One thing about the Frankenstein story that has always fascinated
me is Victor’s sheer horror and disgust at the completion and awakening of his
creation. Rather than take pride in the work that he has slaved over for so long,
or feeling accomplished on finally unveiling the mystery of life that no other
had dared to touch, he instead recoils from it and it drives him mad. Of course
in film versions often the creator is seen as proud of his work, bolts in the
neck and all, but for Victor, “the dull yellow eye of the creature” is merely monstrous.
As a reader we are normally inclined to feel sympathy for Victor’s devil, who
reads Milton and genuinely just wants the compassion of his creator, the only
one it seems that could possibly love him, but unlike other myths and stories
of creation that is not the case. Victor does not look upon his creature and
deem it “good”, but realizes that he has crossed a boundary of nature and
knowledge that should have been left alone, which brought me back to Cohen’s VI
thesis “the monster polices borders of the possible”, as Victor had no monster
holding him back, no ghost stories or supernatural fears to deter his work in
the graveyards and quest for the secret of life in death, just his curiosity
and drive. With his work though, Victor then creates the very gatekeeper that never
existed for him, a horror he cannot care for, as it is a reminder of the line he
crossed and could never cross again, that took him from genius to monstrous himself.
1 comment:
I really like that you made a reference to the film versions of Frankenstein. When I began reading, I consciously made an effort to put all of the preconceived notions and pop culture references out of my mind. In doing so, not only is there a clear contrast, but there is also an entirely different meaning behind the creation of the monster.
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