'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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Stephen Cox's commentary articulates the poststructuralist view that the meanings of a text always derive 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 beginnings of the Enlightenment and even feminism, the society in which Shelley lived and wrote was characterized by changes and questions and, like many of her contemporaries, Shelley questions the dynamics of society in terms of religion, science, prejudices (racial and physical), sexuality and gender. These questions are evident in many aspects of the novel; its plot concerning the concept of man-made 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. Arguably, however, it is through the Creature that Shelley offers his readers the most powerful perspective on the injustices and problems within society. As Judith Halberstam suggests, the Creature can be seen as a representation of Mary Shelley herself, of class struggle, the product of industrialization, a representation of the proletariat, all social struggle, a symbol of the French Revolution, of technology, of danger of a science without conscience and the autonomous machine. The Creature therefore usefully highlights contemporary issues, thus showing how the historical context in which Frankenstein was written manifests itself in the novel. The first important context that shapes Frankenstein is religion. After the rise of Protestantism and the Enlightenment, the nineteenth century witnessed great changes and attitudes towards religion. Among the most important forces behind these changes was the French Revolution; an epochal event that had opened the prospect of religious and social freedom following the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The early 19th century, therefore, was a time when people sought philosophical answers outside religious institutions and questioned orthodox dogmas. This question is evident in Frankenstein in its integral theme of challenging God's role as the sole Creator that underlies Frankenstein's arrogant quest to discover man-made procreation. Shelley, however, appears deeply critical of this. Addressing Frankenstein, the Creature states: "I should be your Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom you cast away with joy for no misdeed." These allusions to Adam, Genesis, and the Fall present Frankenstein as a mischievous and irrational creator, strongly suggesting Shelley's view of the harmful nature of the kind of challenge to the accepted order of life and the role of God as sole Creator that Frankenstein embodies. Indeed, this is further supported by the fact that the preface to the 1818 edition begins with a quote from Paradise Lost: "Have I asked thee, Creator, from my clay / To fashion me, man?" Have I urged you / From obscurity to promote me? - 'Using this as a preliminary idea for the novel suggests Shelley's awareness of and commitment to the philosophical discourses prevalent during the Age of Enlightenment, thus explaining why Shelley might want to explore the idea that man and not just God it may have the ability to create life. At the same time, Shelley seems to use the Creature as a tool to show this revolutionary audience – an audiencewhich calls into question previously unchallenged church doctrine – the tragic effects of confronting the family situation. acceptance of beliefs, including the role of God, too much in favor of the development of science which ultimately causes the destruction of society. In fact, it seems plausible that here Shelley directly opposes the challenges of the conformist Church; the ultimate tragedy and destruction that this creation of "unnatural stimuli" entails harks back to Shelley's criticism of a society that questions the natural order of life. Here too he uses the Creature as a lens through which the reader can look and display his criticisms; through Frankenstein shows that human society is, if anything, more monstrous than unnaturally created life because it is human society - the civilization created by God - that transforms the Creature into a ferocious monster. Closely connected to all this is Shelley's criticism of science and his fears of its destructive results as a result of its development. Such concerns were common in that period, following the development of Erasmus Darwin's theories and the French Revolution. Norton Garfinkle observes that "as the French Revolution raised the specter of an anarchic society founded 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 explored attempts to control or change the universe through human interference, a practice whose inherent dangers Shelley describes in this novel. Furthermore, as Tim Marshall notes, the demand for cadavers has increased with the advancement of medicine. Interestingly, Marshall mentions the coffin "patent" registered in 1817 shortly before the publication of Frankenstein. This was advertised as easy access to the afterlife, while explicitly alluding to the lucrative tomb-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 the introduction to chemistry. All of this suggests Shelley's awareness of new branches of science and scientific practices, thus supporting the idea that she explores these issues and considers their possible outcomes in Frankenstein. Once again, however, Shelley appears critical of contemporary ideas and practices. In particular, Shelley uses the dramatically ironic phrase "a divine science" to describe Frankenstein's feelings towards his efforts when creating the Creature, further accentuating the atrocity of this type of scientific project. Indeed, most readers would immediately note the morbid nature of such an undertaking. For Frankenstein, however, it is already too late; he is so absorbed in such exciting and innovative ideas that he fails to appreciate the fact that he has crossed acceptable and moral limits. 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 heinous project, Shelley describes the potentially destructive nature of his society which seeks arrogant and harmful manipulations of the physical universe. As mentioned in the secondary title of The Modern Prometheus, Shelley means that Frankenstein (and the macrocosm of his society) must be punished for stealing "the light of reason", or manipulative science, fromgods and given it to the world. Two other key contexts interconnected for Frankenstein and illustrated in it are those of prejudice – racial and physical – and ignorance, revealed most clearly in the Creature's rejection which in turn displays Shelley's criticisms of both. Notably, when Shelley wrote the novel, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 had yet to be passed and feelings of white supremacy were widespread. Furthermore, as Britain sought to expand its empire, competing with other powers, there was a greater feeling of racial superiority, and indeed new interpretations of Darwin's theories of natural selection; “Eugenicists” argued that handicapped people would diminish racial and national competitiveness and believed they could ameliorate this limitation through selective breeding. More and more disabled people were sterilized or held permanently in institutions. These attitudes manifest themselves in Frankenstein through intolerant attitudes towards the Creature and his rejection, reflecting prevailing attitudes towards foreigners as well as current attitudes towards those disfigured or physically handicapped due to their appearance and/or origin. Through the Creature's mistreatment and rejection, Shelley plays on the audience's sympathy for the Creature and uses it to amplify the injustices of prejudice in his social context and that of his readers through the perspective of the persecuted. This is exemplified when the Creature says, "I have fully convinced myself that I am in fact the monster that I am." Because the narrative in this section is presented by the Creature and events are seen through the Creature's eyes, the reader is brought to appreciate his very "human" and compassionate feelings that make him much less of an outsider than his appearance superficial and knowledge of its unnatural origin initially suggest. Therefore, his declaration of himself as a "monster" allows the reader to see that the humans who reject him are indeed the monstrous party. Frankenstein does not feel the Creature's plight due to his selfish feelings of superiority and intolerance towards things "strange" to him. The reader, however, listens to him and appreciates him through the sympathies allowed by the journey of the Creature's narrative, reinforcing the idea of ​​xenophobia typical of nineteenth-century society. Here, the Creature's purpose is to teach the contemporary reader how the Creature learns for itself. It is feasible that Shelley is trying to show his audience that humanity – due to selfishness and greed – is not enlightened in terms of ideas of equality. After studying various books by De Lacy, the monster asks himself: "Was man really 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 within Shelley's immediate society. If English society in the early 19th century was characterized by racial and physical prejudice and ignorance, then it was also characterized by ignorance about sexuality and certain taboos. , as Michel Foucault underlines in his “hypothesis of repression”. The topic of sexuality, Foucault argues, has been notoriously taboo in society and warns us that "we have found it difficult to talk about the topic of sex without taking a different pose: we are aware that we are challenging established power." In light of this, Frankenstein's implied homosexuality directly challenges the conventions of the time as Shelley presents sexual repression in his novel. When considering the possible intentions of the efforts ofFrankenstein to produce life himself, it can be argued that these may have centered on homosexual fantasies. Halberstam suggests that the solitary nature of Frankenstein's efforts to create life followed by his preventing the Creature from mating describes sexual activity, the nature of his activities and the "homoerotic tension that underlies the incestuous bond." He then proposes that Frankenstein's plans to create "a being like himself" "excite both masturbatory and homosexual desires." Indeed, Frankenstein feels “joy and ecstasy” 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 unacknowledged in open society. It could be argued, therefore, that Shelley is engaging, however covertly, with a sexual taboo of her society. At the same time, however, Shelley feasibly criticizes such sexual desires and projects, warning the reader that the results of such a curious individual, if not a society, that challenges the natural order of life creation and natural sexual practices , are the unleashing of a monster into the world. Indeed, the consequences of unleashing such a monster are not simply to affect the individual. As Anne Mellor notes, Frankenstein's relationship with his monster portrays an implicit desire to produce a male race in a world without the female species. As mentioned above, Shelley uses this implicit desire of man – not an explicitly and widely discussed desire, but a possible outcome of the progress of applied science and greater freedom of thought in the Age of Enlightenment – ​​to illustrate how a world would end without women. in destruction and misery, and that too much freedom allowing the development of new ideas (such as the exploration of human sexuality and reproduction) could lead to an uncontrollable society. The final significant historical context that fuels and shapes Frankenstein is gender norms and the role of women. Throughout the novel there is a clear theme of the passivity of women. All the female characters seem to have little meaningful purpose other than to be used and victimized. Frankenstein sees Elizabeth as submissive and objectifies her by saying, “I regarded Elizabeth as mine, mine to protect, love, and care for. All the praise bestowed upon her I have received as if they were my own property” – yet he continues to fail to protect her. Likewise, Justine is presented as a character who expresses her passivity and submission, stating: “God knows how completely innocent I am. But I don't pretend that my protests absolve me; I place my innocence in a clear and simple explanation of the facts." And ultimately, she is just another female victim and doesn't fight for her justice. It serves little purpose other than to be framed. Furthermore, in the 1831 preface, Shelley describes how she herself silently witnessed the conversations of her husband and Lord Byron. On the surface, these aspects reflect the prevailing attitude towards women in this period. However, this was also a period in which traditional views of women's roles in patriarchal culture began to be questioned, particularly in the writings of Shelley's mother Mary Wollstonecraft and her Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), that the condition of women is expanding. This seems to have left resonant questions about gender roles in Shelley's mind, leading her to explore women's roles, particularly in procreation, in Frankenstein. In her novel, Shelley seems to suggest that the absolute passivity of women, even in, 1994)