Russian dolls, unnatural birth, equivalent companionship... and just where do little girls come from?
Realistic (literary) fiction vs. “genre” fiction. Marketing—arrangement in bookstores. Genre types: mystery, romance, erotica, African-American, women's fiction, science fiction & fantasy, etc.
Why align yourself with a genre/gender anyway? Is it about the power of perceiving yourself in a lineage (Agrippa, Prof. Krempe, God)—having similar goals… a tradition… having parents and influences… a source... a trajectory... a purpose?
Mapping the book (beginning at the end):
- Walton’s frame—why important? (establishing F's character and the desire for equivalent companionship… everywhere in this book... note the class/country/educational differences between him and his crew). The parallels between Walton and F (thank you--was it Raina?) including ambition that puts others in harm's way... reflective of Shelley's world.
- Childhood—notable details… wards becoming wives. Education liberal, haphazard, dare I say alchemical? Stubbornness about Agrippa... mixing old and new...
- Friendships with Elizabeth and Clerval—Enlightenment reasoning thwarted by the Romance of the supernatural (which erupts from the ancients? Or a unorthodox mixing of old and new? Antithetical properties combined… male/female.) When man attempts to become God (or mother?) Going against (perverting) nature.
- Death of William, trial of Justine... (how easy we
- Silence/ambition/inaction/obsession/impotence/narcissism of Frankenstein.
QUOTES ABOUT SCI-FI (handout)
How is F sci-fi? Is it extrapolated from the real? Innovation?
Are we learning about human nature? Or--to extrapolate from LeGuin--what is the monster a metaphor for?
How is F feminist? Does it present women in a progressive light?
Does it question social norms? How does
it?
Physiognomy... the idea that the outward in some ways "matches" the inner-- and that monstrosity (and beauty) are derived from character and thus essential.
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