Key learning points

1. Many critics read 'Frankenstein' as a criticism of the Scientific Revolution.
2. The Scientific Revolution ushered in a new era, where assumptions about the natural world were questioned.
3. Some saw the progress of science as limitless and, in some cases, immoral and unethical.
4. The novel's alternative title is 'The Modern Prometheus' suggesting that, like Prometheus, Frankenstein stole from God.
5. 'Frankenstein' could be a warning about what happens when science is not paired with individual moral conscience.

Keywords

• Scientific Revolution - A series of significant events that occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries that led to a shift in people’s beliefs about nature.

• To criticise - To express disapproval of someone or something.

• Emergence - Something becoming known or starting to exist.

• To contradict - To go against something that someone else has said.

• Moral - Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour.

Common misconception