M. Shelly "Frankenstein", E. Pauline Johnson " A Red Girl's Reasoning", E. Dickinson "poems 260, 269, 320, 340, 353, 479, 1096
Introduction:
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, E Pauline Johnson’s ‘A Red Girl’s Reasoning’ and Emily Dickinson’s poetry all explore what can be seen to be similar themes such as doomed love, unrequited passions and identity. Metaphor is also present in Dickinson’s poetry where the allegorical nature of her writings arouses feelings of intimate passion on a smaller yet no less powerful scale. One can observe an indelible link between all three female authors who were concerned with love as an unrequited passion which knew no boundaries and carried writing to the extreme boundaries of hope and doom at the same time.
The character of Victor Frankenstein, the scientist who created the Monster, is a complex one. As a child he showed an interest in alchemy and in later years, when he went on to university, showed an even greater interest in chemistry. What really intrigued him was the elixir of life and creating life through artificial means. This innovative approach by Shelley shows the way in which Victorian literature was developing at the time with scientific discoveries particularly intriguing and important for the mystique they created.
Shelley’s portrayal of the monster is harrowing indeed and we cannot help but empathise with Victor Frankenstein although we know he is doing wrong. The sense of power which is created here shows that the creator had the ability to recreate life which was certainly no mean feat in the least. However, he finds that he has paternal feelings towards it, just as a parent has towards a child of his own. His life is further disrupted by the death of his younger brother, William. When his adopted sister is blamed for William’s death and consequently executed, Victor is overcome with guilt because he is certain that his Monster is to blame for his brother’s death. Unfortunately, he is unable to come forward and make this claim as he is aware that he will not be believed were he to tell the tale of how he had created a Monster and of how that Monster had come to life. Who would believe that he had created a Monster and brought him to life? This is an important passage in the book and here we are confronted with the theme of doom many times over. Yet again Shelley explores the intimate nature of man’s conversation with nature as well as the use of metaphor as well as identity.
“ I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be; for SUPREMELY frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world”. (Shelley, p 125)
This powerful statement reveals the conflicts and antagonisms of the main character who was constantly faced by unhappiness and torment.
The character of Victor Frankenstein is based on the character of Mary Shelley’s husband, Percy Shelley. Percy had "experimented with electricity and magnetism as well as with gunpowder and numerous chemical reactions" whilst at university. His rooms were full of scientific equipment the same applies to the character of Victor Frankenstein. Victor is deeply interested in scientific experiments and owns a lab full of equipment where he has created the Monster. Percy had a sister named Elizabeth and in the novel ‘Frankenstein’, Victor’s adopted sister was also called Elizabeth. The interplaying between romance and metaphoric issues
The relationship between Victor Frankenstein and his Monster is like that of a parent towards his child. He feels responsible for his creation as a parent would towards his own child. One of the main themes of the novel is the responsibility which Victor shows towards the Monster.
The Monster begged Victor to create a female version of himself so that he would not be lonely. Victor agreed but later went back on his word when he realized that he would be creating a race of Monsters. This was something that Victor was not in favour of. As a consequence, the Monster is furious with Victor’s change of heart and kills yet another person close to Victor’s heart. This time the victim is Henry Clerval, Victor’s close friend and later on, on Victor’s wedding night, the Monster kills Elizabeth, Victor’s bride.
Now, Victor is determined to destroy his creation and pursues the Monster to the Arctic where he falls through the ice and contracts pneumonia. He is rescued by a passing ship and tells his tale to the captain and later dies. The Monster, now overcome by feelings of guilt, swears to commit suicide and is never heard of again. The experiment gets out of hand and Frankenstein is doomed forever, a favoured theme used by Shelley in this ground breaking novel.
Pauline Johnson’s – A Red Girl’s reasoning
E Pauline Johnson’s short story, ‘A Red Girl’s Reasoning’ delves into the heart of the Indian question and the ostracization of these Indians from Canadian and American society. Although she did have some Indian blood in her veins, she did not actually live like a Red Indian in her adulthood but her writings defended this civilisation with alacrity as well as intensity. The short story delves deeply into the problems which an Indian woman would have encountered when faced with attempting to keep her customs and beliefs accordingly.
“She was "all the rage" that winter at the provincial capital. The men called her a "deuced fine little woman." The ladies said she was "just the sweetest wildflower." Whereas she was really but an ordinary, pale, dark girl who spoke slowly and with a strong accent, who danced fairly well, sang acceptably and never stirred outside the door without her husband” (Johnson p 23).
This quote shows the way Johnson describes a typical Indian woman who is the main character of her story. There is a sense of the autobiographical in the description especially in the way the woman is described as able to dance and carry out certain movements. Identity is also an issue here since the Indian woman was always left out in the cold due to her race and although she gained a form of social acceptance from other men, it is clear that they only view her as some sort of amusement or toy.
Emily Dickinson’s poetry:
Emily Dickinson’s wonderful poetry is imbued with a constant sense of discovery and the posthumously published, ‘Because I could not stop Death’ is perhaps one of her masterpieces. The sheer directness and matter of factness of her lines especially in the opening stanza demonstrate the raw mastery of her poetic vision. It can be compared to the violence in Shakespeare’s Macbeth or Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ which is perhaps unsubtle but here Dickinson is almost like a mouse in her lines. Her power is no less effective however.
The poem, ‘I Reason, Earth is short’ is actually a masterpiece of understatement. Using just forty eight words, Dickinson conveys quite a remarkable depth of despair where anguish is characteristically imbued with the impermanence of youth as well as a hope for a better afterlife.
‘I Felt a Funeral in my Brain’ is another great poem by Dickinson that must have arisen out of a dark night of the soul just like the one experienced by St John of the Cross. Here the text is very strong indeed and the words used are all heavy and with huge pathos. Some examples which can be mentioned and described are ‘reading’, ‘beating’, ‘boots of lead’ and tolling of bells which all add to the power and morbidity of the whole scene.
‘Good Morning Midnight’ is another great poem and here we have a return to Dickinson’s previous life where the startling purity of the words come across as extremely powerful. The fragments of words which follow the poem are an acknowledgement of the experience of love which can never be forgotten and which remains present in various ways.
‘The Moon is Distant from the Sea’ reveals Dickinson’s musings on the subtle yet powerful pull of the moon upon the sea. Here we can also observe the parallels with Frankenstein and the characterisation of Johnson’s Red Girl. All three themes come together in a powerful manner which demonstrates the wild nature of human emotion and love.
