A Study of the Symbols that Enrich Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In my home-made special selection there are explicit and implicit symbols. I call a symbol explicit when it appears in the form of a certain word and implicit when it is hidden behind the word. I consider "boat" or "water" as explicit symbols and "androgyny" an implicit one, since androgyny makes its appearance in a complex or not articulated form only. I assume most of the symbols of Frankenstein with quite wide ranges of meaning fitting into a narrower sense, limited to Mary Shelley's personal experiences, feelings and views. This is the concrete segment of its symbolic meaning, which needs background biographical information. Thus meaning and impact is very subjective, both depend on my interpretation. It is also worth mentioning that this thesis is largely based on the edition of the1831 text, though I also refer to the 1818 text on some occasions. Finally, I must emphasize that it is an arduous task to find the golden mean between unreasonable compactness and inflated wordiness. I undertake this deficiency of the kind, keeping in view that hermeneutics is only a necessary tool of the language in case of symbols.

Author: Melinda Vajnai

Publisher: VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller E.K.

Publication Date: May 16, 2008

Number of Pages: 116 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: 3836498065

ISBN-13: 9783836498067