Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Jeremy Glick
Second Advisor
Marlene Hennessy
Academic Program Adviser
Mark Miller
Abstract
This thesis builds upon psychoanalysis and Shelley’s biographical accounts to claim that, rather than creating fear through physical monstrosity, Frankenstein’s horror emerges from the return of repressed parental and social failures. While the novel never excuses its violence, it contextualizes the creature’s acts in ways that demand readers to confront complicity, neglect, and social shortcomings. The following section discusses general horror theory with a focus on notions of abjection and the synthesis of contrasting images and concepts. A baseline understanding of fear will be formed and referred to in each following segment. After establishing a basic understanding of horror vocabulary, I will discuss theoretical understandings of horror to emphasize how the emotion is elicited in an audience and the purpose of exploring fears, such as those present in Frankenstein. I will place the novel in discussion with works by John Lechte and Julia Kristeva, as well as Freud’s writings on the uncanny, connecting elements of abjection and the uncanny to the depiction of parent-child bonds presented by Shelley. I will use Psychoanalysis in the following section to highlight how Shelley modifies the parent-child relationship to create the monster’s horrific elements. I will continue my examination of Freud in this section, as his theories presented in “The Interpretation of Dreams” regarding parental rivalry and the Oedipal drama will be applied to the monster-creator relationship in the novel. The father-son dynamic, as understood by Freud, highlights how Frankenstein fails in his paternal duties and how the creator is forced to confront his shortcomings through the creature’s horrific actions. The monster’s inability to conform to society connects to Freud’s explanation of the father’s role in the child’s life, highlighting Victor’s responsibility for the monster’s growing opposition to mankind. I will thus use Freud’s theories to shed light on the creature’s horrific turn, emphasizing the consequences of buried guilt and paternal neglect as embodied by the monster. Finally, I will analyze Shelley’s life as a child and mother. I will examine her struggles with the social negation of self-expression through their manifestation in the monster’s anger, which demands readers acknowledge the rage suppressed by the author. I will further clarify the shortcomings of parental guidance by highlighting the similarities between the author’s experience with her father and Victor’s relationship to the parental role. I will compare allegorical analyses of the novel as a birth narrative to Shelley’s personal experiences with pregnancies and miscarriages to uncover the horrors of parenting that the author imbues into the novel. While the author shares the monster’s pain and bitterness regarding societal rejection and parental neglect, she resists its descent into destruction. This distinction marks the boundary between Shelley and the creature: the monster uses violence to externalize the rage that Shelley can only channel through art. Thus, I will analyze the author’s biography to demonstrate the horror of the creature as the consequences of the repressed being unleashed rather than confronted.
Recommended Citation
Wilenski, Ben, "The Monsters We Make: Confronting Repression And Failure In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1455
