True North, The Intertextual Dialogue of Frankenstein's Polar Plot

• Other Authors: Spencer, Jean Li (author), Sides, Marilyn (advisor), English (department)
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Arctic; Mont Blanc; Percy; Rime; Iceberg*
• Online Access: https://repository.wellesley.edu/islandora/object/ir%3A1627/datastream/TN/view/True%20North,%20The%20Intertextual%20Dialogue%20of%20Frankenstein%27s%20Polar%20Plot.jpg

My honors research focuses on the polar elements of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, what I refer to as the "Polar plot." The polar elements of Frankenstein appear in the beginning of the novel, the middle, and the end&#8211effectively shaping the novel like an iceberg. The beginning and end of the novel take place in the Arctic regions, while the middle of the book is built around a pivotal and important scene in the glacial Alps. In this thesis, I draw attention to how Mary Shelley enters into an intertextual dialogue with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Percy Shelley through her "Polar plot." The first section, Part I: Locating Frankensteins Polar Plot in a Larger Conversation, will outline the novel and provide some key information on its historical context and past scholarship. Part II: Coleridgean Ice and Frost, focuses on the poets lines of influence and looks at two works, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and "Frost at Midnight." Part III: Traveling Shelleys examines the Shelleys's travelogue, History of a Six Weeks Tour, including "Mont Blanc" (written by Percy Shelley). Through this publication, I hope to thicken and flavor the rather sparse scholarship on Frankensteins Polar meaning, which has been particularly overlooked in the over 200 years since the novels initial publication.