Frankenstein (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism) » (2nd Edition)

Mary Shelley was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin on August 30, 1797 in London, the daughter of William Godwin—a radical philosopher and novelist, and Mary Wollstonecraft—a renowned feminist and the author of Vindication of the Rights of Woman. She eloped to France with Shelley in 1814, although they were not married until 1816, after the suicide of his first wife. She began work on Frankenstein in 1816 in Switzerland, while they were staying with Lord Byron, and it was published in 1818 to immediate acclaim. She died in London in 1851.

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.

About the Series
About This Volume

PART I: FRANKENSTEIN: THE COMPLETE TEXT
Introduction: Biographical and Historical Contexts
The Complete Text [The 1831 Text]

PART II: FRANKENSTEIN: A CASE STUDY IN CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM
A Critical History of Frankenstein
A Psychoanalytic Perspective:
David Collings, "The Monster and the Imaginary Monster: A Lacanian Reading of Frankenstein"
A Marxist Perspective:
Warren Montag, "'The Workshop of Filthy Creation': A Marxist Reading of Frankenstein"
A Feminist Perspective:
Johanna M. Smith, "'Cooped Up: Feminine Domesticity in Frankenstein"
New A Gender Critic's Perspective:
Frann Michel, "Lesbian Panic and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"
New A Cultural Critic's Perspective:
Bouriana Zakharieva, "Frankenstein of the Nineties: The Composite Body"
New Combining Critical Perspectives:
Fred Botting, "Reflections of Excess: Frankenstein, the French Revolution, and Monstrosity"

Glossary of Critical and Theoretical Terms
About the Contributors