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Frankenstein: Themes/Symbols and Motifs

Year 12 Entension English

Course Hero

BBC Bitesize

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley looks at what happens when one man decides to play God. His actions ultimately lead to his own downfall.

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Professor Regina Buccola of Roosevelt University provides an in-depth summary and analysis of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein.

Professor Regina Buccola of Roosevelt University provides an in-depth summary and analysis of the Symbols in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein

LitCharts Theme Wheel

The Theme Wheel visualizes all of Frankenstein's themes and plot points on one page.

How does the Theme Wheel work?

  • Each wedge of the blue ring represents a scene.
  • Each row of colored boxes extending from a wedge represents a part of the scene. The closer to the blue ring, the closer to the beginning of the scene.
  • The colors in each row indicate which themes are “active” in that part of the scene.

The Theme Wheel is interactive.

  • Themes: Hover over or tap any of the themes in the Themes and Colors Key to show only that theme. Click a theme in the Themes Key to lock it.
  • Summary: Hover over or tap any row of colored boxes to read the summary associated with that row. Click the row to lock the summary.