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This article talks about the harmful effects of tampering with science upon the victims as well as upon humankind as a whole. Also, scientists need to deal responsibly with experiments; Victor's monster isn't evil until he undergoes isolation, alienation, and utter abandonment by Frankenstein himself.

Discusses the harmful effects of cloning (a modern day experiment) upon the victims of it. Similarly to Frankenstein, the victims undergo physical distortions as well as pyschological issues that are nearly impossible to deal with. Again, just like Shelley, the author points out the negative impacts of tampering with human life.

Mary Shelley used science as a metaphor for any kind of irresponsible action and what she really was concerned with was the politics of the era and the way the monarchy was operating in the interest of relatively few people.

This source relates Frankenstein to contemporary times, discussing the theme of social responsibility that scientists have, both to their experiments as well as to humanity. It discusses the manner in which Victor overstepped his boundaries, and resultingly was punished and suffered for it.

This source discusses the role of parenthood (both father and mother) in the novel. It mentions the fact that Frankenstein does not view his monster as a son, or even friend; instead regards him as an IT, a soulless, emotionless being, leading to feelings of isolation and alienation in the monster. This results in the rage and hatred, and possible insanity that the monster undergoes.

This source discusses the authorial purpose and Shelley's romantic  warning regarding the misuse and abuse of nature. Basically, she proves that humans ought to respect and connect with nature, rather than abusing it and twisting it to fit their own agendas.

This source discusses the role of nature in Frankenstein, and how it relates to the main characters as well as to TIntern Abbey. Good source that discusses the qualities of romanticism within the novel

Frankenstein compared to paradise lost

What is unique about Frankenstein is that it represents and almost foreshadows the romantic disillusionment with the established order. After the French Revolution, liberalism and nationalism were at all time highs. But with the response by the monarchies (e.g., the wars of 1848), romantic ideals were spurned. The effect this had was an increase in disillusionment among romantics. The possibility of a society transformed by individuals seemed less believable The divide between romanticism and realism during the period that the novel was published.

"Self-confinement exacerbates Victor's bizarre tendencies. Like the house bound heroine of domestic fiction, he retreats into an emotion-free state while dabbling in forbidden secrets in "a cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase"

This source again identifies the main themes of isolation and the lack of human connections in Shelly's novel. They help to highlight the basis of these themes and how they reoccur in the novel.

The article discusses the hypocritical nature that surrounds people telling their children that plastic surgery is bad after having it done themselves. The one uniform agreement is that children can tell when somebody looks different, and because of how society portrays the importance of beauty children at a very young age develop very vain perceptions of people based off of their physical appearance, as seen through the monsters struggles to find human companionship

"will acquaint readers with Mary's parents, her own troubled childhood, the circle of people with whom she and her husband associated, and the hardships she experienced throughout her widowhood as a result of her liaison with Shelley and other Romantic writers"

This source takes a detailed look at Shelly's life. Her upbringing and other events both in her childhood and adulthood, suggest why she wrote with romantic values and help to understand her authorial purpose better.

overview and review of frankenstein. literary criticism

"At the heart of Frankenstein is the tension between the power science confers on individuals and the just restraints of community. Frankenstein, both creator and creature, stands not for science in general but for the acquisition of scientific power foolishly pursued without the wisdom of the world"

This source takes a detailed look at the ethics of science, and how the novel was written as a commentary on these ethics. This also follows the pattern of Shelly's romantic side, as she created Frankenstein to have a lack of personal connections, and for it to be his downfall.

"that indicated that the model for Victor Frankenstein was Dr. James Lind (1736-1812), Shelley's scientific mentor at Eton in 1809-10. Lind had become fascinated with the ability of electrical impulses to provoke muscle movement in the legs of dead frogs"

This source provides commentary on Shelly's inspiration for her character Dr. Frankenstein. It brings up Shelly's authorial purpose of writing the story as a warning of what science could become.

"Condemned by nature's gods to limitless suffering, the aspiring hero learns his properly limited human place" because Victor tried to exceed the limits of what man should be able to do, he is forced to suffer continually throughout the novel, but if he was punished so heavily for creating life what should be gods punishment for those who alter life ?

"As textile factories and iron mills increased production with advanced machinery and technology, the working classes grew restive and increasingly alarmed by jobs that seemed insecure because a worker could be replaced by machines"

"Victor's inquisitive nature causes his emotional and physical peril because he cannot balance his intellectual and social interactions. For instance, when he leaves home to attend the University of Ingolstadt, he immerses himself in his experiment and forgets about the family who lovingly supported him throughout his childhood"

This article provides a detailed overview of the novel. It also provides an overview of the themes including alienation or isolation. This example could be used as support for the basic theme.

"Frankenstein is a novel that is deeply interested in a particular kind of social union, namely, the political community. Written in 1818 and in the moment between revolution and reform, Shelley's novel invokes contemporary discussions and theorizations of political community"

This source goes into the role the community plays in the novel. As the romantic value of human connection comes up, so does the community in a changing role. This is another one of Shelly's criticisms of her society.

This article gives historical background to the developments in the field of biology around the turn of the 18th century. The debate of what was human made life and what was just metals colliding had some people thinking it was almost possible to create life. This gives light to the fears shelley expresses in her novel over the advancements of science, and the argument that it has gone too far.

This article discusses the importance of care in a child's infancy in order for them to be able to develop close attachments with others. It talks about two types of people, those who like to make relationships, and those who would prefer to be alone. The monster is one who would like to make relationships, while Victor would prefer to be alone, thus contrasting in nature. 

"The acts of holding, rocking, singing, feeding, gazing, kissing, and other nurturing behaviors involved in caring for infants and young children are bonding experiences. Factors crucial to bonding include time together" based off evidence like this, it is impossible to have foreshadowed a positive outcome for the monster, the closest he got to a bond was victors obsession with creating him, his entire conscious life he was neglected and mistreated

There is ample evidence in the novel that the creature functions as the scientist's baser self. Frankenstein's epithets for him consistently connote evil: devil, fiend, daemon, horror, wretch, monster, monstrous image, vile insect, abhorred entity, detested form, hideous phantasm, odious companion, and demoniacal corpse. Neutral terms like creature and being are comparatively rare. Most important, there is Frankenstein's thinking of him as "my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me" (�7). And after each murder Frankenstein acknowledges his complicity: "I not in deed, but in effect, was the true murderer"