After reading the essay “The Birth of a Monster” I realized that there is a very strong story behind the creation of “Frankenstein”. People who have not read the book tend to think that the story is almost a fun one that lacks a powerful plot, which is not true. Mary Shelley wrote this story after having experienced traumatic experiences. I truly believe that Frankenstein is the result of all her fears, pains, and so on. Nevertheless, what most shocked me is that it is a man the one who gives birth to this monster. I think that Mary wanted to play the role of a man, because she felt really weak, powerless, forgotten by the father of her children, disappointed, etc. She didn’t feel able to give birth because she killed one of her children, so what was coming next? She wasn’t expecting anything of life.
Her literary talent allowed her to speak up and say everything she wanted to say. Perhaps, in real life, she was afraid of speaking, or afraid of her partner. However, in fiction she was stronger than men, maybe she was the monster, she could do anything she wanted to. No one was going to be able to keep her mouth shut, she was strong now, she could express herself. Moreover, through “Victor” she left a message. Human beings can create fearful beings, not even realizing. Sometimes, what we see or experience is the consequence of our own actions. What about people who state that cancers and some other diseases are the result of our “deformed” minds? Is our unconscious able to do harm to us? What do you think?
1 comentario:
Hi Sergio,
Your point about the fact that in M. Shelley´s novel it is a man who "gives birth" instead of a woman is a powerful issue. Your interpretation is very interesting. As a woman, I had never thought that she wanted to play the role of a man. But, even if her idea behind this "creation" was to feel powerful, why did she create such a terrible "being"?. Was it her way to criticize man´s lack of understanding of a woman´s suffering after giving birth and loosing the baby?
You are right in that as a writer, she could speak up, say what she felt and probably use the monster as an excuse to show how strong women are. But, at the same time, as you´ve pointed out, there is another powerful message that is passed on to us. What we do in life has consequences, and even more, we may damage other people but also ourselves. Fighting against this destructive power is probably one of the messages of the novel. So, can we transform this power into something positive for the benefit of people instead?
Claudia
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