Luddite influence in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

While the Industrial Revolution was intended to increase prosperity, some, like the anti-machine protesters of the early 19^th century, saw it as a de-humanizing movement. In the novel, the monster is feared by the people he encounters because of his appearance and greater strength. When the monster tries to become a part of the community, in a parallel with the introduction of machines, Felix, like the Luddite protesters, fights back against his infiltration. Felix then moves away from his cottage with his family because he feels unsafe and doesn’t want to subject them to the monster’s influence. In the novel, mechanization is associated with the horrific aspects of the story, while the natural world represents the monster’s idyllic respite from his problems and the possibility of acceptance by the family he observes. This fear of mechanization reflects the ambivalence towards the use of machines in peoples’ lives in the 19^th century, and is echoed in subsequent science fiction stories about artificial beings, as well as film adaptations of Frankenstein. This interpretation shows how the novel reflects on real-life events in England, with which Mary and Percy Shelley were directly associated. The natural world is valued over the mechanized world due to its more authentic associations and perceived increased worth.