Image is from 1994 Frankenstein Film
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Which Thesis?
Honestly, a lot of this theory was quite difficult for me to understand and I had a hard time with it, so hopefully what I write here is coherent. I felt that the creature from Frankenstein could belong under thesis III in the sense that he does not belong to any particular category in terms of morality; he is neither wholly good or wholly evil. But, then I realized that this thesis is mostly talking about the anatomical nature of the monster, so this one doesn't really apply as much anymore. Then, when I came to thesis V, I felt that this one better represented the creature because, as the text says, the creature is "a warning against exploration of its uncertain demesnes." (Cohen 12). This is a huge theme in this novel; we are not only presented with a monster and his pursuit at happiness and eventually evil, but a huge aspect of the novel is the personal turmoil Viktor experienced after having created this monster and viewing its repercussions.
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Frakenstein struggles to find his place and purpose in the society in which he is brought into. As you mentioned, he does not have a place. Frankenstein grows and progresses into who he is, despite Victor abandoning him, which contributed to his growth of becoming a monster.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting because I thought thesis I and III were the most applicable. Thesis I was a general overall understanding (at least I think), and I hadn't really thought of V as be applicable. But this particular quote you pointed out I must have misremembered or misunderstood, but I can definitely see your point with thesis V! Maybe I'll go reread it.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I like to read Cohen's 7 Theses alongside this book is that I find ALL of them help me understand the novel in a different way. We certainly see the scapegoating that Cohen mentions in thesis 4, and I am also drawn to the idea that monsters express possibilities that we may yearn for, even if we are also somewhat afraid of them (thesis 6). Thanks for persevering through the Cohen; I definitely prefer to assign this when we can meet in person and work through some of the challenging bits because it is such a useful and significant intervention in "monster studies," if you will. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the 7 Theses. I love that it really shows all of the different ways that a person can expand their understanding of a book! It allows for flexibility with understanding, and it helped me see different viewpoints that I would have never considered before!
ReplyDeleteI could have seen Thesis IV also fitting with the story. In Thesis IV, I thought it meant that people create monsters as a way to cover up their fears and misunderstandings of other cultures, people, and social practices. While the creature is the main "monster" of the tale, I see Victor also fitting in with this thesis both as the person refusing to accept the creature and as a monster himself. Victor to me does not really fit in with anyone else, he works on this crazy experiment and lives a life of isolation. The creature and Victor are flip sides of the same coin.
ReplyDeleteI was also interested in the monster as "a warning against exploration". Even in-universe, Victor makes it clear that this is not something we should be messing around with. This warning is echoed in Victor's brief explanation of the science behind the creation. The only details we get are that the idea came from "so simple that ... I was surprised that among so many men of genius, who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret" (34). Could this be a not to the fact that we are all capable of becoming monsters ourselves?
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