| ‘curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart’ | Shelley’s desire as stated in her 1831 introduction |
| Transgression- crossing boundary between the human and the divine | … |
| “renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption” | Frankenstein’s desire |
| ‘the principle of life’ | What Frankenstein wants to discover |
| ‘the great taboo’ | David Punter on discovering the principle of life. Forbidden knowledge accessible only by God. |
| ‘dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge’ | Victor- dangerous knowledge |
| Through ‘Promethean over-reaching. Victor Frankenstein tries to become a god, and the endeavor destroys him.’ | Robert Hume |
| ‘ascend into the heavens’ | As his professor says scientists can, Victor aspires to… |
| ‘supremely frightful’ | Shelley on Victor’s aspiration to godlike status |
| Transgression on social laws | … |
| ‘Frankenstein’s main sin is not his act of creation, but his failure to take responsibility for what he produces’ | David Punter. Victor transgresses social laws. |
| The creature ‘stretches out one hand […] with a grin’ | The creature’s innocence, which Frankenstein sees as an attack. |
| ‘escaped and rushed downstairs’ | Frankenstein’s response to the creature after creation. |
| When it comes to parenting, Frankenstein himself is a monster’ | Butler on parenthood |
| ‘no father’ | The creature realises he has… |
| ‘I am malicious because I am miserable’ | The creature on the cause of his crimes |
| ‘a lot of the misery of the world stems from the negligence of parents’ | Wollstonecraft on parenthood |
| Horror within us | … |
| ‘I thought I saw Elizabeth’. ‘dead mother’ | Conflation of maternal and sexual figures. |
| ‘mangled the living flesh of a human being’. ‘odious work’. ‘filthy process’ | Horrific language used to describe Victor’s actions. True horror is within us. |
| ‘Caroline became Alphonse’s wife’ | Victor. Blurring of Caroline and Elizabeth in his mind. Positioned as equals. Orphan. |
GOTHIC: Frankenstein quotes
February 20, 2020