Frankenstien

Nature:

Mary Shelly's background had strong "Romantic" beliefs. The society that Mary Shelly grew up in had strong Romantic overtones that emphasized nature and human feelings.

In her novel, the character Victor would leave the city and his laboratory and would retreat to the mountains of Switzerland when he needed rest. In chapter 10 Victor is describing the effect the mountains had on him, "these sublimed and magnificent scenes afforded me the greatest consolation". I think that the Author was afraid that with the onset of the Industrial Revolution that society would forget the importance of and tranquility that nature affords us. The monster even describes in chapter 10 when he was living in the forest how the moon gave him a "sensation of pleasure".

Victor violates the Laws of Nature by pilfering graves and morgues to harvest body parts and Victors desire to create life from the dead. Victor was obsessed with studying the dead and stated that a churchyard was merely a receptacle of bodies deprived of life.

Technology:

During this time of Industrial Revolution, many factories were being built throughout Europe and employing many of the countries poor. This created jobs for people that usually were unable to get work and provide them with better living conditions. As technology advanced and society was becoming more dependent on machines this creating unemployment issues therefore further widening the gap between the social classes.

Perhaps the "monster" was a symbol of a machine and in the novel; you read how Victor virtually became a prisoner of his own creation.

Perhaps Shelly was sending a social message to her readers that society would be better off without such technological and scientific