Mary Shelley (1797-1851) |
"The Mortal Immortal" (1833) |
** The text of this story can be found here 
.
This is a hypertext edition. Please follow as many links as possible to
gather information about the text. **
Things to Consider:
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Religious Views of Death and Immortality
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Standards of Beauty and Roles of Women
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Role of Science
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Forms of Reproduction
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Textual Analysis and the Role of Engravings
Homework Questions:
(Page numbers refer to those presented in brackets in the text)
71:
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How old is the narrator of the story?
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Who is the Wandering Jew?
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Who is Cornelius Agrippa?
75:
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Why doesn't Agrippa tell Winzy the true nature of his experiments?
77:
Note: the description of Bertha on this page corresponds to the
engraving that accompanies the tale.
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How does the description of Bertha correspond to that of the potion
on 76?
83:
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Explain: "She sought to decrease the apparent disparity of our
ages by a thousand feminine arts" (83).
84:
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Why is Bertha so intent on finding signs of age in Winzy?
85:
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Explain: "Such an enigma is man--born to perish--when he wars,
as I do, against the established laws of his nature" (85).
86:
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How might Winzy become "the wonder and benefactor of the human species"
(86)?
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Why is Winzy writing his story?
Other Discussion Questions:
71:
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Explain: "His memory is as immortal as his arts have made me"
(71).
72:
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Why is Winzy afraid to work for Agrippa?
73:
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Explain: "Still I was too poor to marry, and she grew weary of being
tormented on my account" (73).
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Why does Winzy decide to work for Agrippa after all?
74:
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Explain: "I was jealous as a Turk" (74).
76:
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Why does Winzy drink the potion?
78:
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Explain: "That delicious draught of a divine elixir . . . had inspired
me with courage and resolution, thus winning for me an inestimable treasure
in my Bertha" (78).
80:
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Explain: "A prophet is least regarded in his own country" (80).
81:
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