Write about 2 passages or lines from pages 108-111 that take on a new meaning in light of our discussion today. Remember we were looking at Frankenstein and his monster being two halves of the same being, and we discussed repression. Do you see anything related to these themes? Any hidden conflicts for Victor?
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ZOE WEBER The monster possesses promethean qualities when he is lonely or rejected by society. His feelings of sadness drive him to kill and his evil side is displayed. When the monster is watching the people in the cabin he sympathizes with them and cares for them; here, his Eros side is more prominent. Similarly, Victor acknowledges that he has a more passive side in saying that even though he cares for Elizabeth deeply, she was unable to tame the evil in him. When Victor thinks about the monster and his promise of creating a companion, he is overwhelmed with evil thoughts; he becomes possessed. He says, “…a kind of insanity possesses me (109). When those feelings disperse, Victor is left feeling more tranquil. In both cases, there are certain things that bring about either the Promethean side or the Eros in them. When Victor is with the monster, his more compassionate side seems to come out because he sees compassion in the monster. It could be argued that the promethean side comes out of the monster in the presence of victor. The monster longs for control over victor. This is true in life also because certain situations or people can bring out the good and evil sides of us. We are both good and bad but sometimes one part of us is more provoked and prominent in our personalities. I think that is more accurate to say that people have good and bad in them rather than just good or just bad because there is no such thing. Sometimes it is just that one trait is more prominent.
ReplyDeleteALEX CLINE The monster possesses many qualities of Victor, which almost supports the idea that Victor's personality split when the monster was created. They both possess the qualities of Prometheus and Eros, but the monster has more of the Eros side, while Victor has more of the Prometheus side. During this section however, Victor wants to be with his family, while the monster wants him to make a companion. Victor begins to show the Prometheus side again as his work consumes him on his trip to England. Victor begins to show this by saying, "I could only think of the bourne of my travels, and the work which was to occupy me while they endured" (112). Essentially, at this point, Victor and the monster want the same thing, showing that their personalities are becoming more and more similar, even though the monster's is more savage.
ReplyDeleteSAM SHREVES Frankenstein was happy for a time while he was with his family but once again, his pain and anxiety and sorrow returned again. The monster seems to have an influence over Frankenstein even though the monster is no where near Frankenstein at the time.
ReplyDeleteIf this book is read through the idea that Frankenstein and his monster are two halves of one whole, then one of the passages that could be looked at would be, "I should be saved by many hours of lonely, maddening reflection. Nay, Henry might stand between me and the intrusion of my foe" (111). This could portray that only when Victor is alone can the two halves truly be in direct conflict. If one half is busied, or safeguarded, by other people, then the other half cannot present itself. As Zoe said, for a while Victor was mad, but as those feelings went away, he became more calm. I agree, but I also believe that those feelings dispersed because the monster had momentarily left Victor alone. I think this shows when the two halves are apart, they can function well, but together they both want power over the other and despise the other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sam's comment that the Monster is the main source of pain and suffering for Victor Frankenstein and whenever he appears Victors goes into this state of dismay. If it is said that the monster and Frankenstein are the same person, then the monster can represent the part of him in which he wishes to repress. Although it has been said that the monster often represents the Eros side of Frankenstein, I believe that he could possibly be a physical representation of his Prometheus side. Whenever Frankenstein attempts to slow down and have more of an Eros life style, the monster always comes along and forces back the Prometheus side of him. At this point of the novel, Frankenstein is trying to settle down and become married to Elizabeth, but the monster demands he create a companion for him, so he is forced back into work. I believe that at this point Frankenstein wishes to repress his Prometheus side and begin a new Eros side. So if the monster is a representation of his former prometheus side, he wishes to repress the monster. This can be seen when Victor says "My promise fulfilled, the monster would depart for ever. Or (so my fond fancy imaged) some accident might meanwhile occur to destroy him, and put an end to my slavery for ever"(110). This is Frankenstein saying that he is somewhat of a physical slave to his former Prometheus side the monster and wishes to be freed from it, able to move on with his life. So i believe that this is evidence that shows that the monster can be a physical representation of his former Prometheus side and he wishes to forever repress it, to set him free. A new NEW way of looking at it.
ReplyDeleteMASON SAYS: Brian says that when Victor's alone, this inner conflict comes around. While I think there's some validity in his point, I also believe the inner conflict takes place when the two are physically exchanging words. This is where we actually see Victor's two sides go back and forth at each other. After today's class, I think it brought light to this new idea and can be applied to this quote: "but through the whole period during which I was the slave of my creature…moment" (111). Here, Victor is referring to when the Monster was making request for a companion. His request was showing the importance of Elizabeth to Victor. He says earlier, "it was the prospect of that day when…I might claim Elizabeth, and forget the past in union with her" (111). This shows us Victor's realization of what he needs to do. He sees that his Prometheus side is making him unhappy, and he is able to see his Eros side, tangibly through the monster.
ReplyDeleteNICK LUQUET After reading the chapter, I started looking at the split of characters in a entirely new way. I started to see that the monster and Victor each have this Prometheus and Eros side both physically and mentally. The monster, obviously, has a Promethean physical ability. He is dominant over the rest of the beings and he makes that known to Victor throughout the novel as he disposes of Victor's loved ones. Victor, however, is a scientist. A character rarely thought of with any physical dominance. One top of that, physically, Victor leans more towards the Eros side. We see in the novel that Victor is concerned with appearance as he is freaked out by the monster and as he is relieved by the beauty of nature. On the mental side, the monster represents the Eros side because he uses his brain power to learn about society. He uses it to learn about companionship and how humans interact. Victor, on the other hand, represents the mental Prometheus side which strives to use knowledge to increase his own power. He wants to use his knowledge to, in a way, make himself greater than everyone else. That is the same thing the monster does with his physicality. If you interpret the monster and Victor as two halves of the same being, they still each possess a side of the Prometheus/Eros analogy.
ReplyDeleteKenny writes: "I was bound by a solemn promise, which I had not yet fulfilled, and dared not to break; or, if I did, what manifold miseries might not impend over me and my devoted family1 Could I enter into a festival with this deadly weight yet hanging round my neck, and bowing me to the ground? I must perform my engagement, and let the monster depart with his mate, before i allowed myself to enjoy the delight of a union from which I expected peace" (110). It's clear here the dilemma Victor has to deal with. In the context of the monster being his other half, victor is in a serious battle within himself. He actually refers to the monster as a "deadly weight yet hanging round my neck", which shows he is full on battling with consequences he created upon himself from his Prometheus ways. "I was aware also that I should often lose all self-command, all capacity of hiding the harrowing sensations that would possess me during the progress of my unearthly occupation"(110). An example of how he embraced his Prometheus side by "losing all self-command" for his "unearthly occupation". He now deals with the problem he created from breaking his boundaries and he's stuck. Now out of sadness from wanting to embrace Eros lifestyle, the creature is dangerous. Victor is stuck. Alex said that the monster has many qualities of Victor, which I agree with. They both show many cases where they express their Prometheus ways and Eros ways.
ReplyDeleteSHAY WETSMAN After Victor returns home, we see a glimpse of his Eros side when he talks to his father about his realtionship with Elizabeth. He says that he would enjoy marrying her which makes his father happy. But as we start to see him really open up to his Eros side, his Prometheus side kicks back in causing him to reject the idea of the marriage. He ponders the marriage to himself and thinks, "Could I enter into a festival with this deadly weight yet hanging round my neck, and bowing me to the ground?" (110). At first, the deadly weight only represents the promise he made to the monster to make him a companion. Victor feels that he cannot marry Elizabeth until the task is complete. Then, the deadly weight turns into much more. It becomes all of Victor's ambitions and he gets wrapped up in all the things in science that he has not done yet, like travel to England. Victor has been repressing his Eros side for so long that when he tries to even comtemplate the idea of companionship, his sub concious pulls him pack to the Prometheus side where he feels safe.
ReplyDeleteMORGAN: I agree with you in saying that the monster brings out one side of Frankenstein and Frankenstein does the same thing to the monster. This is a point that Reggie brought up in class and I agree with it completely. Victor shows his prometheus side this reading when the father is talking to him and saying that though his health is returning, he still is unhappy and is avoiding the society. He also shows his Eros side in agreeing to a marriage with Elizabeth. At the though of the monster, though, he would rather not marry Elizabeth right away, but instead go to England to try and create a companion. This shows that the monster can bring out a certain side to Victor Frankenstein.
ReplyDeleteHANNAH: I also agree with Chris in that the monster is a reflection of Victor. But not only is the monster a reflection of Victor, he is also the other half of Victor that has been repressed. In these pages something happens in Victor and he changes in some ways. he realizes that if he can make the monster a companion and make him happy, then he in return may be happy as well, "i must preform my engagement, and let the monster depart with his mate, before i allowed myself to enjoy the delight of a union from which i expected peace." (110)this shows that Victor is gaining some of his Eros side of himself once again. he is trying to be selfless, but then again he does this only because he longs to be happy himself. so in some ways this action of making a companion for his monster is an act of both Prometheus and Eros. Victor is starting to accept the side of him that he has been repressing for all of this time, even though it may still have a mind of its own.
ReplyDeleteThe broken off piece of Frankenstein is unable to live on without its whole so it decays and rots like discarded skin. The discoloration of the skin, is lifeless skin is no more of the same ripe color of the skin on the whole being. The creature is the same fragment of skin that has been forcefully peeled off of Frankenstein by the hand of his own maker. This broken piece of Victor is a piece of his own emotion and him attempting to make another monster would be another piece as well. He is obtaining a more godly status by peeling away his emotions and allowing them to manifest into a living breathing organism. The different emotions he uses to create each creature or his one creature shaped it into the being it is today. The super strength and increased movement for protecting Victor’s loved ones. The creature is made out of the feelings it feels which were once the same as Victors. Victor worries for his family but hasn’t really done anything to protect them which questions his love for them. He grieves over there death but still is able to find minor happiness and selflessly watches his family get slaughter one by one. Almost like he is trying to get rid of his family because they make him into a mortal so he gets rid of all his mortal ties to become immortal.
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