Week One - Frankenstein
Week One - Frankenstein
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein contained quite a few gothic themes, which is no surprise for a classic horror novel. I read the graphic novel version of the story, which seemed to tell the tale very well and I was able to catch the dark themes of the story with no issue. The concepts that describe the premise of the story the most are fear and death.
After Victor Frankenstein created his monster, he and everyone that laid eyes upon it immediately became terrified of the creature, since it’s basically a sentient amalgamation of dead body parts. There would be no doubt that the monster would be horrifying to look at, but almost no one took time to consider the monster’s emotions. As the story progresses, Victor’s worries and regrets towards the monster takes the overall feeling of the novel downhill into depression. When the monster confronts Victor and talks to him about its experiences after it runs away, its story almost feels like a metaphor for harsh reality. Everyone the monster tries to speak to runs away just because of its appearance, and nobody feels any empathy for the guy. The only person to show any compassion to the monster is the blind old man living in the cottage, simply because he cannot see the monster’s appearance. Even the old man’s family drives the monster away, which leaves him sad and enraged. Once the monster requests Victor to create a bride for it, the monster’s existence practically becomes a haunting curse to Victor, especially since the monster threatens to kill his family and future wife. This leads the story into the gothic theme of death, as the monster’s destruction plays into Victor’s emotions. Victor eventually falls into sickness from working on the second monster and saw visions of his monster the entire time. In the end, both Victor and the monster fall into eternal hatred towards each other, at least until Victor dies a depressingly unfulfilling death.
Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein contained quite a few gothic themes, which is no surprise for a classic horror novel. I read the graphic novel version of the story, which seemed to tell the tale very well and I was able to catch the dark themes of the story with no issue. The concepts that describe the premise of the story the most are fear and death.
After Victor Frankenstein created his monster, he and everyone that laid eyes upon it immediately became terrified of the creature, since it’s basically a sentient amalgamation of dead body parts. There would be no doubt that the monster would be horrifying to look at, but almost no one took time to consider the monster’s emotions. As the story progresses, Victor’s worries and regrets towards the monster takes the overall feeling of the novel downhill into depression. When the monster confronts Victor and talks to him about its experiences after it runs away, its story almost feels like a metaphor for harsh reality. Everyone the monster tries to speak to runs away just because of its appearance, and nobody feels any empathy for the guy. The only person to show any compassion to the monster is the blind old man living in the cottage, simply because he cannot see the monster’s appearance. Even the old man’s family drives the monster away, which leaves him sad and enraged. Once the monster requests Victor to create a bride for it, the monster’s existence practically becomes a haunting curse to Victor, especially since the monster threatens to kill his family and future wife. This leads the story into the gothic theme of death, as the monster’s destruction plays into Victor’s emotions. Victor eventually falls into sickness from working on the second monster and saw visions of his monster the entire time. In the end, both Victor and the monster fall into eternal hatred towards each other, at least until Victor dies a depressingly unfulfilling death.
I like this analysis. I like how you go straight, and to the point when writing it. How you examined metaphors, and how you looked at the characters in the story. Keep it up.
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