The Monster’s Mother: On Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”

Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of this classic with educator and lecturer Cynthia Rutz. An 18-year old Mary Shelley first wrote the tale in response to a contest with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron to see who could write the most horrifying tale. Shelley brings to the story the sensibility of a young mother, creating a sympathetic portrait of a lonely creature abandoned by his creator and left to fend for himself. This program examines both the tale and its young author.

We will also look at Shelley's sources for the work, including the Prometheus myth (she subtitled the book "The Modern Prometheus"), the Creation story from the book of Genesis, and Milton's Paradise Lost.