The Monster in Frankenstein with Regard to Rousseau’s Concept of the “Noble Savage”

Seminar Paper , 2011 , 14 Pages , Grade: 2,3

English Language and Literature Studies - Literature

This term paper deals with Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s concept of the “noble savage“ and the use of this concept by Mary Shelley as a main theme in her famous novel Frankenstein. In the first chapter of this paper, I will focus on the noble savage myth and explain what exactly is meant by the term. I will also explain Rousseau’s theories of a state of nature as found in his work A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Further, I will shortly confront Rousseau’s theories with a quite opposite world view, namely that offered by Thomas Hobbes in his works Leviathan and De Cive.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Rousseau’s Concept of a “Noble Savage”
2.1 Opposite Theory: Thomas Hobbes

3. Frankenstein’s Monster as a “Noble Savage”
3.1 Arguments For Frankenstein’s Monster as a “Noble Savage”
3.2 The Monster’s Transition From a “Noble Savage” Into a Murderer
3.3 Reference to Paradise Lost by John Milton

4. Conclusion

5. List of Sources

• College: RWTH Aachen University (Institut für Anglistik)
• Course: Proseminar Gothic Literature
• Grade: 2,3
• Author: Gabriele Grenkowski (Author)
• Publication Year: 2011
• Pages: 14
• Catalog Number: V189629
• ISBN (eBook): 9783656139799
• ISBN (Book): 9783656139591
• Language: English
• Tags: monster, frankenstein, regard, rousseau’s, concept, noble, savage”, Mary Shelley, Leviathan, Hobbes, Paradise Lost, Milton