Rethinking inspirations for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein : a new look at the case of the Silesian gravediggers' scandal of 1606

Abstract

The article is an attempt to re-examine two theories concerning the possible inspirations for Mary Shelley's masterpiece Frankenstein. The paper first evokes the most popular theory conceived by Radu Florescu whose endeavour to investigate the case of Frankestein's sources has been widely acclaimed. It is then juxtaposed with another theory which still has not been profoundly examined and yet seems worth analysing. It refers to the idea publicised by a Polish researcher in the 80s and 90s who implied that the title and the content of Shelley's novel could have been inspired by the events which took place in today's Polish town of Ząbkowice Śląskie. The present paper scrutinizes and discusses the story of the Silesian gravediggers' scandal which broke out in 1606 as a potential impulse which might have triggered the writing of Frankenstein.