Mary Shelley

Hannah and I had been thinking that Victor Frankenstein seemed like the wrong character to reanimate dead matter - he had a supportive family, and no reason to do such a thing. I recently heard of something that might explain some of the plot. 

Mary Shelley often fought with her stepmother, and was fairly young when she eloped. Her first child was born prematurely and died. She later had a dream that if she had held her baby by a fire and rubbed it to warm it, it would come alive. This may be the theme of Frankenstein, as Victor is able to revive the dead where she could not.