Frankenstein: Monsters of Lit

We will begin our exploration of Frankenstein by quickly introducing the textual interpretation "toolkit" at our disposal. An application of one of these tools to a text can be called a "reading." If we apply a Feminist Criticism, we can say we have "A Feminist Reading of Frankenstein."

We are going to focus on Socio-Cultural Readings of Frankenstein. While there are other ways to interpret texts (New Criticism, Formalism, Chicago School for examples), we will just look at the Socio-Cultural approach.

Socio-Cultural Criticism: Applying Feminist, Marxist, Ecological, or a variety of other philosophies or theories to a seemingly unrelated book (usually referred to as a Text).

One of the tools we will use is Nietzsche's Slow Down For The Important Stuff* philological technique. For important passages, you slow down, break apart what the writer is saying in the sentence, and check to see what they said right before and right after that passage. This method doesn't find a "Final Answer," but it looks for questions to Begin Asking.

We may introduce more techniques as needed, but this is a good place to start.

I mentioned Marxism and Feminism, Can You Think of other Socio-Cultural Theories that could be used for Textual Interpretation (doesn't have to apply specifically to Frankenstein)?

*What Nietzsche, a Classical Philologist, actually said was:

"Philology is that venerable art which demands of its votaries one hing above all: to go aside, to take time, to become still, to become slow – it is a goldsmith’s art and connoisseurship of the word which has nothing but delicate cautious work to do and achieves nothing if it does not achieve it lento. But for precisely this reason it is more necessary than ever today; by precisely this means does it entice and enchant us the most, in the midst of an age of 'work,' that is to say, of hurry, of indecent and perspiring haste, which wants to 'get everything done' at once, including every old or new book – this art does not easily get anything done, it teaches to read well, that is to say, to read slowly, deeply, looking cautiously before and aft, with reservations, with doors left open, with delicate fingers and eyes."

• Daybreak: Thoughts on the Prejudices of Morality --- translated by R.J. Hollingdale and adapted by Professor Gregory Nagy.