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Is Frankenstein a True Story?

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The events described in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein could not occur at that time. To many, the character of Frankenstein is a metaphor.

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Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was for the first time published in 1818. Until the second edition, Shelley’s name did not appear on the book’s cover. She was inspired by the XIX century scientific advances. That’s how she made up the story of Victor Frankenstein. The scientist creates a monster, and the narrative describes their relationship.

Psychologists see Frankenstein as a metaphor for Shelley’s childhood traumas. The most important one was the death of her mother. Frankenstein’s character was inspired by an alchemist Johan Konrad Dippel. He was claimed to experiment on corpses at Frankenstein Castle. Shelley’s biography says that Dippel believed he could bring a body back to life. To do that, he tried to use various mammals’ blood and bones.

The scientific operations described in the novel are impossible even today. Thus, though Frankenstein had a historical prototype, the story is far from real-life events. Shelley admitted that she based the character of Frankenstein on her nightmare. In her preface, she writes: “I saw the pale student of the unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together.” As if the technological opportunities shown in the book were not enough.

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