Frankenstein's regret and the scientific revolution | English

Starter quiz

The novel 'Frankenstein' was written in the ______ era.
- 'Victorian' ✓
Which words does Victor use to refer to his creation in 'Frankenstein'?
- wretch ✓
- person
- spirit
- demon ✓
- ghoul
What physical characteristics does Victor give his creation in 'Frankenstein'?
- small, delicate hands
- remarkable intelligence and eloquence
- a giant, superhuman stature ✓
- kindness and empathy
- powerful speed and strength ✓
Who is the Creature's first victim in the novel 'Frankenstein'?
- Victor's brother ✓
- Victor's cousin
- Victor's wife
- Victor's father
- Victor's friend
Complete the sentence: The ______ was a period in which industries began replacing manpower and physical labour with machinery/technology.
- 'Industrial Revolution' ✓
In the Enlightenment era, what did people begin to value?
- wealth and money
- reason and rationale ✓
- knowledge and truth ✓
- ignorance and naivety
- class and social status

What was the novel 'Frankenstein's' alternative title?
- The Modern Epimetheus
- The Modern Hercules
- The Modern Percival
- The Modern Zeus
- The Modern Prometheus ✓
What method does Shelley use in this quotation from 'Frankenstein': "No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success."?
- metaphor
- onomatopoeia
- simile ✓
- alliteration
- zoomorphism
What does 'to criticise' mean?
- to become known or start to exist
- to state that something isn't true
- to concern oneself with the principles of right and wrong behaviour
- to express disapproval of someone or something ✓
Complete the quotation from 'Frankenstein': "I ______ nature to her hiding places."
- 'pursued' ✓
What do Victor Frankenstein from 'Frankenstein' and Prometheus have in common?
- both are mythological figures
- both lack ambition
- both are irresponsibly ambitious ✓
- both 'steal' a power from God and use it destructively ✓
- both express remorse for their actions
What does Shelley warn readers of 'Frankenstein' about?
- the potential dangers of limitless scientific progress ✓
- the pursuit of knowledge in the absence of moral conscience ✓
- the physical power of mankind
- the danger of not being ambitious enough
- the dangers of supernatural forces

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Many critics read 'Frankenstein' as a criticism of the Scientific Revolution.
The Scientific Revolution ushered in a new era, where assumptions about the natural world were questioned.
Some saw the progress of science as limitless and, in some cases, immoral and unethical.
The novel's alternative title is 'The Modern Prometheus' suggesting that, like Prometheus, Frankenstein stole from God.
'Frankenstein' could be a warning about what happens when science is not paired with individual moral conscience.

Students think that Shelley was opposed to scientific advancement.

Shelley was not opposed to scientific advancement; she was opposed to unethical and limitless scientific practices.

Scientific revolution - A series of significant events that occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries that led to a shift in people’s beliefs about nature.
To criticise - To express disapproval of someone or something.
Emergence - Something becoming known or starting to exist.
To contradict - To go against something that someone else has said.
Moral - Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour.