From nature to landscape. A geographical reading of Mary W. Shelley's 'Frankenstein, or the modern Prometheus' (1818)

This article undertakes an analysis of the geography of the novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The work, written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and first published in 1818, quickly established itself as a basic reference point of Romantic literature. Above and beyond the obvious mythical interpretations the novel affords, this study considers its value and potential from a geographical perspective ( and within the context of early nineteenth century European Romanticism). More specifically, the article provides three levels of analysis: a) the contextualization of the novel from a thematic and chronological point of view; b) the significance of the landscape at different scales, and c) the process by which Frankenstein's "monster" constructs an identity of self, which allows him to question the world and the society in which he moves.