Frankenstein reading journal, preface and letters

Knowing some of the background of how the book was created makes the story come to life. The image of this famous gothic novel being written with rain lashing at the windows by the flickering light of a candle gives the entire story a further gothic feel. The mere fact that Frankenstein’s alternative title is The Modern Prometheus, informs the reader of something about the story.  How Frankenstein is attempting to give life where it was not his place to give.

The first letter is a summary of how R. Walton got to be where he is, which is on a quest to the North Pole. He mentions how dangerous his voyage may be, he obviously knows death is a possibility but he is so excited by the prospect of going to the North Pole he doesn’t seem to dwell on that fact for too long.

Loneliness becomes a theme in the second letter his happiness does drop a fraction. Would rather think of the impossible than think of failure. He signs his name as Robert Walton whereas in his first letter he merely writes his first initial followed by his second name. He could have written his full name at the end of this letter because he has opened up more in this letter he has revealed his fears to his distant sister and revealed his vulnerability.

Walton’s epithet changes at the end of this letter. On his previous two letters he signs “Your affectionate brother” whereas his third letter is signed with “most affectionately yours”.  This could show that he misses his Sister or he is beginning to anticipate danger.  His men may not be phased by the sheets of ice but he may be. 

The fourth letter depicts the dire situation that they are in as their ship is now iced in on all sides.  The thick fog turns this scene gothic because there is a wonder of the unknown.  It is interesting that “the monster” appears while this scene is still gothic  –“ a human being appears of gigantic stature” and Frankenstein is found once the fog has lifted.  This may show that even  at this stage of Frankenstein’s story, he may still have some good in him. The unknown Frankenstein is generally melancholy and despairing but shows flashes of benevolence and sweetness which shows he is still kind to those who are kind to him.  The unknown Frankenstein refers to the thing he pursues as a “dæmon”.  This should have been a sign to Walton that this man may be troubled.  This mystery guest seems to have a gothic disposition as when he sits by himself he is overcome by gloom.  The stranger informs the Captain that he thought he would never reveal his story but he has decided to inform the Captain of his past which is documented by Walton and sent to his Sister.  Presumably this is how we are supposed to believe the story got to us today.

The Witches

The witches are almost like a catalyst within Macbeth. The thought of killing Duncan may have never entered Macbeth’s mind if he hadn’t heard the witch’s prophecy. He may have become king through natural circumstances and therefore risen to be a better king and a better man.

This may also be why Lady Macbeth is sometimes considered to be another witch because she also catalyses Macbeth’s killing of Duncan. Even with the witches prophecy Macbeth still could have made the decision not to kill Duncan but Lady Macbeth topples his decision in the witch’s favour.

 The witches lead to Macbeth’s overall change in character throughout the play. However, the witches don’t only affect Macbeth they also affect Banquo and his concern of their prophecy led to his death. Lady Macbeth’s madness and eventual death can also be blamed on the witches, their effect on her husband was crucial in her paranoia. The witches need to be in Macbeth because they are the root of all the large dramatic events in hey play.

The witches lead Macbeth towards his own downfall. They appear to him one last time in act 4, scene 1, and show him four apparitions. The second apparition causes Macbeth to become too cocky with his morality. Once he has heard,

“None of woman born shall harm Macbeth”

Macbeth believes he is invincible which allows him to take risks he perhaps wouldn’t have taken if he had not heard what the witches and apparitions had to say.

The witches do add to the general understanding of the play. They appear periodically and alter the play with their presence, even when they are absent echoes of their language appear in Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s speech. Without the witches as a catalyst for events Macbeth would be a very different play.

Marxism in Pride and Prejudice

Pride and prejudice predates Marxism but shows some crucial elements of it. Karl Marx says in his conclusion to Towards a Critique of Political Economy,

“It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness”

 This highlights peoples outsight on their own social class such as Mr. Darcy’s at the beginning of the novel towards Elizabeth and how he felt he out-ranked her and therefore refused to dance with her when they first met, stating “she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me”. This just shows how he feels superior to Elizabeth; whether it’s because of her mediocre looks or her social standing he obviously feels that she isn’t worth his time. However this is rather different to the hierarchy in their relationship where Elizabeth is clearly the more dominant, as she is more outspoken and regularly pokes fun at Mr. Darcy.

Macbeth; Gothic elements of Act One

Throughout the first act gothic imagery and themes continue to occur. From the second line of dialogue a gothic setting is apparent, with thunder and lightening and it continues into the second scene where the captain speaks of “shipwrecking storms and direful thunders”, 2.26.

There are many instances of light and darkness, which is essentially the bread and butter of gothic literature. There are references to darkness throughout the third, forth and fifth scenes. In the fifth scene there is a contrast between light and dark or perhaps good and evil “Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark” 5.51. There is powerful imagery between two complete opposites, as we associate heaven with what is light and good it is hard to see it blanketed by darkness and suppressed by it.

Violence and death is obviously another rather important gothic device used in Macbeth. In only the first act they have already executed the Thane of Cawdor and the Macbeths are planning the death of the king. The acknowledgement of death kicks off rather early in act one in the captain’s speech of how well Macbeth and Banquo fought. He talks of Macbeth’s sword, “which smoked with bloody execution” and how Macbeth “unseamed him from nave to th’chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements.” 2.18 & 22. Within the rest of this act we do not see much of this side of Macbeth; however this could be a glimpse into the Macbeth which is to come. Throughout scene three and five there are also many referrals to death.

Also quite gothic  and relating to death is the wounds and gashes that cry for help in scene two and the dismembered digit in scene three.

Scene five and six mention hints of holiness and god which is considered to be the complete opposite of the gothic but occurs in many other novels such as Frankenstein. Usually it’s the contrast which makes what they’re doing look worse.

Another gothic device within the first act of Macbeth includes the un-naturalness of the weird sisters which Banquo states in the third scene as the witches appear to be women but have beards, this could reflect on Lady Macbeth rejecting her feminity in scene five.

Coursework Outline

A comparison of four couples and the roles of men and women in their own historical context

Much ado about nothing and Pride and Prejudice are very similar stories set in very different points in history, roughly 200 years apart. Shakespeare wrote Much ado when England was a very male dominated society. Women’s role was at home with the children – to be seen and not heard. Therefore his character, Beatrice, was controversial for the time. Austen’s similar character, Elizabeth, was created in the early stages of the feminist movement. The differences in time directly result to why Elizabeth is the main character and Beatrice has a supporting role. Even with the different contexts the texts were written in, both authors produced incredibly similar content.

The main relationships in both the play and the novel represent two complete opposites in love and society. At one end of this spectrum is, Jane and Mr. Bingley, and, Hero and Claudio. The women being uncommonly beautiful yet conservative and the men being boyish and naïve, but as a group accomplish the general cliché of romantic literature; love at first sight.

Whereas, at the other end we have, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and, Beatrice and Benedick. Who have the alternative more modernistic path to love which begins with hate. The characters down this end of the scale all have their flaws but they counteract them with their wit, all of these characters bring the comedic relief to the texts. With the exception of Mr. Darcy as Austen was mistrustful of male wit until her later novels, but he is continually the butt of the joke and in conclusion, there to be laughed at.

Comparitive Coursework again

I have completely changed my mind and decided to go for romance instead. I am going to use Jane Austen's Pride and Predjudice and William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. They seem to have a similar storyline and i'm either going to do some sort of character comparison or contextual comparison.

Comparitive Coursework

I'm still bringing together ideas in my head, but I think i'm set on doing some sort of fantasy novels or plays involving a magical aspect. What first comes to mind are books like Debi Gliori's Pure Dead Magic and Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl. I'm still undecided, but perhaps for more literary content I would be leaning towards some of shakespeares plays, like The Tempest or A Midsummer Night's Dream.