4. The Life of the Monster

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the life and education of the creature, focusing in particular in some of the political and philosophical ideas that underlie this part of the narrative, and thinking about ideas of childhood and upbringing.

Course

In this course, we explore several aspects of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the first module, we focus on some of the myths that lie behind the novel. After that, we think about the kind of knowledge that Victor engages with when he is creating the creature, before looking in detail at the creation of the creature, its early life and education, and the relationship between Victor and his creation. In the final module, we think about how the novel engages with and explores the concept of prejudice.

Lecturer

David's research interets range from eighteenth-century to contemporary literature, and he has written most extensively about the romantic and the Gothic. He is Life Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Gothic Association, as well as being a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Fellow of the English Association, Fellow of the Institute for Contemporary Scotland, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and Fellow of the Royasl Society of Arts (RSA). With regard to the RSA, he has just completed a two-year stint as Chair of its West Region. He has also published on postcolonial literature, critical theory and psychoanalysis. As well as his qualifications in English, he also has a partial psychoanalytic training, and has recently completed a degree in law. He has published five small volumes of poetry, and performs his poetry regularly in Bristol and beyond.