December Talking Meme: Frankenstein

[selenak]

Taking a break from my Yuletide reading to resume December Meme duties, to talk about today’s requested topic

Comments

[itsnotmymind]

Thanks for writing this.

If I recall correctly, Frankenstein's mother is the one who brought Elizabeth into the family, which is somewhat significant.

It's hard to imagine that we're supposed to see Frankenstein as sympathetic. He keeps doing things that are so unsympathetic. But who knows--sometimes authors create characters that are intended to be sympathetic that end up quite the opposite.

[selenak]

My pleasure. Thank you for requesting it!

Yes, Mrs. Frankenstein was, and Elizabeth growing up as a sort of sister IS significant.

I'm never quite sure about Victor Frankenstein (re: authorial intention). He truly is awful, and I would come down on the side of "intentionally" because of the Creature's part of the novel and the opening quote, but then again there's the framing narration of Walton's letters, in which this supposedly neutral observer does sound admiring about Frankenstein, so - I'm torn.

[pujaemuss]

I hate the book with a passion, as I always felt that Frankenstein himself was supposed to be the "hero", but he's so deeply unlikeable and repellent that I can't stand his point of view. Especially where he's continually stunned and appalled that the situation he's just f*cked up has become f*cked up, by some strange confluence of events that couldn't have anything to do with him or the fact that he's a blinkered, vain, self-interested, selfish moron without the common sense of an inbred squirrel.

Yeah, something of a pet peeve that one.

PJW

[zahrawithaz]

Beautiful, and wonderfully well-said.

[selenak]

Thank you!