Henry Fuseli’s Nightmare(s) in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818)

Fabien Desset (1)

1 UNILIM - Université de Limoges

This paper analyses the influence of Henry Fuseli's various versions of The Nightmare (1781, 1791, 1793) on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818, 1831). While critics have already found echoes, literary influences, like the bedside scenes in Gothic literature, have been overlooked, as well as political caricatures inspired by Fuseli. The Swiss painter's influence must therefore be reassessed or complemented by other sources.

Mots clés: Fuseli; Nightmare; transaesthetics; Shelley; Frankenstein

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Littératures

Fabien Desset. Henry Fuseli’s Nightmare(s) in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818). Isabelle Hervouet; Anne Rouhette. Dream and Literary Creation in Women's Writings in the Eighteenth Centuries, ANTHEM PRESS, pp.157, 2021, 978-1-78527-752-8. ⟨hal-03980746⟩