The novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus was written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. This was the highlight of her work.

The novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus was written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. This was the highlight of her work. The main plot of the story is enveloped by a unique frame story. The narration shifts from Robert Walton to Victor Frankenstein to the monster and in the end back to Walton. Thus making Walton's story the frame to Frankenstein's. This style of writing provides several interesting functions to the story as a whole. Shelley uses this frame story to create a very important narrative structure. The novel is filled with several different kinds of texts such as; letters, notes, journals, inscriptions, and books. It is through this "profusion of texts" in which Shelley uses to help unfold the ghostly and haunting story of Frankenstein and provide the narrative structure she wishes to convey.

The novel takes place in the 1700's and starts with Walton's letters to his sister, Mrs.

Steel engraving (993 x 71mm) for frontispiece to t...

Manuscript page from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

English: Mary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Go...

Margaret Saville who resides in England. In using Walton to begin the story it enables Shelley to introduce the setting of the novel to the reader. Walton is a well to do English explorer seeking a meaning to life and an searching for a discovery not yet ventured upon by any other man. These letters encompass the whole story. Victor Frankenstein's story fits inside Walton's letters; the monster's story fits inside Victor's; and the love story of Felix and Safie and references to Paradise Lost fit inside the monster's story. The various types of writings in the novel serve as "concrete manifestations" of characters' attitudes and emotions. Walton's letters transmit important information to the reader, which serves to "advance the plot and offer some sense of authenticity to an implausible story". In addition to Walton's letters, Victor also uses letters in he's narrative, which have come from Alphonse...