Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Chapters 24 to END.
Until this part of the story, I had forgotten that Victor was telling this story as a narrative to Robert Walton.
I realize that I was warned to keep that in mind throughout the story, but I thought it would be more fun to just disregard that request.
The end of the novel was in a way anticlimactic. Victor, for one, dies. Before he dies, however, he requests that Walton continues his hunt for the creature. Walton's crew wishes to go to England as soon as the ice clears. One night, Walton hears a noise coming from the room where Victor's body was being kept. Investigating, Walton found the creature, weeping over his creators' body.
"He paused, looking on me with wonder; and, again turning towards the lifeless form of his creator, he seemed to forget my presence, and every feature and gesture seemed instigated by the wildest rage of some uncontrollable passion" (Shelly, 163).
With no purpose or reason to live any longer, the creature states that without his creator or anyone associated with him left, the creature itself had no purpose left in the world. The creature seems to be begging for pardon from Victor, or maybe God, for his crimes and actions against humanity.
Walton does not eliminate the creature, but lets it go. The creature tells Robert of his woes and his story of his failure to control his impulse to cause Victor the misery that he had experienced in his life. The creature jumps ship into the cold water and disappears into the darkness.
I like stories like this. This story left no loose ends or open ended, for the most part, questions. Great read.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Frankenstein Post 9.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Chapters 21-23.
Murder trial, the same, but different.
"As time passed away I became more calm; misery had her dwelling in my heart, but I no longer talked in the same incoherent manner of my own crimes; sufficient for me was the consciousness of them" (Shelly, 137).
This is a case of Déjà vu where the victim of the crime was strangled to death, and the person charged with the crime was nowhere near the crime scene when they were supposed to be killing the victim. Coincidence? I think not. While circumstantial evidence was enough to convict Justine to death, the case is not the same with victor. Victor is acquitted and was released from prison where he became depressed because, like with the deaths of Justine and William, Victor felt completely responsible for Henry's death.
Some time passes and Victor and Elizabeth eventually get married. On their wedding night, Elizabeth is killed by the creature. After hearing this news, Alfonse dies a few days later. Victor devotes the rest of his life to seeking and destroying the creature.
This seems like an extreme case of irony. Victor, from an early age, was obsessed with defeating death so that he did not have to see his loved ones die. In overcoming death, the fates of his family and friends was sealed. I thought that Victor would have been better off just creating the second creature so that he would never have to see of think about either of them for the rest of his life.
Murder trial, the same, but different.
"As time passed away I became more calm; misery had her dwelling in my heart, but I no longer talked in the same incoherent manner of my own crimes; sufficient for me was the consciousness of them" (Shelly, 137).
This is a case of Déjà vu where the victim of the crime was strangled to death, and the person charged with the crime was nowhere near the crime scene when they were supposed to be killing the victim. Coincidence? I think not. While circumstantial evidence was enough to convict Justine to death, the case is not the same with victor. Victor is acquitted and was released from prison where he became depressed because, like with the deaths of Justine and William, Victor felt completely responsible for Henry's death.
Some time passes and Victor and Elizabeth eventually get married. On their wedding night, Elizabeth is killed by the creature. After hearing this news, Alfonse dies a few days later. Victor devotes the rest of his life to seeking and destroying the creature.
This seems like an extreme case of irony. Victor, from an early age, was obsessed with defeating death so that he did not have to see his loved ones die. In overcoming death, the fates of his family and friends was sealed. I thought that Victor would have been better off just creating the second creature so that he would never have to see of think about either of them for the rest of his life.
Frankenstein Post 8.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Chapters 18- 20.
"I felt as if was about the commission of a dreadful crime, and avoided with shuddering anxiety any encounter with my fellow-creatures. At one time the moon, which had before been clear, was suddenly overspread by a thick cloud, and I took advantage of the moment of darkness and cast my basket into the sea; listened to the gurgling sound ass it sunk, and then sailed away from the spot" (Shelly, 125).
During this part of the novel, I think that Victor realized that he was becoming a slave to his creation, a flip of the usual understood roles, Victor being the master and the Creation being subordinate. The flip occurred when Victor let his creation get out of his control. Victor goes to England to be secluded during his creation of a new thing. While in the process of creating his second monster, he gets cold feet and disposes of the remains at sea. When he returns, Victor is suspected of murder.
This part of the book was rather upsetting to me. Victor would not complete his second creation because he was afraid that the new creature would not leave with the original or, worse, that the creatures would procreate. I thought, Victor is responsible for what goes into the creature, why does he not just exclude the organs for childbearing. That would essentially disarm the ability for the creatures to have children. But, that would not make for a suspenseful story, would it?
"I felt as if was about the commission of a dreadful crime, and avoided with shuddering anxiety any encounter with my fellow-creatures. At one time the moon, which had before been clear, was suddenly overspread by a thick cloud, and I took advantage of the moment of darkness and cast my basket into the sea; listened to the gurgling sound ass it sunk, and then sailed away from the spot" (Shelly, 125).
During this part of the novel, I think that Victor realized that he was becoming a slave to his creation, a flip of the usual understood roles, Victor being the master and the Creation being subordinate. The flip occurred when Victor let his creation get out of his control. Victor goes to England to be secluded during his creation of a new thing. While in the process of creating his second monster, he gets cold feet and disposes of the remains at sea. When he returns, Victor is suspected of murder.
This part of the book was rather upsetting to me. Victor would not complete his second creation because he was afraid that the new creature would not leave with the original or, worse, that the creatures would procreate. I thought, Victor is responsible for what goes into the creature, why does he not just exclude the organs for childbearing. That would essentially disarm the ability for the creatures to have children. But, that would not make for a suspenseful story, would it?
Frankenstein Post 7.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Chapters 16-17.
This section of reading, to me, raised some interesting questions.
Reading informs that the creature's request is for a companion or mate that Victor creates to keep him company. Much like Eve was created to be a companion to Adam.
"If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again: I will go to the vast wilds of South America. My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment" (Shelly, 105).
As shown by the quote above, the creature offers Victor a deal where he creates a bride for the creature and the creature leaves humanity alone forever. Sounds pretty good in my opinion. Victor will not be tormented by his creation any more and the creature gets something that will tolerate his frightening appearance. Victor at first is a bit apprehensive to do this but eventually agrees to do the deed.
As I said before, this section created questions. If the creature could learn so quickly, and he had victor's instruction manual to create a person, why did the creature not just make his companion himself?
Just food for thought.
This section of reading, to me, raised some interesting questions.
Reading informs that the creature's request is for a companion or mate that Victor creates to keep him company. Much like Eve was created to be a companion to Adam.
"If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again: I will go to the vast wilds of South America. My food is not that of man; I do not destroy the lamb and the kid to glut my appetite; acorns and berries afford me sufficient nourishment" (Shelly, 105).
As shown by the quote above, the creature offers Victor a deal where he creates a bride for the creature and the creature leaves humanity alone forever. Sounds pretty good in my opinion. Victor will not be tormented by his creation any more and the creature gets something that will tolerate his frightening appearance. Victor at first is a bit apprehensive to do this but eventually agrees to do the deed.
As I said before, this section created questions. If the creature could learn so quickly, and he had victor's instruction manual to create a person, why did the creature not just make his companion himself?
Just food for thought.
Frankenstein Post 6.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Chapters 13-15.
This section of the novel gives the reader the deepest glimpse of the creature that has been seen so far in the novel
"God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred" (Shelly, 93).
I saw the in the creature, above all else, duplicity. The creature presents himself as a sophisticated and suave thing with an elegant speech. However, him getting close to Victor has more dark intent than to just tell him what it has been doing for two years. Chapter XV, to a specific degree, foreshadows that the creature is going to make a request to victor. From the quote above, it is clear what that request might be. That is not the point of these chapters.
These chapters close the gaps between the creature being like a child on the night of his creation, to an eloquent eight foot tall beast. The literary works that the creature learn from become his surrogate parents, which do not teach him the concept of self control, which will be clearly illustrated later on.
So far, we have gone from a frame story to going into another frame story. In a way, this book reminds me of Inception. Just a thought.
This section of the novel gives the reader the deepest glimpse of the creature that has been seen so far in the novel
"God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid even from the very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and abhorred" (Shelly, 93).
I saw the in the creature, above all else, duplicity. The creature presents himself as a sophisticated and suave thing with an elegant speech. However, him getting close to Victor has more dark intent than to just tell him what it has been doing for two years. Chapter XV, to a specific degree, foreshadows that the creature is going to make a request to victor. From the quote above, it is clear what that request might be. That is not the point of these chapters.
These chapters close the gaps between the creature being like a child on the night of his creation, to an eloquent eight foot tall beast. The literary works that the creature learn from become his surrogate parents, which do not teach him the concept of self control, which will be clearly illustrated later on.
So far, we have gone from a frame story to going into another frame story. In a way, this book reminds me of Inception. Just a thought.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Frankenstein Post 5.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. Chapters 8-12.
This was perhaps the most interesting section of the book besides the creation of the monster. Victor again encounters the creature while on reprieve from his guilt. The monster is not the belligerent creature that could only murmur nonsense that it was upon its creation. The monster had developed the ability to speak and had learned some life skills. The creature recognizes that people fears him and thus stays away from people. The monster learns of suffering and poverty and seems to be almost civilized.
"I was partly urged by curiosity, and compassion confirmed my resolution. I had hitherto supposed him to be the murder of my brother, and I eagerly sought a confirmation or denial of this opinion" (Shelly, 70).
I thought it was fascinating that Victor, who responded to the creature with pure horror, and who I had come to expect to hate for suspectedly killing his brother, would ever admit to being compassionate towards the creature.
Moreover, I thought it was really cool how the creature developed and learned for it self all of the things that he experienced. Pain, hunger, cold, the creature had been touched by all of them and he had taken some lesson from that experience.
Frankenstein Post 4.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. chapters 6-8.
This section of reading outlines more grief that is felt by Victor and his family. After his creation and the horror of the event, Victor becomes ill. He decides to take a vacation from school and visit with his friend Henry and show him his school. Victor and Henry take a tour of the country to clear victor of his illness. When Victor returns to Ingolstadt, he finds a letter from his father that states that his brother, William, had been murdered. Victor takes a trip to Geneva. He finds the creature he created near the place that Will had been murdered.
Grief made victor vie for the innocence of Justine, who had been arrested and sentenced for the murder. However, Victor could never tell the truth about his horrible creation. Justine was executed anyway.
This family seems to attract the bizarre and sad. I thought that it was in a way ironic that the creature that Victor created to cheat death was a cause of death and anguish for Victor and his family. This section of reading is a good indication of why Victor was in pursuit of the creature in the beginning of the story.
"Yet she appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble, although gazed on and execrated by thousands; for all the kindness which her beauty might otherwise have excited was obliterated in the minds of the spectators by the imagination if the enormity she was supposed to have committed" (Shelly, 54).
This section of reading outlines more grief that is felt by Victor and his family. After his creation and the horror of the event, Victor becomes ill. He decides to take a vacation from school and visit with his friend Henry and show him his school. Victor and Henry take a tour of the country to clear victor of his illness. When Victor returns to Ingolstadt, he finds a letter from his father that states that his brother, William, had been murdered. Victor takes a trip to Geneva. He finds the creature he created near the place that Will had been murdered.
Grief made victor vie for the innocence of Justine, who had been arrested and sentenced for the murder. However, Victor could never tell the truth about his horrible creation. Justine was executed anyway.
This family seems to attract the bizarre and sad. I thought that it was in a way ironic that the creature that Victor created to cheat death was a cause of death and anguish for Victor and his family. This section of reading is a good indication of why Victor was in pursuit of the creature in the beginning of the story.
"Yet she appeared confident in innocence and did not tremble, although gazed on and execrated by thousands; for all the kindness which her beauty might otherwise have excited was obliterated in the minds of the spectators by the imagination if the enormity she was supposed to have committed" (Shelly, 54).
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