Science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Hard Times by Charles Dicken

The 19th century was a time of massive change socially, politically and scientifically. This time truism the rise of Imperialism and of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, seeing massive changes in the way industry was run. Also during this time the literary movements of Romanticism and niceism emerged. Romanticism dealt with the issues of man versus illusion, childhood and man versus temper. The first book I will examine in this essay, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, comes from this literary period and focuses on the man versus nature theme, to wit the theme of scientific development and its contrast to nature. The second book I will look at in this essay comes from the Victorian period of the 19th century. This period saw the rise of the Industrial Revolution and of huge social and political change. Hard Times by Charles Dickens deals with these issues really closely, focussing mainly on the rise of industry in Britain and its effects on the people of Britain. Both of these nov els challenge the social, political and scientific developments of the 19th century, namely the advent of science and technology.Mary Shelleys Frankenstein has become almost a myth in our culture it so deeply probes the collective cultural top dog and our fear of science and progress. Frankenstein is our cultures most penetrating literary analysis of the psychology of modern scientific man, of the dangers inherent in scientific research, and the development of nature and of the female implicit in a technological society (Mellor, 198838). The interesting thing about Frankenstein is that there piece of ass be multiple readings of the text. It can be seen as a conservative criticism of science, a Promethean belief of the unlimited progress of science, the feminist anti-female principle angle to the story, even a organized religion versus science story. What I will explore through this essay is each of these readings and shed some light on this wonderful novel. The value of Mary Shel leys novel lies not in presenting a clear morale but encouraging the readers to make up their own (members.aon.at.htm). The most obvious and well-known possibility of the story of Frankenstein is that of a warning to the dangers of science Mary Shelleys implicit warning against possible dangers inherent in the technological developments of modern science (Mellor, 1988114). Shelley was really interested in ... ... David Copperfield and Hard Times, New York Macmillan Press.6.Small, C. (1972) Mary Shelleys Frankenstein-Tracing the Myth, Pittsburgh University Of Pittsburgh Press.7.Shelley, M. (1996) Frankenstein A Norton Critical Edition, New York W.W. Norton & Company.8.Tambing, J. (1995) Dickens, Violence and The Modern State, London Macmillan Press.9.Ashbury, M (2001) Representation of industrial enterprise in Dickens Hard Times Online. Available http//www.colourpurple.com Accessed twenty-fifth April 2005.10.Allingham, P. (2000) Charles Dickens Hard Times for These Times as an In dustrial Novel Online. Available http//www.victoriaweb.com Accessed twenty-fifth April 2005.11.Rohrmoser, A. (2004) The Origin of a Myth Mary Shelleys Novel Frankenstein Online. Available http//membersaon.at.htm Accessed 25th April 2005.12.Oldham, R. (2000) Charles Dickens Hard Times Romantic Tragedy of Proletariat Propaganda Online. Available http//www.pillowrock.com Accessed 25th April 2005.13.Frankenstein a science-fiction novel or a scientific fiction? Online, (2001). Available http//gala.univ-perp.fr Accessed 25th April 2005.