Frankenstein

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:30:18 -0500

Summary

Frankenstein wants to create life, he does, and the results may surprise you.

Thoughts

A really great read with exceptional prose. Ironically the most articulate character is the monster himself, his description of coming to consciousness is one of the most touching moments of the book. Heavily inspired by Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, Shelley tells one of the most memorable stories of the 19th century. As with all great works of art, after they are created, they in some sense no longer belong to their creator but become part of the collective consciousness. I would be interested to see what she would think of its place in culture now. The story itself of course is provocative in that there are so many different ways of reading it. There are of course the social critiques of the time in it, such as the treatment of servants, mob mentality etc. There is also the commonly understood moral that Dr. Frankenstein’s creation should remind us that we should be careful when playing God. This moral is interesting in itself, but subversive when reversed, that is God should be careful when playing us. The monster kills people, and therefore Dr. Frankenstein feels that he is in some way culpable, in some ways more so than the Monster, so much so that all he wants to do is kill the monster and die himself. Of course, this makes sense in line with the usual moral, but what does it mean for the inverse? Another fascinating layer to this whole quandary is that the Monster himself has a virtuous heart but is driven to violence by his complete and absolute isolation.

Wuthering Heights

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:30:47 -0500

Wuthering Heights is a novel published in 1847 that follows the lives and interactions of two families centered around a large estate called “Wuthering Heights”. The only book written by Emily Bronte published a year before she died (aged 30) it was received with mixed reviews initially but by the time the 20th century came around it was canonized as one of the greatest novels of all time. The story itself is full of brutally selfish and vindictive characters that the reader ends up despising by the end of the book. While this book was entertaining and well written it failed to take me in because it was a little too soapy. The characters are all complex and well-conceived, but I am a sucker for hearing thought processes. I like hearing the “why” a person did this or that. The story was told from the perspective of someone observing the action and relaying it to you, so there wasn’t much of a window into the heads of the characters. Overall good book, that I can imagine others enjoying greatly but not quite my style.

Gothic_novel on George's Blog

Frankenstein

Wuthering Heights