Artificial Minds and Literary Worlds in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Abstract

Artificial Minds and Literary Worlds in the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley explores the complexity of the use of artificial intelligence motives in the masterpiece of a Gothic novel by the author. The current question cuts across the multifaceted image of the artificial mind that was personified by the creature created by Victor Frankenstein in its many facets and explored in detail in relation to the Shelley narrative techniques, the themes echoed in the novel, and the interactions between characters. Placing the novel in the context of the larger Romantic and scientific discourses of the first half of the nineteenth century, the paper sheds light on how Shelley criticized the unbridled scientific ambition and the ethics of creating artificial life. The study also questions existential issues such as identity, alienation, and the quest to seek knowledge which is evident in the tragic journey of the creature. Using interdisciplinary prisms that cut across literature, philosophy and science, the work explains why Shelley continues to be relevant in the modern discussion of AI ethics, human nature and the boundaries of scientific inquiry. In the end, this academic study of the novel Frankenstein deepens our understanding of the artificial minds and the ways of representing the world of writing, which reveals the timeless impact of this masterpiece on the views on technology, humanity, and ethics.