Mary Shelley’s Frankie Continues

Today we will look at the classic novel from the monster’s point of view as he describes it to Victor, but before we delve into it, take a 4 second look at Frankie’s growl below (just for fun):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsKoakqPmAQ

“It was dark as I awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened, as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate..  Before I had quitted your apartment, on a sensation of cold, I had covered myself with some clothes…I was a poor, helpless, miserable wretch; I knew, and could distinguish, nothing; but feeling pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.”  (Can you imagine being the monster, made from parts of dead people, and waking up to…that?)  I went outside, gazed at the trees and sky, and looked for berries.  I came across a campfire and stuck my hand into the live embers, crying out with pain.  (We have seen in the old black and whites, his fear of fire was very strong). 

I later came upon a poor family and saw their troubles (and he performed what we now call “random acts of kindness”).  The monster (I wish he’d been given a real name), collected wood for them during the night and cultivated the garden.  I also listened to them:  “I found these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds.”  I spent the whole winter learning from them and “paying it forward”.

I observed the love they had for each other and wondered, “Where are my friends and  relations?  No father had watched my infant days…What was I?”  No answer came.  In the spring, I continued to help the family at night and learn from them.  One day I found a book, Paradise Lost, and eagerly read it.  Then I remembered something that  I had quickly stashed in my pocket!  It was Victor’s journal and now I could read it!  In it were the notes about my creation and then, how you felt after completing your monster experiment–horrified beyond belief, a mistake, disgusted.  I was sickened when I read it.  I thought, “Hateful day when I received life!  Accursed creator!  Why did you form a monster so hideous that even YOU turned from?”

Time passed, autumn and then winter again.  “My attention at this time was solely directed towards my plan of introducing myself to the cottage of my protectors.

And it is here that I will stop.  How do you think the family is going to respond?  How does he feel about his life?  What will he do?  Why DID Victor go to all this trouble only to reject him because he was ugly???!!!

And what about a name?  What name would you give him?  After reading the monster’s point of view, do you have any pity for him?  Compassion?

Next time we will see how the family responds and what that response leads to!

Frankenstein–The Book Continues

Let’s see what’s next in Mary Shelley’s horror novel…

Victor Frankenstein received a letter from his father telling him that his little brother William had been murdered, “…the print of his murderer’s finger was on his neck.”  But who that was?  They could not know.  Elizabeth was beside herself and Victor’s father asked him to come home.  As he headed home he found himself in a storm.  He was walking at this point and a flash of lightening illuminated something he saw.  It was gigantic in stature.  It was the filthy demon he created.  Victor watched as it climbed mountains and was out of sight.  Two years had passed since he created IT.  It must have murdered his brother! Had he murdered others?  Victor realized that he had let a depraved wretch into the world to unleash misery.  But when he reached the house he discovered that their dear friend Justine had been arrested and blamed for the murder.  Victor kept claiming her innocence but did he tell anyone what he thought really happened?  No, he did not because he knew people would think he was insane if he told them about the creature so…Justine perished on the scaffold as a murderess!  Victor was filled with horror, guilt, remorse, grief, fear, and sorrow.  William and Justine were dead because of him.  Don’t you think he should have tried to tell them in order to save Justine’s life?  Was Victor a coward?

Victor could not chase away the fear that the monster might return.  Might he take Elizabeth away?  Victor could not be anything but wretched.  He decide to wander into the Alpine valley on horseback and go up into the mountains–a sea of ice, but he had no idea what he was about to find.  There was a figure of a man moving at superhuman speed, incredibly large and ugly.  (We all know who it is!)

Victor screamed at him with hatred but the monster replied, “If you comply with my conditions I will leave them and you at peace, but if you refuse I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends.” (Interesting language but we all get the picture).  Victor’s anger raged and he lunged at the monster but he quickly side stepped him.  The monster stated his case:  “Remember, I am thy creature.  I ought to be thy Adam but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed.  Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.  Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.”  Victor would not hear of it.  “You my creator abhor me; what hope can I gather from your fellow creatures…they spurn and hate me…it is in your power to recompense me.” 

The monster was trying to get Victor to understand that he had made him and left him.  He just wanted a life of his own.  He convinced Victor to hear his story of what had happened to him, what life was like for him.  Finally Victor agreed to go to a hut and listen to his side of the story.

Do you see the monster’s point of view?  Can Victor understand it after IT had brought him such pain and misery?  And don’t you find the language of those times interesting?  Even though there are words we do not use, we are able to understand.  This really is not a horror story at the core.  What do you think?

Next time we hear from IT’s point of view!

 

Frankenstein–The Book–The REAL Story

Frankenstein

By Mary Shelley

Published in 1818

Do you think you know the original story of Frankenstein?  Are you like me and thought you knew it based on the black and white versions from the 1930’s?  Well, if you do you are wrong just like I was.  I recently finished reading the book and it was good!  It starts slow but when it picks up, it picks up!  There are many reproduced versions.  The picture above shows the one I chose to read.  The only difficult part is that it is written in the language of the 1830’s.  Sentence syntax and form are quite different so it was a slower read than usual.

Before I delve into the book, do you wonder what would prompt a woman, in those days, to write a story like this?  When I tell you about her life, you will be shocked.  But I will first relay the book to you and after that is said and done, I will relay her real story.  This is all very interesting…and unusual.  But let’s get into the book…

“Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould me man,

Did I solicit three

From darkness to promote me?”

Paradise Lost

The book begins in Victor’s childhood.  His parents have taken in a cousin who has been orphaned, Elizabeth. They grow up together and are very close.  It is a very happy childhood.  His mother has another child, a boy, William.  Victor’s best friend is Henry.  All of this is important information for later.  Victor was always reading and learning–he loved it!  It consumed him.  Science intrigued him.  When he was 15 a huge electrical storm hit.  It fascinated him.  “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.”

When Victor was 17 his mother died.  He was heartbroken.  Soon after he left for Ingolstadt to study at the university.  At one point he met a professor that shared his unorthodox ideas and those ideas sent him down the path to his future destiny.  He became fascinated with life…and death.  What was death?  All of Victor’s acquired knowledge led him to the idea of creating a man of about 8 feet tall.  He began collecting and arranging his materials.  (Interesting way to put it).  “No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.  “…if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time…renew life where death had devoted the body to corruption.”  He thought he was doing a GOOD thing.  Oh, would he be surprised…

The summer months passed in this one pursuit.  Victor was obsessed and toiled in his make-shift laboratory.  He didn’t eat much, didn’t see anyone, so engrossed as he was to his creation.  He had denied himself of rest and health for 2 years.  One night there was a storm that provided the electricity to awaken his creature.  But nothing happened … at first.  He looked and saw that the creature was quite ugly for he had yellow skin, watery eyes the color of dirt, a shriveled complexion, and straight black lips.  He realized that this was a mistake and rushed out of the room.  He was filled with horror and disgust.  What had he been thinking??  He fell on his bed and had horrible dreams.  He awoke to find the creature in his room, alive, muttering sounds, but Victor escaped.  His dream, his work, was shattered!  In the street he ran into Henry.  He had come to find him for the family was worried.  They went back to his apartment/laboratory and the creature was gone!  Victor fell ill for several months and Henry cared for him.  His father and his cousin Elizabeth wanted to see him.  It was time. 

Where could the monster be?  Was he hiding?  Was he learning how to think?  To talk?  Was he dead? And what will Victor do?  Will Henry find out?

Until next time, pleasant dreams…

 

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein–The Play

On February 16, 2014 I had the pleasure of attending the play with a friend!  Thanks for inviting me friend!  You see, she knows that I am obsessed with all things Frankenstein.  The following you tube video is not from the actual play that we saw, but it is very similar.  Take a look:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY85IzWexWo

The play was at the California Theatre of the Performing Arts in San Bernardino, CA and I must say it started off great with Victor Frankenstein’s monster standing in a box with simulated electrical currents exploding his body system.  Soon he fell to the floor and there is where it became very s-l-o-w.  “The Monster” squirmed around moaning and groaning for a good 15 minutes which was 10 minutes longer than he should have.  Finally, he staggered into a standing position only to fall again…sigh…here we go again.  Once he made it up to a standing position and could hold it, the play picked up, little by little.  After the intermission,  it really improved and had me hooked.  

As The Monster stumbled around, he ran into 2 British men at a campfire.  They chased him off and yelled, “Piss off!”  Here is where the play began injecting humor.  His first words were, “Piss off!”  There were other very humorous moments sprinkled throughout the play.  Excellent!

The Monster learned to talk by becoming friends with a blind man but when his family found him in the house, they beat him.  This was the plight of the Monster; he was ugly and people hated him.  The Monster actually had feelings and just wanted to be loved and accepted like everyone else.  He sought out Victor Frankenstein who was the one who built him and brought him to his miserable life.  So, he wanted Victor to make him a mate, like him, and then he promised he would go and live in the snowy wilderness and never bother anyone again.  But…Victor did not want to build another who might kill again so The Monster killed his little brother William by snapping his neck.  Victor was heartbroken for he was to blame.  Due to the tragedy, he decided to make The Monster a mate, did so, then victor sliced her throat, killing her, which killed all The Monster’s dreams.  Victor would later pay dearly.   Time passes…

Victor married his life long love Elizabeth.  I loved the way they portrayed the wedding by having a few characters walk down the theater aisle, scattering flower petals and singing a wedding song.  But as the Frankenstein story goes, Elizabeth was in harms way.  The Monster got into their room and since Victor refused to grant him his wish, he slashed Elizabeth’s throat with a knife.  Victor was broken.

In the end, The Monster took Victor to trudge in the snow for they would be miserable together and that is where the play ended.  This is not the way that Mary Shelley’s book ends.  More about that next time…

Moral of the story?  Everyone needs someone…

The California Performing Arts theater is one of those beautiful old ornate theaters.  It’s small but wonderful and I love going there.

Until next time…

New Series–Frankenstein!

The Frankenstein series begins with the most recent movie, I Frankenstein, (2014) playing in theaters now.  Take a look at the poster below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB6Zs6FjeUc

Now I knew from the trailer that this was as action-adventure movie and I do not like this movie genre but, I am attached to Frankenstein for reasons that will be revealed during this series, so I had to see it, in 3D no less.  And less is what I got, or maybe I got too much.

This movie picks up where the book, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, ends.  It is 1795 and Victor Frankenstein has stitched and bolted a creature together.  Victor realizes what a huge mistake he has made and throws the creature into water but…the creature survives and kills Victor’s bride on their wedding night.  Victor follows the creature into the frozen world and he freezes to death.  The creature buried him and along came some demons who tried to kill him but some lovely gargoyles came along to save him.

The gargoyles fly him to the castle where Queen Leonore rules.  She names the creature Adam, tells him he is welcome there, and Victor’s special journal is locked in the vault.  Victor’s laboratory journal travels a lot during this movie.

There is a human scientist, Terra, who is working on bringing rats back to life.  She does not know for whom she really works, Prince Navarious (the Prince of Darkness and Demons).  There are 666 demons (oh how clever).  It is discovered that the demons are storing thousands of suspended dead bodies, just waiting to bring them to life and take over the world.

Here is a good line from the movie:

• “You’re only a monster if you behave like one”, said Terra to Adam.  (This could be a clever line for bad dates as well  lol).

Much fighting, melting, fire, and explosions go on and on throughout the movie.  I regretted seeing the 3D version because of this.  It was way too much in your face and loud.  I found myself removing the glasses during the violent scenes.  No thanks!

Aaron Eckhart plays Adam and he is a hot hunk!  As the movie progresses he looks less and less monster-ous and more hunky/handsome.  In the end he and Terra unite and he realizes he has found his purpose and his happiness.  He is no longer alone and this is the reoccurring theme in all of the Frankenstein movies.  He was ugly and alone with no one to love or love him back.  At the end he is asked who he is and he responds, “I am my father’s son, I, Frankenstein!”

This was a loud dull fantasy version that we could do without but it’s playing in your theaters now if you want to check it out…but I wouldn’t if I were you.  You decide and let me know!

Creep by Jennifer Hillier–A Thriller of Deadly Attraction

 

 

As we say farewell to the mermaids, we’ll take a brief series break with two books I read by the same author, Jennifer Hillier:  Creep and Freak!  Both books really good!  Let’s begin:

Creep published in 2011

Amazon $7.00 or less

If he can’t have her…nobody will!

Sheila is a psychology professor with a hidden past.  She is engaged to her boyfriend but is having an affair with Ethan, her graduate assistant.  She has no idea that when she decides to end it, she will have to pay for rejecting him.  Her ex-lover becomes a manipulative monster who refuses to let her go.  Can she get out?  Where is he keeping her?  What is he doing to her?

This book surprised me a couple of times.  And the ending? Isn’t really the end!

The book is based on a song by Radiohead called Creep. 

“Ethan found the song he was looking for.  After all these years, Radiohead’s Creep still gave him the shivers.”  The first time he heard it he’d been in love, having sex, and strangling someone.  “You never forget your first time.”

Take a listen below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDjlaN-X8-0

Later in the book, he is with a woman and the song comes on the radio.  The woman says how much she loves the song but she doesn’t get to finish her sentence.  The song is about obsession and self-pity, feelings Ethan knew all about.   Which leads us to………………………..

Freak published in 2012

Amazon $7.00 or less

A novel of fatal obsession

Freak takes up where Creep left off and you won’t believe what you discover!  You realize there were a few clues but not all the clues that you will need.  Someone is in a maximum security prison and it’s not Ethan.  There have been a wave of murders with a killer who has been sending this person love letters and carving the same message on all of the current victim’s bodies.  All but one character comes back in this sequel.

The music connections is this novel follows:

• Psycho Killer by Talking Heads–a once loved song that “she” feared she would never want to listen to again and she had chair-danced to it many times while listening to internet music in her office.

• Van Morrison’s Into the Mystic–someone was singing along at the top of her lungs but someone else didn’t think she would ever want to listen to that song again either.

So check out this author.  She is a master of thriller sensations!