Date of Award
2014
Publication Type
Master Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
English Language, Literature, and Creative Writing
Keywords
Frankenstein, Gothic, Hobbes, Leviathan, Politics, Shelley
Supervisor
Matheson, Suzanne
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
A political close-reading of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as viewed in light of Thomas Hobbes' political and moral theory as he presented it in Leviathan. This thesis argues that Hobbesian contract theory has been neglected as an effective lens for political interpretations of gothic literature in general, and shows explicitly how Hobbesian thought features in Frankenstein. Hobbes' significance to arguments surrounding the French Revolution and human conflict in general is explored with a focus on the political theories of Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin, followed by an examination of the political significance of settings in Frankenstein. The study proceeds with an in-depth look at Hobbes' contributions to the political theory of Shelley's closest influences, and concludes with a Hobbesian reading of Frankenstein according to Leviathan.
Recommended Citation
Kimmerly-Smith, Jevon Scott, "Frankenstein's Monster: The Modern Leviathan" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5262.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5262