Good evening/morning cyberweb! I'm really not sure why I'm even still awake, but I figured that, as long as I was up, I would try to post something.
I'm reading "Frankenstein," by Mary Shelley for my advanced seminar. I've read it multiple times before, but it's one of those novels that I could read over and over and continually discover some new angle or insight. In short, if you haven't read it, read it. That was fun to type.
And no, watching the movie adaptations doesn't count. Surprisingly, Scooby and his band of misfit friends were not involved in the original story line. Neither were Alvin and the Chipmunks. And don't even get me started on the newest movie, "I, Frankenstein." Hint: In Shelley's version, there were no gargoyles, nobody can fly, and I guarantee that, even with Hollywood's help, the creature would never resemble Aaron Eckhart. Ever.
Anyways, before telling you about my favorite aspects of the novel I wanted to debunk a few misconceptions about the myth of Frankenstein's monster.
1). The monster's name isn't Frankenstein. Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the name of the creature's creator. The monster doesn't actually have a name, although Shelley does call him by a few nasty pet names such as fiend, demon, and wretch.
2). The monster isn't horrendously ugly, with green skin, and bolts protruding from his neck. I don't mean to suggest that the creature could win an Aaron Eckhart look-alike contest. I'm just saying that the Halloween pictures we colored for our parents back in second grade didn't do the monster any justice.
In fact, Shelley says that his "limbs were in proportion, and [Dr. Frankenstein] had selected his features as beautiful" (35). She goes on to write that the perfection of the monster's dark hair and white teeth only "created a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes" (ibid).
He's not hideously grotesque.
3). The monster isn't an unintelligent oaf. It is true that at first he doesn't comprehend or grasp his existence or the world around him. It is also true that he doesn't speak or read in the beginning, but it's hard to hold this against him. It took nearly 20 years for my brother to learn to put the toilet seat down, and he still struggles with that task. Compared to him, the creature learns at an incredible rate.
The creature spends time watching a family of peasants from a safe distance, and, from them, he eventually learns to speak, read, and identify his emotions. In fact, the creature exhibits incredible sensitivity and intelligence.
He reads Plutarch, Goethe, and Milton for god's sake. You know what they say about a well-read monster…. I'm not sure where I'm going with that.
I think my favorite aspect of the novel is the humanness of the creature. "Frankenstein" isn't really a horror story about a lunatic monster intent on destroying people and villages. The novel examines what it means to be human, and reflects on how dangerous the pursuit of knowledge can be.
The creature only kills after he's rejected by society. Mull that over for a bit.
In the end, Frankenstein's creature isn't a heartless killing machine. All he wants is a partner to spend his life with so that he feels like he belongs somewhere. Hmm... now there's a familiar story.
I think that he is just a lonely monster in need of a hug. And maybe some eye drops.
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