and countless variations because of its timeless exploration of the tension between our quest for knowledge and our thirst for good.

Shelley drowned when Mary was only 24, leaving her with an infant and debts. She died from a brain tumor on February 1, 1851 at the age of 54. (Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Starred Review. Gr 7 Up-While remaining true to the spirit of Shelley's famous work, this adaptation allows readers to have it their way, savoring this horror classic with either the "Original Text," or the "Quick Text," a simplified abridgement. More than a straightforward retelling, this edition invites readers to explore important social issues such as alienation, the consequences and ethics of scientific studies, as well as the nature of creation and destruction. Rich and lustrous artwork remains the same in both versions. Bucolic mountainsides and charming villages are rendered in a classical European painting style. In stark contrast, horrific elements are depicted with grotesque angular figures in monochromatic tones. Excellent lettering enhances the narrative without distracting from the images. An especially nice feature is the use of boldface to highlight key words and phrases. A table of contents, based on the original three-volume edition, helps readers follow the story's progression. Back matter includes a biography of Shelley, a description of the novel's origin and history, and a clear description of comic-page creation for this remarkable edition. Reluctant readers who start with the "Quick Text" will probably be enticed to try the "Original Text" and continue to explore this exquisite rendition of a gothic classic.-Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Horn Book Review

Copious notes about Shelley and about people, places, and things mentioned in the story fill the margins of this edition of the classic tale. Some of the information may help readers better understand the novel, but most of the annotations are superfluous and distracting. The volume is heavily illustrated with reproductions and original watercolors. From HORN BOOK Fall 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

William GodwinMary WollstonecraftParacelsusJean Jacques RousseauHumphry DavyJohann Wolfgang Von GoetheLuigi GalvaniJohn TennielJohn TennielDavid CollingsJohanna M. SmithFrann MichelWarren MontagBouriana ZakharievaFred Botting

About the Series	p. iii
About This Volume	p. v
Part 1 Frankenstein: The Complete Text in Cultural Context
Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts	p. 3
The Complete Text	p. 19
Contextual Documents	p. 190
from Things as They Are, or The Adventures of Caleb Williams (1794)	p. 193
from Maria, or The Wrongs of Woman (1798)	p. 197
[On Creation] (1531-1538)	p. 201
from Emile, or On Education (1762)	p. 205
A Discourse, Introductory to a Course of Lectures on Chemistry (1802)	p. 211
from The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774)	p. 222
from De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari (1791)	p. 224
A Galvanized Corpse (1836)	p. 224
Frankenstein's Laboratory (James Whale's Frankenstein, 1931)	p. 225
The Creature and His Bride-to-Be (The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935)	p. 225
The Creature Enchained (The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935)	p. 226
Frankenstein and the Racialized Creature (The Model Man, 1850)	p. 226
"The Brummagem Frankenstein" (1866)	p. 227
"The Irish Frankenstein" (1882)	p. 228
Charles Ogle as the Creature (Edison's Frankenstein, 1910)	p. 229
Boris Karloff as the Creature (James Whale's Frankenstein, 1931)	p. 230
Christopher Lee as the Creature (The Curse of Frankenstein, 1957)	p. 231
Keith Jochim as the Creature (Victor Gialanella's Frankenstein, 1981)	p. 232
The Creature Attacking His Maker (Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 1994)	p. 233
Part 2 Frankenstein: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism
A Critical History of Frankenstein	p. 237
Psychoanalytic Criticism and Frankenstein	p. 262
What Is Psychoanalytic Criticism?	p. 262
Psychoanalytic Criticism: A Selected Bibliography	p. 274
A Psychoanalytic Perspective
The Monster and the Maternal Thing: Mary Shelley's Critique of Ideology	p. 280
Feminist Criticism and Frankenstein	p. 296
What Is Feminist Criticism?	p. 296
Feminist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography	p. 305
A Feminist Perspective
"Cooped Up" with "Sad Trash": Domesticity and the Sciences in Frankenstein	p. 313
Gender Criticism and Frankenstein	p. 334
What Is Gender Criticism?	p. 334
Gender Criticism: A Selected Bibliography	p. 345
A Gender Perspective
Lesbian Panic and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein	p. 349
Marxist Criticism and Frankenstein	p. 368
What Is Marxist Criticism?	p. 368
Marxist Criticism: A Selected Bibliography	p. 381
A Marxist Perspective
The "Workshop of Filthy Creation": A Marxist Reading of Frankenstein	p. 384
Cultural Criticism and Frankenstein	p. 396
What Is Cultural Criticism?	p. 396
Cultural Criticism: A Selected Bibliography	p. 410
A Cultural Perspective
Frankenstein of the Nineties: The Composite Body	p. 416
Combining Perspectives on Frankenstein	p. 432
Reflections of Excess: Frankenstein, the French Revolution, and Monstrosity	p. 435
Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms	p. 450
About the Contributors	p. 469

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Horn Book Review

Table of Contents