1. Legend of Faustus and how it relates (1592 vs 1510--start of Renaissance or maybe the German version goes back to 1510). Anyone who knows legend?
2. What concerns of Mary Shelley that appear in Frankenstein also appear here? [Attacks on the different, for one.]
3. Shelley believes that the written word is therapeutic. Does such therapy work here?
4. In what ways does this story reflect Percy Shelley's skepticism about language? [Note the way in which lies play a part in the story. Also, the narrator has not experienced any joy as far as we can tell.]
5. How does Winzy's fate parallel that of Cornelius's first scholar?
6. What kind of a person is Bertha? Are there ways in which she might represent Percy Shelley? In what ways is she a stereotypical woman? Does Mary Shelley have sympathy with women?
7. Does Cornelius's lie justify Winzy's stealing of the potion?
8. Has anyone in the class a desire to live on earth forever? What would be the implications of such a life? Is the picture here true to life?
9. What is the immediate effect of the potion on Winzy? Why is Bertha suddenly attracted to him again?
10. P 364 shows Shelley's romanticism: [the romantic depicts emotional matter in an imaginative form. Increased interest in Nature; growing interest in scenery; association of human moods with moods of Nature; emphasis on Natural religion; emphasis on the need for spontaneity in though and action and in expression of thought; increasing importance attached to natural genius and the power of the imagination; tendency to exalt the individual an his needs and emphasis on the need for a freer and more personal expression.]

"The Mortal Immortal"

1. With whom does Shelly seem to sympathize in the "Mortal Immortal"?
2. What feminist issue(s) might be symbolized in the story
a. By the quest of Winzy for knowledge?
b. By the materialism of Bertha?
c. By Bertha's aging
d. By Bertha's meaness of spirit
e. By Winzy's being the narrator of the tale?