This site has been created to provide a deeper look into the connections surrounding the mothers in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh. As with the majority of the Victorian literature that we read in English 153B, both of these novels contain mothers who are not present - having died either during childbirth or from disease while the protagonist was still a child. Interestingly, despite the absence of these mother characters, these women act as a driving force and, as I will argue with this site, decide the outcome of their respective novels. While Victor is haunted by the death of his mother and the idea of human frailty that stems from her death, Aurora's mother becomes her Muse. Thus, as the death of Victor's mother from scarlet fever leaves him anxious to create the perfect human form - one in no way susceptible to human weakness - the death of her mother allows Aurora to construct herself, or perhaps mother herself, through poetry.
The premise of this site is to lead you to the protagonist from one of the novels through a series of questions. The questions that you will be asked simulate the impact the mother character has on Victor or Aurora. Since the interactions between these two characters and their mothers decides the outcomes of the novels, each question that you answer will build upon the last, leading ultimately to the novel that these interactions would construct.
To begin the game, click on the link below entitled "Let the game begin!". After clicking on this link, you will be presented with two quotes. Pick the quote that best represents a novel of your choosing. With each choice, you will be presented with two new quotes to choose from until ultimately you reach the novel that your decisions have constructed. So, let the game begin!
Crystle Bruno
Spring 2009
San Jose State University
|