“Art is unimaginable without a cultural matrix…it is inconceivable without a story.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Stephen Cox's commentary expresses the poststructuralist view that the meaning of a text always derives from its context. Certainly, much of Mary Shelley's historical context is evident in her novel Frankenstein. After the Religious Reformation, the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of the Age of Enlightenment and even feminism, the society in which Shelley lived and wrote was characterized by change and questioning and, like many of his contemporaries, Shelley questions the dynamic of society. in terms of religion, science, prejudice (racial and physical), sexuality and gender. These questions are evident in many aspects of the novel; its intrigue regarding the concept of artificial life; its arrogant protagonist who meddles with nature and science and the novel's demonstration of the subsequent effects of these two on society and their lessons for society. But it is arguably through the Creature that Shelley offers her readers the most powerful perspective on the injustices and problems within society. As Judith Halberstam suggests, the Creature can be seen as representing Mary Shelley herself, class struggle, the product of industrialization, a representation of the proletariat, all social struggle, a symbol of the French Revolution, of technology , of the danger of a science without conscience and conscience. the autonomous machine. The Creature therefore usefully highlights contemporary issues, showing how the historical context in which Frankenstein was written manifests itself in the novel. The first major context that shapes Frankenstein is religion. Following the rise of Protestantism and the Age of Enlightenment, the 19th century witnessed great changes in attitudes and attitudes towards religion. Among the most important forces driving these changes was the French Revolution; a momentous event which allowed the prospect of religious and social freedom following the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The early 19th century was therefore a time when people sought philosophical answers outside of religious institutions and questioned orthodox dogmas. This questioning is evident in Frankenstein in its integral theme of questioning God's role as the sole Creator that underlies Frankenstein's outsized quest to discover the capacity for artificial procreation. Shelley, however, seems deeply critical of this. Addressing Frankenstein, the Creature declares: "I should be your Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom you drive away from joy without any mischief." These allusions to Adam, Genesis, and the Fall present Frankenstein as a malevolent and irrational creator, strongly suggesting Shelley's view of the harmful nature of the type of challenge to the accepted order of life and God's role in it. as the unique creator that Frankenstein embodies. In fact, this is further reinforced by the fact that the preface to the 1818 edition begins with a quote from Paradise Lost: "Did I ask you, Creator, from my clay/to fashion me a man?" Did I solicit you/From darkness to promote me?—' Using this as the novel's preliminary idea suggests Shelley's awareness of and engagement with the philosophical discourses prevalent in the Enlightenment, thus explaining why Shelley might wish to explore the idea. that man, and not just God, may hold the ability to createlife. At the same time, Shelley appears to use the creature as a tool to show this revolutionary audience – an audience questioning previously unquestioned Church doctrine – the tragic effects of confronting the family. the acceptance of beliefs, including the role of God, too far in favor of a possible development of science which ends up causing the destruction of society. In fact, it seems plausible that Shelley here directly opposes the challenges of the conformist Church; the ultimate tragedy and destruction brought about by this creation of "unnatural stimulus" recalls Shelley's critiques of a society that questions the natural order of life. Here again, she uses the Creature as a lens through which the reader can view and view her critiques; through Frankenstein, she shows that human society is, on the contrary, more monstrous than artificially created life because it is human society - civilization created by God - which transforms the creature into a vicious monster. fears of its destructive consequences following its development. Such concerns were common at the time, following the development of Erasmus Darwin's theories as well as the French Revolution. Norton Garfinkle notes that "when the French Revolution raised the specter of an anarchic society based on atheistic science, religious opinion came to fear the social implications of unbridled scientific speculation." This fear is evident in the novel's overall presentation of the tragedy of a scientist and his scientific project. But it can also be seen in particular details. For example, contemporary scientists such as Humphry Davy, Luigi Galvani, and Adam Walker have explored attempts to control or alter the universe through human interference—a practice whose inherent dangers Shelley describes throughout this novel. Furthermore, as Tim Marshall notes, the demand for cadavers increased as medicine advanced. It is interesting to note that Marshall mentions the Coffin "Patent" registered in 1817 just before the publication of Frankenstein. This was presented as easy access to the afterlife, while explicitly alluding to the lucrative grave robbing market. And, as Anne Mellor points out, Frankenstein's introduction to chemical physiology at the University of Ingolstadt is based on Davy's famous lecture on an introduction to chemistry. All of this suggests that Shelley is aware of new branches of science and scientific practices, thus supporting the idea that she is exploring these issues and considering their possible consequences in Frankenstein. Once again, however, Shelley appears critical of contemporary ideas and practices. Notably, Shelley uses the dramatically ironic phrase "a divine science" to describe Frankenstein's feelings toward his efforts in creating the creature, further emphasizing the atrocity of this type of scientific project. Indeed, most readers would immediately notice the morbid nature of such an enterprise. But for Frankenstein, it is already too late; he is so absorbed in ideas so exciting and innovative that he cannot appreciate them, that he has crossed acceptable and moral boundaries. Perhaps, for Shelley, this reflects the potential fate of his own society as it continues to develop science and, to some extent, discredit religion. More certainly, however, through the microcosm of Frankenstein's atrocious scheme, Shelley depicts the potentially destructive nature of his society which seeks to detrimentally manipulate the physical universe. As mentioned in the secondary title of The ModernPrometheus, Shelley means that Frankenstein (and the macrocosm of his society) must be punished for stealing "the light of reason", or manipulative science, from the gods and giving it to the world. Two other key interrelated contexts illustrated in Frankenstein are those of prejudice - racial and physical - and ignorance, revealed most clearly in the Creature's rejection which, in turn, exposes Shelley's criticisms of two. Notably, when Shelley wrote the novel, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 had not yet been passed and sentiment of white supremacy was widespread. Additionally, as Britain sought to expand its empire, in competition with other powers, there was a greater sense of racial superiority. and indeed new interpretations of Darwinian theories of natural science selection; “Eugenicists” claimed that disabled people would diminish racial and national competitiveness and believed they could ameliorate this limitation through selective breeding. Increasingly, people with disabilities are sterilized or permanently placed in institutions. These attitudes are manifested in Frankenstein through intolerant attitudes towards the Creature and his rejection, reflecting prevailing attitudes towards outsiders as well as current attitudes towards people who are disfigured or physically disabled due to their appearance and/or origin. Through the mistreatment and rejection of the Creature, Shelley plays on the audience's sympathy for the Creature and uses it to amplify the injustices and prejudices in his and his readers' social context through the perspective of the persecuted. This is illustrated when the Creature says, "I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am." As the narrative of this section is presented by the Creature and the events are seen through the Creature's eyes, the reader is brought to be able to appreciate his very "human" and compassionate feelings which make him much less of an outsider. than its superficial appearance and knowledge of its unnatural origin initially suggest. Thus, his declaration of himself as a "monster" allows the reader to see that the humans who reject him are indeed the monstrous part. Frankenstein does not hear of the Creature's fate due to his own selfish feelings of superiority and intolerance towards things that are "strange" to him. The reader, however, hears and appreciates this through the sympathies afforded by the journey of the Creature's narrative, reinforcing the idea of ​​19th century society's own xenophobia. Here, the Creature's purpose is to teach the contemporary reader as the Creature itself learns. It is possible that Shelley is striving to show his audience that humanity – because of its selfishness and greed – is not enlightened in terms of ideas of equality. After studying by reading various books from the House of De Lacy, the monster wonders: "Was man, indeed, at the same time so powerful, so virtuous and magnificent, and yet so vicious and vile?" This leaves a resonant questioning of ideology that would have been directly relevant and poignant in Shelley's immediate society. If early 19th century English society was characterized by racial and physical prejudice and ignorance, it was also characterized by ignorance regarding sexuality and certain taboos. , as Michel Foucault underlines in his “hypothesis of repression”. The subject of sexuality, Foucault asserts, is notoriously taboo in society and he alerts us to the fact that "we have found it difficult to talk about sex without adopting a different pose: we are conscious of challenging powerestablished ". In light of this, Frankenstein's implied homosexuality directly challenges the conventions of the time in that Shelley presents sexual repression in his novel. When considering the possible intentions of Frankenstein's efforts to produce life himself, it can be argued that these may have centered on homosexual fantasies. Halberstam suggests that the reclusive nature of Frankenstein's efforts to create life, followed by his preventing the creature from mating, depicts the sexual aspect. the nature of his activities and the “homoerotic tension that underlies the incestuous bond.” She then proposes that Frankenstein's plans to create "a being like himself" "allude to masturbatory and homosexual desires." Indeed, Frankenstein experiences “pleasure and delight” when he creates his “man.” With this reading, Frankenstein's creation of his own sexual partner could be seen as Frankenstein's desire to explore his sexuality which is repressed and unrecognized in open society. We could therefore assert here that Shelley is attacking, albeit in a veiled way, a sexual taboo in her society. But at the same time, Shelley rightly criticizes such sexual desires and plans, warning the reader that the results of such a curious individual, if not a society, questioning the natural order of creation of life and natural sexual practices are the release of a monster into the world. Indeed, the consequences of releasing such a monster are not simply limited to affecting the individual. As Anne Mellor notes, Frankenstein's relationship with his monster reflects an implicit desire to produce a race of men in a world without the female species. As mentioned above, Shelley uses this implicit human desire—not an explicitly and widely discussed desire, but a possible result of advances in applied science and increased freedom of thought in the Age of Enlightenment—to illustrate how a world without women would end. in destruction and misery, and that too much freedom allowing the development of new ideas (such as the exploration of sexuality and human reproduction) could result in an uncontrollable society. The final significant historical context that fuels and shapes Frankenstein is that of gender norms and the role of women. Throughout the novel, the theme of female passivity is evident. All of the female characters seem to have few important goals other than to be used and victimized. Frankenstein views Elizabeth as submissive and objectifies her by saying, “I considered Elizabeth mine – mine to protect, to love, and to cherish. All the praise that has been bestowed on her I have received as having become my property” – and yet he still fails to protect her. Similarly, Justine is presented as a character who expresses her own passivity and submission, stating, “God knows how innocent I am. But I do not pretend that my protests should acquit me; I base my innocence on a clear and simple explanation of the facts.” And, at the end of the day, she is just another female victim and not fighting for justice. It serves no purpose other than being trapped. Additionally, in the 1831 preface, Shelley describes how she herself silently attended the conversations of her husband and Lord Byron. On the surface, these aspects reflect the prevailing attitude towards women during this period. However, it was also a time when traditional views of women's roles in patriarchal culture were beginning to be challenged, notably in the writings of Shelley's own mother Mary Wollstonecraft and in her work Vindication of the Rights of, 1994)