Publication Date
2021
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
May, Brian
Degree Name
M.A. (Master of Arts)
Legacy Department
Department of English
Abstract
This study examined Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which foreshadows the Victorian period, and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, which reflects on it. The two novels are both monster stories that share many similarities, including themes of creativity and morality. However, the two novels are distinctly different in surprising ways. This thesis serves as an examination of their differing treatments of creativity and morality. In its examination, it reveals the ways in which Shelley couples these themes, foreshadowing Victorianism, while Wilde decouples them, reflecting and refracting on Victorian themes. Thus, this study reveals some of the major cultural changes that occurred across the nineteenth century and interrogates the possible reasons these shifts may have occurred.
Recommended Citation
Klaassen, Elisa, "The Making of Monsters: Creativity and Morality in Gothic Novels Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray" (2021). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 7257.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/7257
Extent
46 pages
Language
eng
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
