BU - Approaches to Literature S22

Symptoms of Scarlet fever(5) What is scarlet fever and why is it feared? In 4th century BC scarlet fever erupted. It was known back then as "erysipelas"(3), and was also commonly referred to as "Childbed fever"(3).There was notch to note on it from that time due to the medicine at the time, but it was known to be very deadly, and to spread by "contagion”, or through the air. As times progressed it became better known as scarlet fever. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it became a wide spread pandemic attacking many.  Due to not knowing what it was or really how to stop it, its mortality rate grew. Its common symptoms were "numerous spots, large and small, fiery and red, of universal distribution, so that the whole body appeared to be on fire"(3).It also was linked to symptoms of a common cold with runny nose, sore throat and grogginess, the only thing setting it apart, the rash. Once it was figured out to be very contagious, many "children with...

 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 wh...

Grave Robbing Mary Shelley's book Frankenstein explores many topics from the 19th century and one of them is grave robbing. What is grave robbing? It's when a person digs up a buried body to steal things that were buried with it. During the 19th century they were stealing body parts instead of personal items. They planned to use the body parts in resurrections.  Mt. Zion Cemetery                             19th Century Medical Influence In the 19th century medical schools were allowing students to use cadavers. There is one story  in particular that made the media. During this time period students in Baltimore had a shortage on the dissection materials that they needed. They decided that they were going to take care of  the problem themselves. The school even hired the janitor to help. They hid  shovels in the anatomy room and when night struck they went out in search of fresh unguarded ...

 The Haunted Summer of 1816 (4)    The History of the Tambora Volcano       When you think of summer, what do you think of? Warm, sun-filled days with bright skies and beautiful fluffy clouds, or maybe even rainy days with high humidity and fog. Those who lived in the early 1800s did not experience summer in the way it is normally spent. The Tambora volcano on the Indonesian Island of Sumbawa in April 1815 erupted and made history (1). The following summer had brief warm spells of two or three days but overall was hardly summer-like (2).  The eruption was so powerful that even the United States was impacted. May and June took the record for being the coldest in history at that time. May endured a series of cold air masses, with each growing progressively colder (2). By June, the cold air masses produced snow that struck New England, and it was cold enough to stick. Those who lived in Europe faced many hardships during the Year Without Summer (2). ...

Early Book Reviews for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein      When Frankenstein was first published, it was under an anonymous author. Mary Shelley did this intentionally due to the public view of women at the time. The majority view of the 1800s were that women weren't expected to be authors. That profession was mostly led by men. And since most critics (also being men) would immediately see her work as written by a woman, they would deem it "not worth their time." This tactic was what allowed Mary Shelley's work to be judged on the content instead of being blinded by misogyny. Percy Bysshe Shelley      Surprisingly, one of the very first reviews for Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley's husband, Percy Shelley. This review, however, wouldn't come to light until 1832, 10 years after Percy had died. The review is strikingly in favor for the novel, using this as its opening sentence:     "The novel of  Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus...

  "The Wanderer Above The Sea Fog" (3) An example of the sublime nature (1) Mary Shelley (7) Mary Shelley was the daughter of an acclaimed writer and feminist author (5). It goes without question that literature was a large factor in her upbringing. As a result, she was introduced to different types of genres and met many famous authors and writers during her lifetime. Of these many writers, one was Samuel Taylor Coleridge. As the story is told, her father had invited Coleridge to their home late one night. Coleridge was preparing to recite his poem as Mary and her sister were found hiding in an attempt to listen to his literary work. Mary's stepmother insisted that they go to bed, but Coleridge was able to convince her step mother to allow them to stay and listen. He went on to perform his now most famous poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (6). This poem left a profound impact on Mary Shelley that can now be credited as the source of inspiration for Fran...

What is Scarlet Fever? We have all heard of Scarlet Fever before, but many of us don't know what it is or how deadly it is. Scarlet fever is a blanching rash that is sometimes referred to as a sandpaper rash. In 1578, Jean Cottyar gave the first definitive description of scarlet fever in France as a "general weariness, headache, redness of the eyes, sore throat, and fever" (1). It took us many more years to realize that Scarlet fever can cause a severe rash anywhere on the body. If you were to get Scarlet Fever, the worst place to have it would be inside your mouth. This would make it increasingly hard to eat, drink, or breathe. If it is in your throat, it is appropriate to look at Scarlet fever as a more severe form of strep throat. An Example of Scarlet fever on the body of children(2) How was Scarlet Fever Treated? If you were to get Scarlet fever today, you wouldn't have much to worry about, assuming you visit your doctor. But this was not the case during the 1800...