Scarlet Fever's Impact on Frankenstein

Scarlet fever has always been a topic of discussion when it comes to diseases. Taking a look into its impact on society can help us understand how it shaped Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. 

What is Scarlet Fever?

Children with scarlet fever (1)

Scarlet fever is a deadly illness. We know this. But what makes it so deadly? The basis of this illness is that it comes from the bacteria Streptococcus A and a toxin released by the bacteria causes the rash. (5). In modern days, it is now a mild infection that causes a fever, sore throat, chills, and sometimes vomiting. It was said that "Scarlet fever most commonly affects children under 10 as most children over this age have experienced a strep infection and have some immunity" (4). Because of this immunity, we see less and less of the disease today. What we see presently with COVID-19 mirrors the Scarlet fever pandemic and a lot of similar effects can be seen. Many of those who are considered "high-risk" are contracting the illness and those who try to help are as well. Granted, the "high-risk" population is the exact opposite in the above example, but if we look back onto the Scarlet fever pandemic we can learn a lot about how humans of the past responded to medical crises.  

How was Scarlet Fever Treated?

Death by Scarlet Fever (1)

In the 1800s, scarlet fever was much more deadly. Mostly affecting children, it was said that victims of scarlet fever could die within 48 hours (2). The most that was done for scarlet fever was blood letting and a throat wash made of borax and honey (2). As we discussed in class, the common knowledge at this time was that the body was controlled by the four humors (blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm (4)). There was no concept of bacteria/viruses at this time, and would not be for a while. Because of these "simple" treatments due to lack of medical knowledge, many children were unable to fight the infection and ultimately died at the hands of scarlet fever. With this, there was no sort of personal protection equipment to help stop transmission. Parents of sick children would walk into their rooms and breathe in the germs as they spread them throughout the This made other family members more susceptible to contracting Scarlet fever. 

Scarlet Fever within the text

Child with Scarlet Fever (7)

Within the text of Frankenstein, we are introduced to the character of Elizabeth and Victor's mother both get scarlet fever. While Elizabeth recovers, Caroline does not. Here we can see the impact of scarlet fever. Mary Shelley included the illness into the text because of how horrible it was at the time. When Frankenstein was written, scarlet fever was at an all time high. In the United States between the years 1858-1859, 42% of all deaths pertaining to children were because of scarlet fever (6). As you can see, scarlet fever was not just a simple cold one could get over in a few days. Because it was so common to catch and succumb to scarlet fever, it was a perfect way for Mary Shelley to kill off Caroline. 

In chapter 3, we see Elizabeth contracting scarlet fever. Here, Caroline nurses her back to health. However, Caroline contracts the disease and does not survive. This is unfortunately how it would have gone in the past. One person in the home contracts the illness and it either spreads to the entire home, or the caretaker contracts it. This is how Scarlet fever became a pandemic. During Marry Shelley's time, the pandemic was in full swing. It was a real concern regarding children, much like COVID-19 is for the elderly now. Children were contracting this disease and dying because we did not have the technology we do now to cure them. Mary Shelley took this world event that plagued millions of children at the time and properly represented how it was passed throughout the family. She depicted the real struggles of a family who is struck by Scarlet fever and how they cope with the eventual death of a loved one. When Elizabeth contracted Scarlet fever, she was young. Much like other children of the time she contracted the illness. However, she did not perish. Caroline contracted it due to its high transmissibility and fell victim to its unknown ailments. Caroline's death shapes Victor and essentially sets off a chain of madness that lasts throughout the rest of the book. 

Mary Shelley does not have a personal connection with the disease besides the fact that she lived through the major outbreak in the 1800s. This pandemic would have been incredibly impactful, as almost 150 per 100,000 people died from Scarlet fever in the 1800s (8). With this high of a death rate, fear spread amongst the people and made Scarlet Fever notable. Because of this notability, Mary Shelley writing about something affecting her life adds layers to Frankenstein. The audience must know about the Scarlet Fever outbreak in order to fully understand the text and understand Victor's backstory itself. By understanding Victor's backstory, we are able to understand why he acts the way he does and his motives behind reanimating Junior. 

Works Cited

(1) Deutsche Welle. “England Hit by 50 Year Spike in Scarlet Fever: DW: 28.11.2017.” DW.COM, https://www.dw.com/en/england-hit-by-50-year-spike-in-scarlet-fever/a-41563178. 


(2) Glenn Fay, Jr. “The Heartbreaking Childhood Plagues of the 1700s and 1800s.” Medium, Medium, 13 Apr. 2020, https://glennfay.medium.com/the-heartbreaking-childhood-plagues-of-the-1700s-and-1800s-b2692d0594f5. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511542534.009.

(3) “Four Humors - and There's the Humor of It: Shakespeare and the Four Humors.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 19 Sept. 2013, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/shakespeare/fourhumors.html. 

(4) Lowth, Mary. “Infectious Diseases in Children: Scarlet Fever.” Practice Nurse, vol. 43, no. 7, July 2013, pp. 40–42. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=89479255&site=eds-live&scope=site. 


(5) “Scarlet Fever: All You Need to Know.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Mar. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/groupastrep/diseases-public/scarlet-fever.html. 


(6) Swedlund, Alan C., and Alison K. Donta. “Scarlet Fever Epidemics of the Nineteenth Century: A Case of Evolved Pathogenic Virulence?” Human Biologists in the Archives, 2002, pp. 165–167., https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511542534.009. 

(7) “Child with Scarlet Fever.” Why Are Scarlet Fever and Other 'Victorian Diseases' Returning to the UK?, The Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/scarlet-fever-victorian-diseases-returning-uk/.

(8) Mandal, Dr. Ananya. “What Is Scarlet Fever?” News, 5 June 2019, https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Scarlet-fever.aspx.