Our Journey has ended.

It’s been an eventful few months, and I’m certain our readers are questioning why our seemingly constant flow of posts has come to a halt. What started out as a project for a literature course has evolved into a melting pot of creativity. We absolutely drained the Frankenstein novel and extracted as much information from it as we could. We then posted our findings and ideas to this very blog.

However, our project has come to an end. It has been a very fun experience and the Frankenblog team and I are absolutely grateful to have had so many readers follow our journey into the classic Gothic-Horror novel. I would like to thank you for sticking with us until the end of this project and interacting with us by providing helpful insight and ideas to add to our posts.

Finally, I would like to personally thank the entirety of the Frankenblog team for their efforts. We have produced content that went far beyond our own expectations, and have learned quite a lot. We managed to conjure up blog posts from seemingly absurd notions from the novel as we tested the boundaries of our creativity and imagination. It’s been a wild ride.

So to our dearest readers, thank you for your dedication to our little project.

Sincerely,

Thomas & the Frankenblog Team.

Answer to Letter to Frankenstein

Dear Creature,

Let me explain you, to make things clearer

 

Before calling anyone a monster,

Take a good look at yourself in the mirror

 

Actions and reactions off bad decisions are the ultimate definition of what gives horror

 

See through your mind, is the fault really mine?

The design of your spine doesn’t give you human disguise

 

It’s maybe not a coincidence that you end up in cold

Maybe karma finally decided to get a hold

 

Given to your intuitions, this is not an experiment

Your creator is back, He’s going to put an end to this.

 

 

How the creature might have been received by the public

There are many theories as to what the reaction of the public would be if Victor’s creature was ever shown to the public and the most common one is found in a great majority if not all movie adaptations.

For example the 2015 movie “Victor Frankenstein” has Victor and Igor create the creature and then animate it in front of a small audience. this leads to many of them being revolted, a few being interested, and the police trying to destroy the monster they have created. Ultimately the two main characters destroy the creature themselves.

Basically the creature being introduced to the populace would always spell disaster according to the adaptations and general logic. Most people would see it as not something that should even be attempted and as an abomination that needs to be destroyed right away.

Science and Nature

Throughout the novel, Victor constantly seeks domination of human nature. In creating a being like himself he proves to the world that the natural state of life and death is broken. Victor’s immense fascination with the vast opportunities that science offers turns him obsessed with the idea of manipulating life. He closes himself to the world and devotes the next 2 years of his life to his new project.

Bringing the dead back to life is something that goes clearly against the natural flow of nature. Because of this, nature goes against Victor and punishes him greatly through his own creation. The monster kills many people close to Victor. He went against the natural flow of nature and now he is to pay the price. By creating the dead he broke the link between science and nature and his comfort in life was the cost.

Victor at first loves the look of nature, the mountains, the lakes and the beauty that it offers him. He feels refreshed and respects its beauty. But  Nature had no more to give to Victor because of what he had done and soon he became ill and frightened by the monsters threats. Victor could no longer go anywhere without the feeling of being watched and possibly getting killed. Thus, Victor does not see nature as a place of peace and relaxation and by the end of the novel, he becomes so consumed by hatred for his creation that his only purpose is to hunt down the monster, no longer depending on nature nor seeking any peace from it.

The book demonstrates the dangers of science and what it can achieve if we are not careful. Though the book does more than just show us the dangers of science, it shows us the consequences that we might encounter when we are not careful in the advancement of our technology. It makes us reflect on our decisions and what can come from it.

The love between Victor and Elizabeth

Victor has always said that he is in love with Elizabeth. Since his childhood he has known her. However, when he leaves to the University of Ingolstadt and makes the monster, he cuts out his whole family including Elizabeth. What to make of this? He loses contact with Elizabeth for so long that she writes to him asking if he has found another love.

Frankenstein proves on many occasions of his self-absorbed way of thinking and how obsessed he is with his ideas of creating a being. He proves this when he finally marries Elizabeth and knows the monster has told him that he will show up and kill him. Thoughtlessly, he leaves Elizabeth alone while he checks out the downstairs of their honeymoon lodge. This shows that he is not a very clever lover and that he did not completely take Elizabeth’s well being into consideration. In the end, it was her who suffered and Victor still was alive. Victor lacked of commitment in Elizabeth and she died because of him.

Implications of Human Nature on Shelley’s Frankenstein

Mary Shelley lived during a period of political transformation and at a time when she also witnessed some of the most powerful monarchies of Europe. Those monarchies fought each other and sent soldiers to war. While the war was happening on the streets of Paris, philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke described the nature of humankind. All the atrocities of war inspired them to define our nature. According to their ideologies, humans are born selfish and have an intuitive ability and capacity of being evil. They also believed, alongside Mary Shelley’s mother, that the evil side of mankind was the result of socialization.

Does Mary Shelley agree to this? Not exactly.

Through her novel, Shelley offers a chance to develop and explore these controversial claims about human nature. Even though her mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, believed in those claims, Mary Shelley argues that the evils of humankind are not innate traits. In fact, as Victor Frankenstein’s creature was raised by society in the novel, the evil and the desire of revenge are explained and described by Shelley as being learned, and not innate and intuitive habits.

“I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?” (Page 104) – The Creature.

Late in the novel, the creature explains to his creator that all the kind and good gestures of his were returned with beatings, gunshots, and rejection of the people he tried to be kind with. He also explains that nobody likes him, that they reject and hate him. The creature then states that all the physical and mental wounds that covers his body and mind are important factors that led to his malice and rage.

With that, Mary Shelley seems to argue that the humans do not have innate traits of revenge and evil. She also argues for a society in which all humans, and even Frankenstein’s creation, have basic rights and are treated equally. That is a society that she would have wanted in her time, a society that was not even close to reach that point and she used Frankenstein to explain it.

 

Source:

https://my.vanderbilt.edu/robot/2015/09/the-implications-of-shellys-frankenstein-on-human-nature-and-government-2/

Picture credit: ww.iaacblog.com

If Victor would have created again

After Victor goes and hears his creature’s story he decides to agree to create another creature like him but in a female version. Victor finally decides to start his work on this female creature after he reaches England with Henry. In the story, Henry dies because Victor angered the creature by destroying what work he had done on the female creature and disregarding his promise to the Creature. Victor gave the reason that the creature would not honor it’s word and both creatures combined would be the destruction of humanity.

I think that he was wrong. The monster only ever wanted to help and be kind to humans until it realized that none of them would ever be kind to it. I believe that if Victor would have fulfilled his promise and created a female version of his creature then the monster would have had the assurance that not all humans wanted it dead or that at least his creator cared for it. The creature would have had no reason for any hostility with other humans and would have been able to live in contentment and realize it’s dream of being with another of it’s kind. This would have ensured Henry, Elisabeth, and Victor’s survival and the story would have a very different ending. It might even not have had an ending as well since the current one requires Victor to be taken on-board Walton’s ship and this requires many deaths.

Rant on De Lacey Post

The De Lacey Post. Explaining how De Lacey was able to interact with the Creature without being judgment by his looks.

[Continuation]

A lesson can be learned from this. What if we were all able to walk in the shoes of a blind man for a couple days and meet new people? Even people we absolutely loath. The power of words and bonding without sight can reveal something new in every conversation. By loosing our vision we actually see more then before. This is because our senses obscure our judgment on everything. We are quick to judge when we smell something bad or “feel” hostile presence. In reality we can’t know about any of those unless we encounter them and experience their true essence.

In reality, no one’s perfect. People are weak and unsightly. We grow jealous and try to kick each other down all too easily. Strangely enough, the greater the man, the more he suffers in life. Maybe De Lacey is better than all of us, not because he’s blind but because he knows what it’s like to suffer and loose everything.

Is De Lacey Nice To the Creature Just Because He’s Blind?

De Lacey originated from France, he lives in a cottage with his son and daughter. He’s a kind aged being. P.144 “descended from a good family in France” , he’s the only person we read who treats the monster kindly. But is this only because he’s blind?

His vision isn’t clouded by prejudice of the creature’s ugliness. He doesn’t see the outside of the creature only, his true self. Compared to every other character, he encounters with. Even animals are seen keeping their distance from him. As an example, when he saves the girl from drowning he is “rewarded” with a bullet shot at him.

p.175 “But that cannot be; the human senses are insurmountable barriers to our union.” This is saying that the Creature can never be accepted for the sole reason of his looks. Are people so shallow as to instantly reject and judge him straight away without even considering his story? The creature never asked to be created.

 

 

Foolish Mortals Beware… It’s the House of Frankenstein

Foolish mortals beware…

The summer is coming up and you may be looking for trips and activities to spend the lovely hot days of the summer season.

If you are fans of haunted houses and horror attractions, I suggest you visit the House of Frankenstein in Toronto. Yes, going to Toronto for a haunted house may sound crazy but it is worth the trip as you can also visit different attractions and haunted houses on the same street as the House of Frankenstein.

Your love for Frankenstein will be duplicated as you will encounter the famous creation as well as many “monsters” inside of this terrifying house. Be prepared to face and see the abominations that will make you scream!

Be warned guys… this is not for the weak of heart!

Click here to have more information about the House of Frankenstein.

Are you considering visiting this house this summer? Let us know in the comments!

Picture’s credit: House of Frankenstein, http://www.houseofrankenstein.ca