Frankenstein
Mary Shelly was still a teenager when she wrote the story of Frankenstein and his monster. That in itself is a wonderful achievement, and in no small way influenced by her mother, her companions, her husband, and the various tragedies that she had been trying to overcome and understand. Her mother had recently died, her half-sister had committed suicide, and she had lost a baby to 'death' , according to the lecture by Dr. Arnold. I must agree, 'death' certainly does have a sense of finality about it.
The youthful Mary Shelly experienced the concept of her story in some kind of dream-like rapture. It is not an uncommon experience. Many great concepts have, according to their founders, appeared in a moment of illumination, a vision, or as a gift, seemingly given by some external force, or possibly from deep within the psyche. Paul McCartney claims to have dreamt the song 'Yesterday' and awoke with mucic and lyrics basically completed. I'm certain Lord Byron (mad, bad, and dangerous to know) also had a profound affect on the young Shelly. He certainly sounds like someone many of us would love to emulate.
Shelly's story comes across as a fairy tale turned upside down. Her childhood images and impressions would have been prevalant at such a young age. Such lines as "...the depths of the forest with a rather unintelligent hunchback called Igor to an old castle that had a high tower..." are the stuff of Hansel and Gretal meet Rapunzel in the tower of the Fee Fi Fo Fum guy. Actually, many fairy tales hover close to the precipice of horror, some crossing the line, often only saved by simple language and a happy ending.
Harnessing the electrical power of the universe in order to charge a body with the spark of life seems a simplistic concept, although we may consider electro-shock therapy on 'dead' heart attack victims, and the favorable success rate of such a device. It is certainly a preferable premise to that of an elderly friend of mine who I visited recently. When I arrived, he was bending over, stark naked, and pulling weeds from the garden. He claimed to be harnessing the energy of the sun. Not a pretty sight, but each to their own...
I accept in part Dr. Arnolds hypothesis of monster movies as a way to frighten away the monster within. It is a fact though, that many of us would like to be a little mad, bad, and dangerous to know. These are attractive qualities to a certain type of person, and something we may prefer to foster rather than banish. We only have to look at the many rock stars and screen legends, some having more than a little checkered history. I call it the Jim Morrisson complex. It works, and has a magnetic pull on the opposite sex, which is after all, a major selling point for those in the entertainment industry.
Some take things a little further in desire for harnessing power; think Satanists or black magic. There are even entire religious sects devoted to pleasing ghosts, spirits, and powerful beings. Humankind has a history of animal and human sacrifice for appeasement of Gods, attainment of power both physical and mystic, and also oftentimes as a means to frighten away the monster within. I have witnessed many goddess Kali festivals in India. She is the incarnation and overlord of the material energy and creation. She is many armed and ferocious, but also considered generous and kind to her devoted followers, who worship Her with numerous hopes for fullfilment, both spiritual and mundane.
In New Zealand there are many gangs. The 'Mongrel Mob' are one such gang certainly not intent on frightening away the monster within, but rather unleashing it. I read a poem written by one gang member, after it was smuggled out of prison,
We get our kicks from wasting drips
Taking hits, and raping chicks
Let us rape and kill
Let us rape, let us rape and kill
(Frankenstein eat your heart out...or sew it back in...whatever works)
I find the weakest part of the story is in Dr Frankensteins rejection of the monster, based on the trivial ground of unpleasant appearance. Surely he had a reasonable idea that it was no Brad Pitt he was creating. The monster would have looked (and probably smelled) quite repulsive even in the construction phase. Anyone who has seen a dead body, even that of a near and dear one, understands that it is time to move the body out of the house, or at least out of sight. The beauty of the body is in the life force, or soul. Usually unnatractive persons are not totally rejected due to physical imperfection, else we might as well begin to hunt down and kill almost everyone on the entire planet. The monster wasn't even initially such a bad guy. He only wanted his love reciprocated from his 'father'.
What kind of callous father would immediatly reject his newborn son. Sure, the big fella spiraled out of control after being rejected, but he was after all, only an infant, and just learning to get comfortable in his skin. The Doctor was the greater criminal for child neglect and abandonment. Just ask Sigmund Freud. I'm sure he would agree.
The youthful Mary Shelly experienced the concept of her story in some kind of dream-like rapture. It is not an uncommon experience. Many great concepts have, according to their founders, appeared in a moment of illumination, a vision, or as a gift, seemingly given by some external force, or possibly from deep within the psyche. Paul McCartney claims to have dreamt the song 'Yesterday' and awoke with mucic and lyrics basically completed. I'm certain Lord Byron (mad, bad, and dangerous to know) also had a profound affect on the young Shelly. He certainly sounds like someone many of us would love to emulate.
Shelly's story comes across as a fairy tale turned upside down. Her childhood images and impressions would have been prevalant at such a young age. Such lines as "...the depths of the forest with a rather unintelligent hunchback called Igor to an old castle that had a high tower..." are the stuff of Hansel and Gretal meet Rapunzel in the tower of the Fee Fi Fo Fum guy. Actually, many fairy tales hover close to the precipice of horror, some crossing the line, often only saved by simple language and a happy ending.
Harnessing the electrical power of the universe in order to charge a body with the spark of life seems a simplistic concept, although we may consider electro-shock therapy on 'dead' heart attack victims, and the favorable success rate of such a device. It is certainly a preferable premise to that of an elderly friend of mine who I visited recently. When I arrived, he was bending over, stark naked, and pulling weeds from the garden. He claimed to be harnessing the energy of the sun. Not a pretty sight, but each to their own...
I accept in part Dr. Arnolds hypothesis of monster movies as a way to frighten away the monster within. It is a fact though, that many of us would like to be a little mad, bad, and dangerous to know. These are attractive qualities to a certain type of person, and something we may prefer to foster rather than banish. We only have to look at the many rock stars and screen legends, some having more than a little checkered history. I call it the Jim Morrisson complex. It works, and has a magnetic pull on the opposite sex, which is after all, a major selling point for those in the entertainment industry.
Some take things a little further in desire for harnessing power; think Satanists or black magic. There are even entire religious sects devoted to pleasing ghosts, spirits, and powerful beings. Humankind has a history of animal and human sacrifice for appeasement of Gods, attainment of power both physical and mystic, and also oftentimes as a means to frighten away the monster within. I have witnessed many goddess Kali festivals in India. She is the incarnation and overlord of the material energy and creation. She is many armed and ferocious, but also considered generous and kind to her devoted followers, who worship Her with numerous hopes for fullfilment, both spiritual and mundane.
In New Zealand there are many gangs. The 'Mongrel Mob' are one such gang certainly not intent on frightening away the monster within, but rather unleashing it. I read a poem written by one gang member, after it was smuggled out of prison,
We get our kicks from wasting drips
Taking hits, and raping chicks
Let us rape and kill
Let us rape, let us rape and kill
(Frankenstein eat your heart out...or sew it back in...whatever works)
I find the weakest part of the story is in Dr Frankensteins rejection of the monster, based on the trivial ground of unpleasant appearance. Surely he had a reasonable idea that it was no Brad Pitt he was creating. The monster would have looked (and probably smelled) quite repulsive even in the construction phase. Anyone who has seen a dead body, even that of a near and dear one, understands that it is time to move the body out of the house, or at least out of sight. The beauty of the body is in the life force, or soul. Usually unnatractive persons are not totally rejected due to physical imperfection, else we might as well begin to hunt down and kill almost everyone on the entire planet. The monster wasn't even initially such a bad guy. He only wanted his love reciprocated from his 'father'.
What kind of callous father would immediatly reject his newborn son. Sure, the big fella spiraled out of control after being rejected, but he was after all, only an infant, and just learning to get comfortable in his skin. The Doctor was the greater criminal for child neglect and abandonment. Just ask Sigmund Freud. I'm sure he would agree.
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