In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Monster Culture (Seven Thesis), Cohen analyzes the psychology behind monsters and how, rather than being a monstrous beast for the protagonist of the story to play against, “the monster signifies something other than itself”. Cohen makes the claim that by analyzing monsters in mythology and stories, you can learn much about the culture that gave rise to them. In Thesis 1 of Monster Culture, Cohen proposes that “the monster’s body literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy”, specifically the fear, desire and anxiety of the cultures that gave rise to it;; fFor example, vVampires, undead, represent a fear of death. Monsters are born of an intense fear, desire, or internal conflict, “at this metaphorical …show more content…
Once noted, the parallels between Frankenstein’s fears and desires and the reality the monster experiences are many. Now that Victor is in university, he no longer has family and friends to fall back upon in the unknown territory of his university. Frankenstein voices is that “[he] believed [himself] totally unfitted for the company of strangers,” irrational as it may be, and believes himself solely dependent on his family and childhood friend for companionship. Without the love guaranteed to him by his family, Victor believes he is unfit to make companions by himself and destined to a life of loneliness. He places much importance on the fact that his father and Elizabeth love him and are concerned with his well-being. "I will write instantly, and relieve them from the anxiety they must feel," he says, when he recovers from his illness. The fact that they feel anxiety over his well being is a large part of their value in his eyes. Frankenstein wants to be loved and desired and fears being alone, whether through rejection or some other means of isolation. Plunk “[He] loved [his] brothers, Elizabeth, and Clerval; these were ‘old familiar faces;’” that kept him away from solitude. If he were to lose them, he would lose his safety net and fall into the terrifying void of potential societal scorn and solitude. Whether this fear is reasonable in the beginning of the book, before the …show more content…
The monster is spurned by society because of his horrific appearance, his body, alone and hated, unfit for the company of strangers, just as Frankenstein fears he is. He is miserable which makes the hatred grow, as he says, “all men hate the wretched; how then must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” In fact, this wretchedness and enforced isolation is the monster’s main character trait, parallel to the isolation being Frankenstein’s biggest fear. Now that Victor is in college, he does not have his family to fall back upon for affection. Repetitive The monster embodies this worry as well, as even the monster’s family “ you, [Frankenstein,] my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.” While Frankenstein still has his family to fall upon for affection, the monster does not. This adds another layer to Frankenstein's fear: the worry that he will lose the affection guaranteed to him by his family and be left with nothing confusing. [Frankenstein rejects the monster and pretends it doesn’t exist, representing an inability to cope with his fear of loneliness. It then proceeds to destroy
Monsters will NEVER ever die: all cultures around the world have them and have had them since people first thought of them. Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, Stephen T. Asma, in his essay, Monsters and the Moral Imagination, describes how we look at and are drawn to monsters. But not just monsters, murderers and psychopaths also. Monsters never age, ranging from the first civilization to now. In Asma's essay he asks, "Why do monsters exist?
Rhetorical Analysis of “Monsters and the Moral Imagination” Many people believe monsters are imaginary creatures that are seen in movies or even for others, it could be a serial killer that was heard about on the news. Stephen T. Asma wrote “Monsters and the Moral Imagination” which “first appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education in October 2009” (Hoffman 61). Asma, who is a professor of philosophy, examines how different individual’s perceptions of a monster can be different depending on the era or even events happening around them. In “Monsters and the Moral Imagination,” Stephen T. Asma wrote a nonfiction, persuasive article for an educated and possibly specialized audience to examine how the idea of monsters have changed over time, what could be the motivation to create them, or even how life experiences could change an individual’s perceptions.
The points are valid, they indeed represent the way cultures view and treat the idea of monster. Thesis 1: The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body starts with the first sentence, before the thesis. “The Monster is born only at this metaphoric crossroads, as an embodiment of a certain cultural moment- of a time, a feeling, and a place. The monster’s body quite literally incorporates fear, desire, anxiety, and fantasy (ataractic or incendiary), given them life and an uncanny independence.”
After reading, “Monster Culture (Seven Theses),” the monsters that came to mind were shape shifters, sirens, Frankenstein, Davy Jones’s sea crew, and the most influential monster of them all, humans. For example, monsters that are shape shifters or sirens fit into Theses II and III for a variety of reasons. Thesis II states that monsters are always able to escape by “its propensity to shift”, traits of which shape shifters and sirens lucidly posses as their threat to mankind. Shape shifters can alter their entire appearance and sound in order to fulfill their needs of survival, and sirens can completely transform their demeanor and emotions in order to draw in the desired crowd to control a situation. Thesis II also discusses how a monster will alter in a change
Throughout the story Frankenstein, there are many themes that transpire over the course of the novel. Some of these themes include ambition, nature, revenge, prejudice, and lost of innocence. However, the theme that can be seen the most is the feeling of isolation. Isolation plays a big role in the telling of the story, as it unfolds many of the actions that take place; from the creation of the creature, to the creature causing chaos, and to Victor hunting down his creation. To begin with, the story starts off with a sailor named Robert Walton who is sailing in the middle of the Arctic on the quest for more knowledge.
Later when Frankenstein returns to the outside world, his feelings of disconnection live on. Daniel Cottom, in his essay, Frankenstein and the Monster of Representation, states that, “[the] wanderings of Victor… unlike those of the prototypical adventurer, Odysseus, do not return him to society and domesticity, except to tell his story and die” (Cottom 68). Cottom explains that even after having faced society once again, he retreats to solidarity again, further distancing himself from his family. This theme of self isolation carries over into the introduction of the book, when we are met with a stranger writing to his sister from their stranded ship, unable to contact any humans. The isolation
Cohen suggests that every monster, villain, antagonist, or scary thing in a piece of writing, represents some major cultural issue that the world is facing at that time. Monsters are used to present the cultural problem as something that can be solved. Each of Cohen’s seven theses
In it, the narrator Victor Frankenstein describes to us the circumstances under which he went to the University of Ingolstadt. H describes that his whole life had been spent with people whom he considered beautiful and aesthetically pleasing in some way or form. Victor blames his seclusion as the reason why he finds new people and places repulsive, or even ugly, but in fictional reality it is due to his immensely narcissistic nature; an ego defence mechanism. This so-called narcissism will eventually lead Frankenstein to his ultimate demise. His ego prevents him from realizing the consequences of his scientific
As you can see, Victor 's departure from home is a dark foreshadowing of things to come. There is nothing affirmative in his departure from home: it is immediately preceded by his mother 's death, the journey itself is "long and fatiguing," and he knows no one at all at Ingolstadt. At university, the obsessive pursuit of knowledge will come to take the place of Victor 's friends and family; it will both substitute for human connection and make any such connection impossible. Frankenstein becomes progressively less human-that is to say, more monstrous as he attempts to create a human being. He tortures living creatures, neglects his family, and haunts cemeteries and charnel houses.
Whereas Frankenstein does not properly value the domestic affection he is given until it is violently taken from him, his creation learns that this is what values most in life and yet is not able to gain this affection from others. Francis Bacon says in his essay Of Friendship “I have given the rule, where a man cannot fitly play his own part; if he have not a friend, he may quit the stage”. Shelley highlights the need for a sense of belonging and companionship by letting both her main figures suffer the pain of not having this need fulfilled and, in consequence, they both “quit the stage” (Bacon) and turn their backs on humanity. Social isolation, although through different circumstances, was the predominant cause for both Frankenstein and his creature’s demise. Even Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley’s husband, wrote in his preface to Frankenstein about the “amiableness of domestic affection” (Shelley 9).
The monster continues by reassuring the creator of his independent intelligence and power over the creature by telling Frankenstein, “This you alone can do”. Here, the creature assumes a role of submissiveness and reliance on Frankenstein. Frankenstein’s monster gains the sympathy of the reader who, despite condemning the murder of innocent people, commiserate with the lonely creature who is in search of an acquaintance, which he will likely never find. The monster also displays power and aggressiveness over Frankenstein; “You are my creator; but I am your master; obey!” The monster wants to desolate Victor’s heart, not by killing him directly,
Victor Frankenstein turns away from his responsibilities by ignoring the existence of his creation. Throughout the novel, Victor is constantly running away from the monster and not giving him attention, which resulted in the monsters change of personalities. For example, in page 71 the creation said, “All men hate the wretched; how must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us.” This quote suggests that because of the ignorance of Victor the monster began to become evil and have the urge to seek
The need and mutual respect for love and companionship is what truly makes one human. In the book Frankenstein it is seen from the first time Victor brings his monster to life that he has no compassion or attachment towards him. In fact, he abandons him out of fear. Throughout the story the monster feels a lack of affection, not only from Victor but from the other people he meets and wants to make friends with, leaving him in misery. Due to persistent abandonment and apathy, the monster sought out revenge and committed treacherous acts of violence.
Victor’s parental figures in Frankenstein poison him by surrounding him with countless indulgences. From childhood, Victor was given all of his desires without question and this led to him becoming self-centered and dependent on the service of others. Victor describes his childhood with
Isolation and abandonment can cause many different reactions from people. In the words of William A. Sadler Jr., a sociology professor, “We often do not know how to cope. It can make us confused, distraught, depressed, frightened, and even outraged” (Sadler 105). In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, several of these effects are presented in Victor Frankenstein and his creation. They both suffer from being isolated from their creator, society, and family units.