Read over the following paragraph. Select two quotes from the "Critical
History of Frankenstein" (F 237-61) and place them in the
paragraph where they would best support the claims being made. Be
prepared to explain the reasons behind the choices you make.
In the last thirty-five years, critical consideration of Mary
Shelley's Frankenstein has taken a distinctive turn away from
a biographical approach toward more political and historical approaches.
Essentially, the three most common approaches taken by more contemporary
critics fall into three categories: psychoanalytic, feminist, and
cultural studies. Psychoanalytic criticism incorporates the theories
developed by Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, among others, to explore
the underlying motivations of Mary Shelley herself, as well as the characters
in the novel, especially Victor Frankenstein. Feminist criticism
focuses on the roles of women in the novel and their relationships to the
men. Most criticism in this field focus on Elizabeth Lavenza, Caroline
Beaufort, and Safie as the primary female characters. Cultural studies
criticism focuses most especially on movie adaptation of the novel, but
also can consider issues of scientific discovery and reproductive technologies.