Notes 2/27

"I will be with thee on thy wedding night": Victor thinks he'll be killed by the monster on his wedding night, not Elizabeth. He was so self-involved that he doesn't realize the monster could have killed him already and that he was attacking Victor's loved ones rather than going after him.

What if they're the same person? Could the monster and Victor just be two different personas of the same person?

Nobody but Victor sees the monster until the very end. Only his loved ones are killed because they won't be able to hurt him the way his mother hurt him when she died. Both the monster and Victor use "wretch" to describe both each other and themselves; it seems wretch and all variations thereof stand for something bad in the novel. "I murdered her. William, Justine, and Henry - they all died by my hands." Victor puts the monster's crimes in his own hands. Hegel's theory, the idea of the relationship between master and slave, states that the master needs the slave so much that the roles switch and the master becomes the slave and the slave the master; a mirror of his own powerfulness: a wretch (Victor) looks in the mirror and sees a wretch (the monster) or vice versa. "I would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven." Paradise Lost

Victor wants to be the One, the One to create and destroy life. Is there any reason a person would want to be completely alone in the world?

Notes 2/25

The monster could represent art; "And now, once again, I bid my hideous progeny go forth and prosper". Shelley's novel could be representative of the monster.

Locke's Association of Ideas says that children are brought up to create a better world. Thomas Day decided to adopt two young girls and told them nothing; he allowed them to learn for themselves - let them burn themselves to realize fire burns. Later, the girls became schizophrenic.

Mary Shelley's father, William Godwin, said that the peasants who took over during the French Revolution had learned from the aristocrats who tortured and executed their enemies.

The monster is similar to a poor child; Victor rejected his child. In order to get Victor's attention, the monster used violence; it's all he's ever known through his interactions with other people. In the ever growing argument of nature versus nurture, neither are totally the controlling factor but they both add to shaping individuals. Victor proved something to himself through creating the monster; he didn't do it for the monster's well being.

When the monster first saw William, he wanted to befriend him, have a companion, but William treated him as everyone else had. The monster was good but circumstances made him bad. Every time someone looked upon him, they treated him bad so he became bad. It takes effort to form a bond between parents and children, and Victor doesn't put any into it - he runs away.

The monster

How did the monster's tale make you feel about the monster?

The monster's tale made me pity him and all that he never had. For his entire existence, people have only feared him because of his grotesque appearance, but they've never actually known him. The monster has all these emotions inside him (rage, jealousy, appreciation, envy) but he's never been taught how to express these emotions. Not only induce his first interactions with humans shame and horror, but Victor left him. He left the monster in his time of need. The monster had to learn on his own how to interact with people, and he obviously found them wanting. The monster just wanted a companion who wouldn't fear or hate him, that would simply accept him, like no human ever could. The monster is like a child starved of attention; he learned to make his own attention. I know that killing those people and framing Justine is wrong but does he? I don't think he does. People have always reacted violently to him, therefore I believe he thinks violence is a natural course of action. In the end, Victor is the monster for depriving his creation of a chance at true life (not survival!) and the monster is the victim.

Notes 2/23

Why does Victor want to create life?

He could want to obtain divine power or because his mother died, he could want to never die - only live. Never loving another, never having children keeps people safe - you can't be hurt by what you never had. But! Its better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all.

Poems relating to Frankenstein

-Prometheus Unbound

-Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The story begins at a wedding as an old mariner tells a wedding guest his tale. During a sea voyage, he killed an albatross, after which bad things begean to happen; he was forced to watch his friends die and in the end, he wore his guilt, the dead albatross, around his neck. One night, as the moon rose, he saw the beauty of the evil surrounding him. Afterwards, he was finally able to leave but forced to retell his story. The mariner killed the bird because of his love for the bird. True, deep love is scary, making a person want to flee. It can't hurt you if it's dead, so people kill things before it can hurt them. When you love someobody, you're completely bound to them, regardless of what they feel; they have the potential to hurt you.

-Alastor

The poet "spurned nature's choicest gifts" in that he didn't acknowledge the maiden when he had the chance. Perhaps he didn't want his dream to become real because the maiden could be short of perfection or be taken from him

Victor doesn't go out in nature, which had brought him great joy; he ignores his friends and family, even his betrothed Elizabeth. He too "spurned nature's choicest gifts." What made him neglect nature and ignore his friends?

His creation finally comes alive, and he sees how horrible the monster was; he used all the most beautiful parts but together they're ugly. He's horrified by the monster and flees the apartment, locking the monster in. Poor monster! He created the monster in order to bring back his mother or keep Elizabeth, a substitute for his mother, from dying. Victor is not afraid of losing her, but rather afraid of living in a world without her.

Victor fell ill and Clerval, his friend, nursed him back to health. "I became as cheerful as before I was attacked by the fatal passion." This is passive voice. Active voice would be: "Fate attacked me." He's an innocent bystander that fate took advantage of.

Just as before, he should have stood up for Justine instead of excusing himself. He didn't even try to help, even though he said he wanted to. "Anguish and despair had penetrated into the core of my heart; I bore a hell within me, which nothing could extinguish." He only thinks of his pain, that he doesn't see other's pain, like Elizabeth's. He quotes Satan from Paradise Lost, the greatest sufferer in his fall from heaven.

Victor and Walton

Is Victor like or unlike Walton? Explain.

Victor and Walton are very similar in that they both want to be known: Walton attempts to be a great poet and searchs for a passage through the North Pole, and Victor has god-like aspirations when he created the monster. Neither consider the consequences of their actions and what it would take to achieve their goals, how much of themselves they'd have to give up. However, Victor is dissimilar from Walton in that Walton has someone to tell him to stop. Victor pushed everyone away and kept himself locked up; Walton not only has his crew for guidance if he chooses to listen to them, but also Victor. He knows what happened to Victor and therefore what could potentially happen to him. Victor and Walton are similar in that they started on the same road towards similar destinations but dissimilar in that Walton has the chance to take a different path while Victor has no such choice. He had his opportunities but chose to ignore them while Walton still has them.

Notes 2/20

According to Victor, he is an artist rather than a scientist. Walton and Victor are both artists in that they want to be great and are ambitious. Victor stands in for the great Romantic artist, and Shelley critiques him, saying "This is what is wrong with that attitude." The novel is an analysis of why people are driven to ambition, what they get out from it and the consequences of it.

The 1831 edition adds in Victor's obsession of secrets, and how he was fated. Victor believes that he was fated; it is his way to justify his actions. Shelley doesn't let him off the hook though, he lets himself off the hook. Fate is a way to exonerate yourself. Victor is being too easy on himself.

The novel is like a game in which the reader decides what the author believes to be true and what the characters believes to be true.

Alchemy was the search for the philosopher's stone, if used, it was thought to create the elixir of life, and turn any metal into gold. It was more magic than science. Before modern science, they believed in the Man's theories; Aristole said "this" and it was believed unequivocally to be true, without checking the facts. Waldman transfered the fame of the alchemists to the modern scientists. Victor says reading about "the alchemist" is what lead to his ruin.

What is Victor like when he creates the monster? Is it affected by his desire to be great?

He let it take over his life, thinking only of his eventual success rather than going about in a scientific manner. He was exalted by his first success that he pushed himself on to the brink of insanity. He still tried to justify his actions.

His emotions were obsessive, compulsive; he had a god-complex and wanted to control the relationship between his creations and himself. There would be no disagreement, no argument.

In order to give life, life had to be taken (Victor's health, his "life", for the creation's), similar to mothers during pregnancy. Something must be given in order to get something else in return. He doesn't care about anything else but his own feelings; he's on a high! He never considers the consequences. Victor never asks whether he should but whether he can.

We shouldn't work through the ego for the ego. "I am great, I can do no wrong!" Romantic literature in general, and women's literature in specific, doesn't allow for this. Romantic literature wants you to let go of your ego. Creating art is working around the ego in order create a masterpiece.

Specialization was coming into existence in Shelley's lifetime. She was critiquing this attitude.

Victor is taken over by the need to finish, to prove that he can. However, this proves that he doesn't take into consideration what will happen when he's finished, only that he is finished. If he slowed down, he might have actually seen what he was doing, what he was creating. If he had spoken to his family, they might have stopped him from what he was doing, made him question himself.

Notes 2/18

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Who is Walton? Walton is a British explorer, who wants to find a passage through the North Pole to the Pacific Ocean. He wants to be remembered: the person who was idolized has the control.

After being nursed back to the health, Victor tells his story to Walton - he wants to teach him a lesson. "Unhappy man, do you share my madness?" Victor wanted to create something, bring something to life; unfortunately once he did, Victor couldn't handle his creation. Both wanted knowledge to control others, without regards for the costs. Victor wants him to realize that there are consequences to the quest for madness.

Between the two different editions, 1818 and 1831, there are slight differences. Percy may have helped Mary with the first edition and she altered things slightly after his death, republishing in 1831.

Notes 2/16

Are scholarly articles going by the wayside?

Scholarly articles aren't written for the average person; they're written for the people in the know. Within their own field, scholarly articles aren't going to fade from view of academia but they were never in the view of the general population.

If scholarly articles were interpreted for everybody in laymen's terms, would people look deeper into the original text? If simplified, are they any longer scholarly articles?

In the 1992 film, the same actress, Juliette Binoche, played both Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton. In this fashion, Heathcliff can unload his frustration and anger on the daughter like he never could with Cathy; he loved her too much that he couldn't hate her, even though he did. He hated the woman she had been turned into by her brother and the Lintons, the woman who was reserved, proper, everything he wasn't. Heathcliff has the power to destroy that which he hated about Cathy in her daughter and he does.

The 1939 film lacked the portrayal of the second volume of the novel. The audience never gets to see the evolution of Heathcliff's anger into the second generation; therefore it is not as dark as the novel. It becomes a tale of a love interrupted.

Why darken romance? It makes romance more real for girls. It's not just about one love; it is possible to love more than one person but in different ways. There is empirical love, Cathy's love of Linton, and transcendental love, her love for Heathcliff. Empirical love is a practical love, a love of convenience whereas transcendental love exceeds anything and everything that may arise between the lovers. Bronte possible identified with Catherine in wanting two different men for different reasons.

Wuthering Heights assignment

What does the movie Wuthering Heights do to help people better understand the scene between Heathcliff and Cathy before her death?

Cathy and Heathcliff's love was turbulent and volatile, destroying everything in its wake, including in the end themselves. Yet, it was steady, through all the times of separation and harsh words that they themselves threw. The last scene of them together before her death shows this quite well. After three years of separation, Heathcliff had finally returned to his home, a man changed in appearance but not in heart. His cold, calculating demeanor was the same as ever. In order to exact his revenge on those who had wronged him in his youth, Heathclif began a cruel campaign, first against Hindley, then against the Lintons, deciding to bring them down together. Using Isabella's apparent love for him, he whisked her away. Cathy, in despair over losing her friend and her sister in law to that very same friend, fell into madness. Upon his return, Heathcliff hurried to her bedside, after hearing of her condition. The main plot points are the same in both the movie and the book, but their presentation is what allows the audience to see a different perspective of their relationship that is no less intense than it is in the book.

The 1992 version of Wuthering Heights stayed as true to the book as possible, allowing for time and audiences' attention span. More often than not, scenes were cut down in length, keeping only the most important lines, attempting to convey an entire spectrum of emotion in a few words. Important lines, such as each begging and giving forgiveness in their own cruel way, are kept, however in the book, there is more emotion when they are spoken. Catherine alternated between anger and sadness, regret and forgiveness while Heathcliff's mask was broken, showing him to be passionate in his anger and turmoil in losing the one he loves.

While it is important to consider what is in the film, it is even more important to consider what was left out. Not only were lines cut and emotions portrayed differently but an entire section was left on the editing room floor. As Heathcliff was not entirely friends with Linton, he was not supposed to be in his house, in his wife's bedroom. Nelly tried to persuade the man to leave and he tried, but in the end both Heathcliff and Cathy refused to leave the side of the other. When Heathcliff brings up the topic of leaving, Cathy clung to him tighter and pleaded with him to stay. Knowing he could never say "no" to Cathy, Heathcliff stayed. This was an important scenerio that never was shown in the film. Heathcliff stayed. When it truly mattered, when Cathy was dying, when they would get no second chances, Heathcliff stayed. For all the times he'd left before, Heathcliff stayed. It's hard to imagine how meaningful the gesture was, until you don't see it in the film. There is nothing pressuring him to leave in the movie. No Linton returning from service, no Nelly fearful of getting caught. Heathcliff doesn't need to leave in the movie, not that the audience ever sees; in the book, he must go but chooses to stay.

The last consideration a person must make is what was added to the scene. Just before we hear of Cathy's death, the pair kiss passionately, as if they need the contact just one last time for they shall be forever ripped apart if they separate. The seexual tension in the film is palpable. The audience feels the sense of urgency in their kisses, in their attempts to be closer, because they know it will be their last time together, doing anything, kissing or otherwise. In the book, we are never specifically told if they shared one last kiss. We know they embraced, drawing srength from the nearness of the other, hiding their faces from the world except their own. But the audience never feels the sense of urgency in the form of sexual tension. Like before, one doesn't understand the completeness of their love until one views it in another light. By witnessing a different expression of urgency, the audience is able to understand that Cathy and Heathcliff in the book don't need that type of urgency. Their love ran deeper: simply being there, clinging to each other as though that alone could save them, was enough to express their urgency at her passing. As readers we don't see the lack of sexual tension until we watch the film and it is played out in front of us.

All these parts, what is and is not in the film, how its presented, the emotion that's evoked, they all add to our overall understanding of the love Cathy and Heathcliff share. No matter how harsh they are with one another, no matter how much they are separated, no matter how anyone tries to keep them apart, they belong together. We're able to see that more fully when all the pieces fall into place. Not by looking at the similarities between the book and the film does one understand, but by searching for their differences. The way in which lines are spoken and the emotion that each character expresses; the actions that are added or deleted - those are how we as listeners of the story come to a better understanding of what it means for these two people to be in love and to lose that love, forever parted by death.

Notes 2/6

Wuthering Heights (continued)

"He's more myself than I am." Catherine and Heathcliff are able to be themselves around each other without checking their emotions. When they're apart they are expected to act in certain ways that they are no longer themselves. In growing up together, their identities became so intertwined with one another's that they need each other to be whole.

Is this the ideal relationship? Is it possible? Two people who are so completely compatible, that they're almost the same person, can be a hinderance to the relationship, no ability to grow through hardship and disagreement. I don't think its even possible to find this relationship; at the end of the day, they're two different people.

Bronte created characters that were so real, with faults and defects, that we understand them and it's hard to settle on who's the "good guy" and who's the "bad guy".

Heathcliff tells Catherine that if he were to marry Isabella, he'd beat her ("turning blue eyes black") because she resembled her brother; however, he asked about the inheritance ("who gets the money?") He came back after three years absence rich and dressed as a gentlemen while Hindley is gambling away Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff.

Mrs. Dean comes to a fork in the road, leading to Thrushcross Grange, Wuthering Heights, the moors and Gimmerton. These represent different paths a spirit could take (pretentious society, aristocratic vice, wild freedom and community) Except for the community, Catherine's spirit has gone in all the directions.

Heathcliff

Describe Heathcliff in one paragraph.

Heathcliff is a very complex character. He's a man who's been hurt, betrayed, loved, accepted, guarded. He's probably felt the entire range of emotions, and yet he chooses to hoard his emotions, letting only the ones that would serve his purpose out. To me, Heathcliff seems like the type of person to feel with all their heart or not at all. So for people like Cathy, he loves her unconditionally and eternally. But for others, like Hindley or Edgar, he couldn't care less and actually goes as far as to hate them. For still others, like Mrs Dean and Mr Earnshaw, who both took him/took care of him, he shows little emotion unless it has to do with those who he feels particularly strongly about. Heathcliff keeps people at a distance unless they've gained a place in his heart, and even then, he rarely shows open emotion. For example when he went away or when Cathy went to live with the Lintons, I don't think he ever stopped loving her, he simply kept his emotions in better hidden. However, Cathy being who she was, probably understood him better than anyone, emotions or not.

Notes 2/4

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Emily Bronte, sister to Charlotte Bronte (author of Jane Eyre, which I personally hated) and another sister, Anne. All three sisters were writers who excelled in literature. They wrote together as a family, then later under individual male-interpreted pen names. Several considered her the "female Shakespeare." Was she the female-Shakespeare? Could she have been? How do we decide?

Bronte set the atmosphere of the first few chapters using her characters. The butler is dark, depressive and yet, humorous. Mr. Lockwood, a misanthrope (a hatred of people), is secluded and yet enjoyed making Heathcliff uncomfortable. He had secretly liked a woman who openly liked him back; his love turned to hate and she, convinced that she'd made a mistake, fled with her mother. He humiliated her. Some might ask why. It's a mode of self protection; if nobody loves you, nobody can hurt you.

Heathcliff, the main male protagonist, could be considered an anti-hero. He's selfish; his deceased son's wife hates him; he treats his dogs harshly, kicking one, saying "she's not kept as a pet." This is similar to how he treats people.

Mr Lockwood pushed Heathcliff into maxillary convulsions, a condition when someone grinds their teeth in anger to keep from crying, after Heathcliff found him in the room where Catherine's books were after her ghost scares Mr Lockwood into a nightmare.

Notes 2/2

"Rape in Cyberspace" by Julilan Dibbell

There are numerous differences and similarities between real rape and cyber-rape. Both violate the mind and trust that had earlier been established as well as being a traumatizing encounter with the human capacity for monstosity. However, they are different in that there is no real victim in cyber-rape. There is an emotional investment in watching the character victimized, but no victim. Following that idea, it is easier for someone to say, "something happened to my character" as opposed to "something happened to me."