Frankenstein

In this episode of "In Our Time," Melvyn Bragg leads a discussion with Michael Rossington, Jane Thomas, and Karen O'Brien about Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." They explore Shelley's remarkable early life and the intellectual environment fostered by her parents, Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. The panel discusses the genesis of the novel during the dark summer of 1816, the influences of Gothic novels, natural philosophy, and the concepts of vitalism and galvanism. They delve into the novel's themes of creation, abandonment, isolation, and the pursuit of knowledge, as well as the roles of remorse, gender, and the power of science. The framing device of Robert Walton's letters and the novel's legacy in literature, stage, and film are also examined, with the panel considering the plausibility and psychological depth of the story.