Destiny (and horcruxes)

Throughout Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor repeatedly mentions his destiny and how it is unavoidable and soon to be fulfilled.  He tormented me by continuously hinting at it, but never truly making clear what this "destiny" is.  Finally, on page 158, I found my answer.  "But such is not my destiny; I must pursue and destroy the being to whom I gave existence; then my lot on earth will be fulfilled, and I may die."  Then I wanted to shoot myself for not having realized his destiny sooner.  I always blog about foreshadowing, but I couldn't seem to analyze this most important aspect of the novel.  Oh well! As they say in Spain, "no pasa nada."  Now I know what Victor meant, and I can finally blog about the implications of this idea.  First, I think this destiny is a central theme of the novel.  The fact that Victor can't stop mentioning it somewhat hints at this.

Also, the unavoidable destiny reflects and is a fulfillment of the unavoidable misery forced upon Victor because of the monster's creation.  As long as the creature, exists, he is haunted by the creature itself and by his dead friends and family in his daydreams.  He can't be a functioning part of society any longer.  Even if he could, the creature had killed off any real friends he had.   His life truly was hopeless, and the only thing that keep him alive was his anger.  "I dared not die, and leave my adversary in being (p 149)."  Ultimately, either he or the creature had to die before the other could be appeased...only for him to die as wiell.  (this reminds me of Harry Potter and Voldemort's horcruxes), because their mutual existence caused unending misery for both of them.  Ultimately, Victor comes to terms with this destiny, and he dies in peace, having fulfilled his destiny to die in pursuit of his creation.  In doing so, the novel's theme of unavoidable destiny is made clear.

Mount Blanc

For a while, I was puzzled when Mount Blanc kept appearing over and over again in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Earlier I blogged about a possible theme I had discovered (read it here if you're bored), "playing God."  I noticed that this theme seemed to be supported by scenes of nature in which it's beauty was juxtaposed with the horror of Frankenstein's creature.  I think I'v found a connection between this theme and the reoccurring Mount Blanc.  While reading the latter chapter of the novel, I was overjoyed (that's a lie) when Victor again mentioned the mountain.  He said "...and at a distance, surmounting all, the beautiful Mount Blanc, and the assemblage of snowy mountains that in vain endeavour to emulate her (p142)."  I could be imaging things, but it seems to me that this mountain which Victor again and again mentions as beautiful, is a juxtaposition of the creature.  Especially in this passage, the mountain appears to be a symbol of natural perfection and beauty.  As a part of nature itself, the mountain is another example of the perfection of God's creation.  The other mountains seem to resemble the beast.  They hopelessly try to be like Mount Blanc, but physically cannot.  Likewise, things made by "playing God" cannot end well.  Ultimately, the plan of the real God is the best.  Although they are not proportional to the creature (they are small and there are many of them), I think they help to establish Mount Blanc as symbol of natural perfection.   Sure enough, it is soon juxtaposed by the creature when it appears early in the following chapter to murder Elizabeth.

Dramatic Irony in Frankenstein

Hooray for me! I found two examples of dramatic irony in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  The first occurs when the creature says the dreaded words "I will be with you on your wedding-night(p 123)."  Victor believes that it means to kill him on that night in order to seek its ultimate revenge on its creator.  However, the reader should realize that the monster wants to murder Elizabeth.  In doing so, he would make Victor's life hopeless and give him despair equal to what the creature experienced when Victor tore apart the body of the female creature.  Similarly, in page 126, Victor washes up on Mr. Kirwin's island during the storm and does not realize the hostility being shown to him due to his relief at being alive.   He says the people "whispered together with gestures that at any time might have produced in me a slight sensation of alarm (p 126)." Although he didn't realize it at the time, in retrospect, he tell Walton (and the reader) that the people were suspicious of him.  Later it is revealed that Clerval's body was found, and Victor is believed to be the murderer.  Poor Victor, every time he narrowly escapes ultimate peril, he is again washed (in this case, literally) into tragedy.

Chains

While reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, I was especially fascinated with a certain passage in Chapter XIX.  "For an instant I dared to shake off my chains, and look around me with a free and lofty spirit;  but the iron had eaten into my flesh, and I sank again, trembling and hopeless, into my miserable self (p117)."  I really liked this sentence, because it contains insightful symbolism which portrays a theme of the novel.  The sentence is both literal and symbolic, as Victor physically and emotionally fell with hopelessness.  However, what is important is the symbolic meaning.  The symbol of the chains is just one of the references in the novel to slavery.  These references point to the idea that Victor is a prisoner of his past mistake, the creation of the creature.  In this particular portion of the novel, Victor's spirits begin to be raised by the sights he sees in England.  This happens in his travels throughout the story.  Every time, however, Victor quickly returns to sadness and depression when he remembers the threat of the creature.  His life has indeed become enslaved by the creature.  The "iron eating into his flesh" symbolizes the inability to move on caused by prolonged fear of his creation.  He cannot be happy, entertain his friends and family, or conduct experiments in his current state.  All he can do is worry about the monster.  The only way he can escape is to kill his master, the creature.  Then, he could relax and finally be free of anxiety.

More Foreshadowing! (of course)

As always seems the case, Mary Shelley once again uses foreshadowing in Frankenstein.  By noticing diction in certain sections, I was able to reasonably predict the death Henry Clerval.  In one passage in particular, Shelley's use of past-tense verbs hints that Clerval has since passed.  Due to the creature's anger at his companion's destruction, Clerval's was a logical conclusion.   "He was a being formed in the 'very poetry of nature'.  His wild and enthusiastic imagination was chastened by the sensibility of his heart.  His soul overflowed with ardent affections, and his friendship was of that devoted and wondrous nature...(p 113)."  Victor then says 'And where does he now exist?  Is this gentle and lovely being lost forever (p 114)?"  At that point, it was obvious to me that Clerval would be killed by the creature.  Later in the book, I found that Elizabeth's death was foreshadowed in a similar way, with the use of past-tense verbs.  The frame story provides Victor's retrospective insights' resulting in valuable instances of foreshadowing.

Victor's encounter with "Frank" and why it made me LOL :D

As strange as it may seem, I found Victor's encounter with his creation, or as I call him, Frank, to be really amusing.  I thought that Mary Shelley's intent in writing Frankenstein was to scare people, but instead, she made me laugh.  (I'm sorry Mary Shelley!)  Anyway... I found this scene funny for multiple reasons.  First, it is so far from the Frankenstein story that modern society knows.  I hardly expected Frank to say things like "I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel (p 69)."  He's like 2 years old, but he alludes to the Bible and talks with more eloquence than I could if I tried.  This display also contradicts all that Victor thought of the creature.  Frank said "How can I move thee?  Will no intreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion (p 69)?" Again he talks like an educated human, but he also shows compassion and human desire.  He wants a friend.  That's all.  However, I found it amusing that Frank's simple view of morality contracts this sophistication and compassion.  He threatens going a murdering spree if  Victor doesn't treat him with love, and yet he says he will be "mild and docile" if he is treated with love.  As Mr. Striby would say, this is an example of a person at stage 2 of Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development.  Frank treats other people kindly, but only when it benefits him.  Finally, I thought it was really funny when good ol' Frank showed a sense of humor.  Victor is ranting about how he wants Frank out of his sight.  His response was to put cover Victor's eyes.  "Thus I take from thee a sight which you abhor.  Still thou canst listen to me and grant me thy compassion.  Perhaps, this was simply an example of Frank's child-like misunderstanding of Victor's comment; nevertheless, I found myself laughing, and I can't say I expected to be doing that while reading Frankenstein.

Nature and Imagery

It seems to me that every author in the planet writes novels that contain extreme amounts of imagery whenever a scene takes place in nature.  I still remember reading the House of Mirth and writing one of my first blogs on this same topic ( here's a link (: ) .  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is no exception.  Nature seems to be something which Victor mentions quite often in his accounts of his life.  Mount Blanc seems to be mentioned especially often.  Sadly, I don't have much of an idea why.  My closest guess would be the contrast utilized theme which I discusses in my previous blog.  On a happier note, I do know that Victor's description of nature contain many examples of imagery.  Look at this passage:

"The abrupt sides of vast mountains were before me; the icy wall of the glacier overhung me;  a few shattered pines were scattered around; and the solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial Nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of some vast fragment, the thunder sound of the avalanche or the cracking reverberating along the mountains, of the accumulated ice, which, through the silent work of immutable laws, was ever and anon rent and torn, as if it had been but a plaything of the hands (p 65-66)".

Wow! This passage uses sight (shattered, scattered, brawling, rent and torn), sound (solemn silence, thunder, cracking, reverberating, silent, immutable), and even touch (icy) to portray the beauty and destructive power of nature.  The amazing thing is that this is only a small portion of the imagery used in this particular section, not to mention the whole book.  It seems to me like there must be some sort of reason, but I suppose it could just be simple description of the setting which sets the stage for Victor's encounter with his creature.

A Possible Theme?

I have discovered a possible theme!  Throughout Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the plot seems to portray the consequences of "playing God."  This theme, which many terrible sci-fi movies have explored, condones actions which weren't meant for humans.  Often, this includes mass genocide, bringing the dead to life, or creating new life.  This is the case in Frankenstein.  In the story, Victor possess great scientific curiosity and ability.  These traits, combined with motivation in the form of his mother's death, allow him to create the creature (who I will call Frank for no specific reason).  Obviously, this doesn't turn out well for him, as he thinks it is horrible, he is scarred, and his brother ends up dying.  However, this theme seems to also be reflected in the nature that often appears in the novel.  This is especially evident when Victor is exploring the Alps and surrounding valleys after William's death.

"The sound of the the river raging among the rocks, and their dashing of the waterfalls around, spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotence - and I ceased to fear, or to bend before any being less almighty than that which had created and ruled the elements  here displayed in their most terrific guise (p 64)."

This passage clearly shows thoughts which recognize the power of God or another greater being.  I think they reveal a change in Victor's thinking.  He now realizes that he "played God" and that he went against the rules of nature.  He sees beauty in the nature around him which strongly contrasts with the figure of Frank which he describes as horrifying and dreadful.  He seems to think that "playing God" was never a good idea.

I blog about foreshadowing yet again...

Not unlike the other novels we have read this year, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is full of foreshadowing.  Especially throughout the beginning of the novel, Victor seems to constantly remind his audience (Walton) that his life was ruined by great mistakes.  His story begins with an account of his "perfect" childhood.  He tells how great it is, but he makes it clear that his story doesn't remain bright and cheery for long.  On page 20, he says "before misfortune had tainted my mind...".  Later he says "the first misfortune of my life occurred - an omen, as it were, of my future misery (23)."  Victor also uses less direct symbols to foreshadow the future disasters of his life.  He seems to have an idea of fate or destiny which drives him toward disaster.  "Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction (23)."  He later talks about "Chance - or rather the evil influence, the Angel of Destruction, which asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment I turned my reluctant steps from my father's door -...(25)".  Clearly, the negative events of his life had a deep and lasting impact on his life.  Even before he reveals exactly what these events are, the reader knows for certain that they will occur.  Furthermore, once they begin to occur, there is always the expectation that even more will go wrong.

The "frame"work

A major literary used by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein is the frame story.  She uses this strategy effectively, beginning the novel with 4 letters which perform dual tasks.  First, they set the foundation for the rest of the novel.  Shelley does this by introducing the main character, Victor.  She begins to characterize him by reveling his appearance, speech, and some mannerisms.  In addition, he begins to reveal a small portion of his life story and how he ended up on the the ship with Walton.  The second function of the frame story is to give an early glimpse of Victor's story and the struggles that plagued his life.  Our early sighting of Frankenstein's creature, "a being which had the shape of a man, but apparently with gigantic stature (p 8),"  create mystery and suspense.  Why is Victor chasing the creature?  How is this creature intelligent enough to use a dogsled and outrun Victor?  Why are they in the Arctic in the first place?  Shelley's use of frame story is an engaging way of beginning the story.  A perfect cliffhanger, it answers some questions while leaving even more to be answered.

Bartleby and the lawyer... connection???

A question one is likely to have after reading Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville is: Why was the lawyer so nice to Bartleby?  While there is no definite explanation in the story, the simple answer would be that the lawyer felt sorry for Bartleby.  However, this brings up the question: Why does he feel sorry for Bartleby? This a good question, considering Bartleby's behavior made life much more difficult for the lawyer.  he stopped him from entering his office early in the morning.  He angered the other employees.  He openly refused to do anything except copy for the lawyer, and he not leave the office until the police forced him out. I think the reason that the lawyer felt sorry for Bartelby is that he could relate to him.  Bartleby was lonely, without any family and isolated from the rest of society.  He was focused on his work, but rarely did anything else.  Similarly, the lawyer is isolated in his office.  In the entire story, he does not really mention doing anything other than work, and he has no acquaintances or family mentioned other than his employees.  At the beginning of the story, he says "I am a man who from his youth upwards has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best....  I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury or in any way draws public applause...(pg 642, 43 - par. 3)."  Like Bartleby, he has little motivation and does little interaction with other people.  He sees Bartelby's situation as similar to his; therefore, he feels sorry for him.

Funerals are Sad

Honestly, I don't really understand the poem I felt a funeral, in my brain, by Emily Dickinson.  I couldn't understand what the speaker was saying.  However, I could draw some conclusions from the diction that Dickinson uses.  Words such as "Mourners," "numb," "creak," "space," "silence," "wrecked," "solitary," and "plunge," give the impression of sad, lonely, and confused emotions from the speaker.  Whatever the person is felling or thinking, he/she does not understand it and is distressed over it.  Imagery also plays a key role.  The only senses portrayed are touch and hearing.  "I felt a funeral in my brain (line 1)."  "And then I heard them lift a box (line 9).  Strangely, or so it seems, the narrator does not mention sight.  My first explanation is that the narrator is describing a chain of thought and therefore can't see the events.  Second, I think the absence of sight could represent the speaker's disorientation and/or dismay.