Education in Frankenstein

I have read Frankenstein many, many times, as we all probably have, in grade school and high school, but this specific time, I actually noticed many more interesting and incredible things about this story; aside from the fact that this book just pours out "Gothic-ness," it also has many brilliant literary aspects as well.

One element that I focused on while reading this book was the significance of education, how a person gets their knowledge, and what they choose to do with this knowledge. In Chapter 2, Volume 1, Victor Frankenstein tells us that chemistry became his passion, and he eventually "succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life" (30). Aside from the fact that this seems impossible at the time, we are led to believe that Frankenstein is ahead of his time, and is an incredibly intelligent person. However, as he tells Captain Walton his story, he confides in him saying, "natural philosophy is the demon that has regulated my fate" (21). This incredibly powerful statement gives us a look into the horror and gruesome situation that Frankenstein is truly in; while he thought he was building something inspirational and futuristic, he quickly realizes soon after that he created a monster.

The monster, on the other hand, learns his methods of life just by observing a family in a home he comes upon, after his master Frankenstein abandons him. He tells Frankenstein that "I found that these people possessed a method of communicating their experiences and feelings to one another by articulate sounds" (74). Just like a child learning to speak for the first time, one needs a model to look up to, in order to mimic actions that will be acceptable in "normal" society. This is heavily studied in the Psychological field, as the model that a person looks up to has a huge impact on how the person develops and learns to interact with the outside world. Clearly, just by observing a group of humans and not being able to talk with them personally, greatly affects the development of the monster, as he never truly learns how to interact with people in a normal situation (especially since he just strangles people when he gets angry!).

Studying the differences between how these two characters learned and grew within their own lives (interestingly, not interacting with one another at all during this time) gives readers a great deal of insight into how the characters' develop and why their characters are the way they are.

Sexuality

One of the reasons why I love reading The Monk is because of all the explicit language and activities described within it; I just give Matthew Lewis so much credit for discussing the previously "undiscussed" and talking about the absolute taboo topic of his time. While this book was seen as a disgrace and "dirty" in many eyes, I see it as refreshing, yet still grotesquely twisted.

Obviously, there are always people who are completely against the Catholic church, and there are people who are eternally devoted to it; Matthew Lewis, in an odd way, I think, is somewhere in between. He obviously disses the role of priests, as we see with his depiction of Ambrosio, himself, as he gives himself seemingly too easily to the sexual desires of much younger Matilda. Brilliantly, Lewis sets Ambrosio almost in the same position as a 7-year-old boy, not ever seeing a naked part of a woman, but being full aware that it exists under those clothes. He becomes easily emotionally charged, and is incredibly, and strangely, naive in a situation like this, with blatant sexuality being exposed right before his eyes.

Especially when he speaks to and about the painting he owns of the Virgin Mary, we as readers are called to question his true intentions. Is he being overtly faithful and devout? Or is he pushing those lines too far, and infringing upon lust and desire? Here is where Lewis, in my opinion, does his finest work, as he blends those lines so thinly, that we as readers are called to make distinctions and conclusions for ourselves.

The Gothic in Western Culture Response

Just to start off, I really like that this article explains right away that "gothic" isn't the gothic most people think of, as it states "Gothic fiction is hardly 'Gothic' at all (1). Most often, we think of the word gothic in associations with things like: the color black, the devil, angry people, etc. Gothic writings are actually, for me at least, one of the best genres of books because they seem to incorporate so much of what other branches of genres have now become today. These books have the drama, the excitement, and all kinds of qualities that lure people into the readings and keep them interested throughout the duration of it (at least for me!).

After reading this article, I honestly found my passion and great interest in Gothic novels resurfacing. Being an English major and Psychology minor, these books directly address and incorporate both of my favorite subjects into one style of reading, which makes me want to read even more and analyze these texts deeper than just their surface meanings. This article explains, “the longevity and power of Gothic fiction unquestionably stem from the way it helps us address and disguise some of the most important desires, quandaries, and sources of anxiety, from the most internal and mental to the widely social and cultural, throughout the history of western culture since the eighteenth century” (5). This quote perfectly states everything that Gothic novels are about, as I completely agree with what this author, Hogle, is saying. Taking Frankenstein as the example he used in his article, the Gothic style of writing allows readers to personally become involved, if they so choose, with the characters, and truly experience and witness their anxiety and internal and mental problems and terrors. This brilliant way of writing is perfect for people who are interested in psychology, in this sense.

The article also talks about the Gothic in terms of having the essence of the “seemingly unreal, the alien, the ancient, and the grotesque” (7). Our modern-day ideas of unreal and grotesque often venture off into bloody and gory ideas, while the Gothic, in my opinion, incorporates these elements in completely tasteful and alluring ways. Take Frankenstein again: he is a completely disgusting looking, sounding, and acting creature, without being all gory and murderous, as current movies and ideals might make him out to be. Gothic writers create these creatures almost in a way that pulls at our heart strings, making us wonder and become even more curious of the world we do not know yet. Also, we could see these characters in comparison to ourselves, and notice similarities and differences between us, making the Gothic stories seemingly self-reflective, as well.

If I could ask a Gothic writer any question, I would probably just ask “where do you get your inspirations?” I am more of a critical and analytical writer, so creative writing is difficult for me to do. Gothic writing is so imaginative, and yet so incredibly brilliant in terms of the psychological concepts it employs and introduces. I am almost always impressed with the Gothic literature I read, as it has a certain element that other genres of books do not have, which always intrigues me as a reader.