Today is the Monstrous Monday Bloghop, hosted by Tim Brannan at The Other Side.
What you do is you blog about any monster or monsters you want. What kind of Monster? Well that is up to you really. You can post monster stats, or post a monster you like/love/hate, or tell us about the monster in your new book coming out. Anything would be great really.
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I chose to blog about one of the most dynamic and most recognizable monsters in all of literature, the tragic monster created by Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The thing that stands out about him isn't that he's so hideous or even how he was created. Granted, those factors are really cool! He's yellow-skinned and patched together with visible stitches. He was animated through a clever use of electricity and somehow endowed with a soul. But, this monster's tale is far more interesting because of how he is treated by his creator, Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
Had he been treated as a special creation, he surely would have turned out lovable and kind. But, Victor abhorred him the moment he came to life. How hypocritical can you get? It's a tragedy because the monster didn't have to commit so many atrocities if he had been loved as any child deserves by their parent.
Sure, the monster grew into a mind that could reason and even learned right from wrong, yet he chose to make his creator's life miserable for revenge. That was wrong of him, but it all started with Victor and his inability to take responsibility for his own actions. He just runs around, acting like a demon is after him for no reason, even though he created this monster! What an idiot.
But, this is what gives this story so much depth and forces us to ask so many questions about the nature of man and our relationship to our creator, whoever we each believe that being to be.
What I find fascinating is what I discovered about the author, Mary Shelley, and her life, which is what inspired her to write this tale. She was raised by a very liberal-minded philosopher named William Godwin who was the equivalent of a 1960's hippie for his era. He did not believe women should have to marry and that people should live more naturally. He detested laws and cultural values forced upon people, and even preached political anarchy. This guy was seriously unhinged for his day and age.
But, when his lovely daughter, Mary Woolstonecraft Godwin, was 16-years-old, she fell in love with a man who sought out her father's philosophy and wanted to live it. His name was Percy Shelley and he was just as much a proponent of anarchy and liberal society as was Godwin. Mary and Percy decided to live as liberal a life as she was raised to live, which meant they shacked up and had children all while not being married. Percy even had another "wife" at the same time, practicing bigamy.
This, oddly enough, outraged Mr. Godwin, Mary's father, and he disowned her. She was so devasted to be cast-off from her father who raised her to live against the grain of society, and when she decided to live like a modern day hippie, he couldnt' handle it. No, she had to get married and raise children like a normal, proper lady, according to her father. What? So crazy and so hypocritical.
This painful split with her father leaked into her manuscript during that fateful vacation spent with her husband and Lord Byron in Switzerland. Thus, the hypocrisy we see in Victor is directly lifted from her own father's hypocrisy over her common law, bigamous marriage to Percy Shelley.
In time, she and Percy did get married and the other woman, a relative of Mary's, got fed up with the relationship and left. When she properly married Percy, her father accepted her back into his good graces, but I doubt she ever saw her father the same way again. Her life was full of tragedy and the deaths of children, loved ones, and everything she ever believed in.
Anyway, neither story has a happy ending, but I love that the novel makes us really think and opens up a grand discussion about our responsibilities to our own creations, namely, our children. Nature versus nurture--how much of it determines the course any being decides to tread in life?
How much of human behavior and decision-making is nature or nurture? In your opinion, how much can bad parenting damage a child?
I just finished my reread of Frankenstein last week, and enjoyed it immensely. It's funny how much my memory of the book and the (wildly different) movies had melded and I couldn't remember which elements were separate until I sat down and read the book again. It's too bad that most of the movie adaptations have been so colored by that Universal adaptation that made the creature so dumb and infantile (although I admit I've never seen the 1994 one with De Niro).
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with you on the theme of the novel. Not only was it daring and powerful for its time, but it's been used to equal effect in modern works. The first thing that comes to mind is Blade Runner, which clearly has a Frankenstein motif going on which I don't think is credited enough for the weight of that movie (and the original story it was based on).
Anywho, great post! I wonder how many Frankensteins will be walking around my neighborhood Wednesday night?
@James: Yeah, it's too bad Frankenstein is so lost in translation these days that people think Frankenstein is the monster he created! I may have seen the 1994 De Niro movie, but I forgot what happens in it.
DeleteI haven't seen Blade Runner, but I probably ought to if it contains Frankenstein themes. Thanks for that tip. Frankenstein's themes still resonate to this day and can be used time and time again because we humans keep on creating things and having children, after all, and we never seem to get it right when it comes to how to wield those responsibilities.
Thanks for sharing all that info about Mary Shelley, although I can understand her father's fear that she was being used by the man who professed to love her when he already had a wife. Interesting though that such ideas even existed in such dark times, but science was making great strides and cadavers were being used quite frequently along with stolen bodies, and the murdering of folks for those bodies... Wow, she had a lot to gather from for her creation!
ReplyDeleteGreat choice!
@Yolanda: You're welcome! Actually, Mary Shelley met Percy first and they got together before Percy wanted to also hook up with her step sister, or whoever she was. The other woman was secondary. Just thought I'd clear that up, since I wasn't too clear about it.
DeleteYeah, scientists were fascinated by using electricity to animate bodies and thought they were coming back to life back in those days. Silly to think that now, but science was so crude at the time. They were very excited by the new things they were discovering and Mary sure had a lot of fodder to work with, for sure.
Hmmm, I'm seeing a theme here -- a creature's relationship to his creator!
ReplyDeleteGreat monster! I'm rather embarassed to admit I have never read Frankenstein.
@Camille: Yeah, this is one of my favorite themes and it all started right here, with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I read it many years ago and have loved how it made my brain think ever since.
DeleteI think you should give the book a try! It's really short and full of punch. You might like it.
It's been such a long time since I read Frankenstein. I read it my sophomore year at community college, for my English class, and went on my memory of it when it was required in a history class my senior year of university. This was a great historical analysis of Mary Shelley, her father, and the book.
ReplyDelete@Carrie-Anne: Thanks for that compliment! I had to read it in college, as well, and I still love rereading it for fun even to this day. Especially certain passages.
DeleteI love learning the stories of the authors, and this is a very interesting one. I like how you wove together what she lived and what she wrote. Sadly, I'm not much into monsters, so though I joined the blog hop, I wrote about a very personal monster. Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteTina @ Life is Good
http://kmdlifeisgood.blogspot.com/
@Tina: Thanks! It's okay if your brand of monster is more the human type. I'm interested in what you blogged about, so I'll go over and read your post. Thanks for dropping by! :)
DeleteFrankenstein is my all-time favorite book. I'm posting on this soon myself or it would have been my monster pick today. Excellent, excellent monster choice.
ReplyDelete@S.L.: It's one of my all-time fave books, too! I'll be interested to see what you say about the monster on your blog. Thanks for stopping by today. ;)
DeleteIndeed, that is the creepiest Frankenstein I've ever seen.
ReplyDelete@Joylene: You're referring to the statue photos, right? I think he looks pretty cool and pretty accurate as far as the book describes him. Thanks for your comment! :)
DeleteHer own life reflected in her writing. You're right - the monster wouldn't have turned out that way had his creator accepted him.
ReplyDelete@Alex: Yeah, Mary Shelley's own experience shaped this story, which is why it turned out so original. The story would have been completely different had Victor accepted his creature rather than spurned him. I think if Mary's father had always been fine with her way of life, she wouldn't have written this story anything like how it is and it wouldn't be a classic today.
DeleteMy favorite thing about the whole Frankenstein story is knowing that it was all created by a 17 year old girl! Ok, she was pretty mature for her age and she was drinking with Lord Byron. That had to be worth something!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I am so glad you are participating in my blogfest!
Frankenstein (the monster)was one monster I've always had a soft spot for. I always felt sorry for him. A couple weeks ago, I saw a documentary over Mary Shelley and the driving motives behind the book.
ReplyDeleteAmazing.
Adam, the creature, wasn't nearly as monstrous as his creator. It is a great novel. Tragic story. It really sets up a lot of "What Ifs" for the reader, doesn't it? As for the nature/nurture question...a lot of abuse is perpetuated by those who were previously abused themselves. It is tough to break that chain. But it can be done. Must be done. It isn't enough to not do bad things. Whatever good is going to be in this world has to start somewhere and that is with each one of us. And in a way, that is one instance where the monstrous can diverge from the meritorious...a lot of evil can get done in the name or service of good...
ReplyDelete@Tim: Thanks for hosting this blogfest! It's been really fun. And, yeah, Mary was still a teenager when she wrote this book. Amazing, isn't it?
ReplyDelete@T. Decker: I saw a documentary on Mary Shelley, as well, somewhere, and that's how I found out about the story behind the story. You have to feel so bad for the monster and how he was treated by his own creator.
@Garrison: I agree that the creature wasn't as monstrous as Victor. We have to be willing to create good in this world from the right place in our hearts, or we'll be lead astray, and good intentions could lead to evil deeds. Thanks for your thoughtful comment! :)
I hope none of the monsters in my stories reflect my upbringing. Thanks for sharing all of this.
ReplyDelete@Susan: Well, they might be all the better if they did! You're welcome and thanks for visiting. ;)
DeleteWhat a wonderful choice.
ReplyDelete@M: Thanks!
DeleteI never knew much about Mary Shelley's life but wow, I can see how it seeped into her work. What I enjoy about Victor's monster is no matter how terrible he is, you can't help but feel some kind of compassion for him and that's a quality I like in all my monsters. Great choice Cathy!
ReplyDelete@Elise: Mary Shelley had a very, very interesting life, to say the least. If you dig a bit, you can see how her relationship with her father seeped into the story and made it so fascinating. Yeah, and the monster is so sympathetic, despite his ghastly crimes. It's genius writing. Thanks!
DeleteIsn't it amazing how real life is often much more interesting than fiction? It just goes to show how much of every writer goes into their books. I still haven't actually read Frankenstein but reading this story makes me want to read the book and find out what happened.
ReplyDelete@Lan: Yeah, definitely! Putting yourself and your experience into your books is actually a good idea, even if you feel exposed. It works for authors, though. I hope you do give the original story a try. It's really intriguing.
DeleteWow, I never knew all this about Mary Shelley's life, but how fascinating! I love to learn more about authors and how their real lives slip into their works. I haven't read Frankenstein either but now like Lan I am curious to read it!
ReplyDelete@Julie: It's fun to learn about the authors lives behind the stories they write. I hope you enjoy the book if you decide to read it!
DeleteA fantastic monster to use for the blogfest! It is interesting to think about how much nature vs nurture affects people.
ReplyDelete@Cherie: Thanks, Cherie! He is a really great one and gives you pause to think about that issue of nature vs. nuture.
DeleteI love that you wrote about Shelley's life. I'm always interested in trying to figure out how a person's life influences the stories he or she writes.
ReplyDelete@Dana: Thanks! I'm glad you found my blog entry interesting. It IS interesting to see how an author's life influences their writing. :)
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