The Effects of Galvanism on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
Frankenstein is oftentimes considered the novel that really defined science fiction as a genre. Mary Shelley focuses a big portion of her story on the creation of a monster who, after coming to life, harms several people throughout the book. Mary Shelley was born in 1797 and died in 1851. Galvanism was a very important topic of scientific studies during Shelley’s lifetime. The “Account of some Galvanic Combinations” is a lecture given by Mr. Humphry Davy on June 18, 1801. It is highly possible that Mary Shelley read or heard this lecture included in Philosophical Transactions Volume 91. It is important to think about the historical context that Frankenstein was written and all of the social and scientific influences on Mary Shelly’s writing of the novel.
“An Account of some Galvanic Combinations, formed by the Arrangement of single metallic Plates and Fluids, analogous to the new Galvanic Apparatus of Mr. Volta” is an essay and lecture included in Philosophical Transactions Volume 91. This essay is significant because it correlates to the scientific experiments that Mary Shelley details in her novel, Frankenstein. Galvanism was a very popular scientific practice during Mary Shelley’s time. Victor Frankenstein, the main character of Shelly’s novel, is a scientist. The scientific experiment that Victor tasks himself with is the creation of a new life. Victor had become very interested in science during his time at university. This account of Galvanism is significant because it describes what Galvanism is. Davy says, "But I have found that an accumulation of Galvanic influence, exactly similar to the accumulation in the common pile, may be produced by the arrangement of single metallic plates, or arcs, with different strata of fluids"(Davy 397). Mr. Davy is talking about how when he was experimenting, he realized that he could produce this electricity by mixing other chemicals. This is very similar to when Shelley describes the creation of the monster. Shelley says that the monster was created from different parts(quote here). Galvanism had paved the way for a creative way of thinking and experimenting such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
When reading the pages below by Mr. Humphry Davy, it is clear to see the comparison to Mary Shelley’s depiction of Frankenstein’s experiment. When Victor Frankenstein is talking about his time at university he says, “I attended the lectures, and cultivated the acquaintance, of the men of science of the university”(Shelley 32). It is very likely that Shelley is talking about lectures like Davy gave on Galvanism. It is also clear to see the connection from the creation of the monster to the basics of Galvanism. Davy says on page 398, “I was enabled to ascertain, that many of these arrangements could be made active, not only when oxidations, but likewise when other chemical changes were going on in some of their parts.” This explanation of arrangements being “made active” can be thought of being similar to the monster coming to life. When describing how the creature comes to life, Victor Frankenstein says, “I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet” (Shelley 37). This “spark” that Shelley is describing is similar to the electricity that is produced through Galvanism as described by Mr. Humphry Davy.
“An Account of some Galvanic Combinations, formed by the Arrangement of single metallic Plates and Fluids, analogous to the new Galvanic Apparatus of Mr. Volta” is an interesting and important work to look at when reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Reading about Galvanism gives insight to the widespread sceintific practices of that time. Learning about these Galvanic combinations offer a better insight into the creation of the dangerous creature that Mary Shelley depicts in her novel.
Works Cited
Humpry, Davy. "An Account of some Galvanic Combinations, formed by the Arrangements of single metalilc Plates and Fluids, analogous to the new Galvanic Apparatus of Mr. Volta." Philisophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, W. Bulmer and Co., 1801, pp. 397-402.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein: The 1818 Text, Contexts, Criticism, Third Edition. Edited by J. Paul Hunter, W. W. Norton & Company, 2022, pp. 7-168.