Essay on Frankenstein: Mother

Submitted By subinny
Words: 6318
Pages: 26
Open Document
RELATIONSHIPS and CHARACTERS in Romulus, My Father.

CHARACTER NOTES:

Romulus

Man of suffering:
Suffered greatly as predicted by the fortune teller
The composer sees his suffering as some sort of rite of passage in which he was ennobled. (see above)

“People argue about whether suffering ennobles”. There is another and different thought, which is that suffering makes one wise”…”Some kinds of wisdom, however – the kinds that show themselves not only in thoughts, but in the integrity of an authoritatively lived life – are given only to those who have suffered deep and long.” His affliction gave authority to much of what my father said, gave power to his language, rich in peasant imagery, and spared his harsh moral judgment from any tinge of moralism…” pg 172

Acts on principles
Man who sought to follow principles; “fierce moralist”…”about simple moral requirements such as honest and concern for one’s neighbour” pg 172
- valued conversation;

- language used presents as playful akin to a cheeky schoolboy, not intentionally hurtful; “The ingenuity that had fuelled his paranoia also informed his wit, which was often mischievous and nourished by natural imagery” -p173
- integrated somewhat into the community

- seemingly self-sacrificing or at least highly dutiful to his family:
“My father would walk up to eighty kilometers for a litre of milk”…”he fainted from hunger on more than one occasion” - p9

Has an unswerving commitment to truth
(speaking to Raimond) “…you must not lie. That is worse than any damage you might do. Even if you burn the house down, you must tell me the truth. If you do there will be no future trouble.’ “ –p50
A weakness however, may be his tendency to believe that others hold the same principles as himself. For Romulus, these principles cannot and should not be broken

- offers to help Mitru, the man living with his wife and does not retaliate after being hit by him (pg 87)

“…he told me that there are few things more important than a good name.” pg 99

Man of contradictions and complexity:

- he is a master craftsman in beautiful wrought iron craftsmanship yet despises the appreciation of things based on appearance alone;
“His detestation of superficialities extended not only to his appearances, but also to decorations and furnishings in the house.” -p171
“Though my father had made many beautiful objects, his pleasure in being able to make them was curiously detached from an appreciation of their beauty”…”He was interested in the craftsmanship, but not in the beauty achieved by it.” Pg 175

- He seeks to assist his wife but in doing so, probably enables her horribly dysfunctional lifestyle as well as the extra marital affair with his former close friend.
- seeks to live by principle and morals yet can carry out extremes in behaviour;
“…his sense of what mattered did not come from conversion to a doctrine of any sort. All his life he had a strong sense of moral reality and with it a belief in the connection between goodness and simplicity.” Pg 171

Follows principles fiercely but in doing so, violates other even more important and serious principles;
- when perceiving the council as corrupt, “he went to the council chambers with his chainsaw and banged it on the bench declaring that he might cut off the heads of all the councilors, with one exception.”

 Mad (deeply psychologically disturbed):
- His father, Romulus, has consistently held onto his errant wife as an attachment figure thus still aligning himself with her abhorrent behaviour – perhaps an unconscious reason for supporting her and even bizarrely her lover, financially during her affairs.
This is shown in his refusal to divorce her as well as his continued ‘passion’/madness within romantic relationships.
“Mitru’s suicide and my father’s madness had convinced me that sexual love was a passion whose force and nature was mysterious and that anyone who came under its sway should be
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Frankenstein: Mother

Essay On Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: Truly A Mother

Mother Nature; Truly a Mother Giving birth is not the most essential part of being a mother. In Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, she personifies Nature as a character that appears to be the mother of both Victor Frankenstein and the creature. Throughout the story it becomes more and more evident that Nature possesses several characteristics of mothers. Due to the lack of a mother in the lives of Frankenstein and his creature, Nature becomes a maternal presence and adopts them as her children.…

Words 845 - Pages 4

Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother By Mary Shelley

According to Ellen Moers in Female Gothic: The Monster's Mother, she talked about Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the "female gothic" as a female literature. She explained what the term "gothic" means. Moers describes the female gothic genre as it was before Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein and how Shelley changed the genre. She compared Shelly's writing styles to Ann Radcliff's "damsel in distress" general writing styles to Shelley's heroic tales which were often absent of female heroines. Shelley…

Words 1282 - Pages 6

Frankenstein And Mothering Summary

I have chosen to use “The monster within: Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and a patient's fears of childbirth and mothering” by Barbara R. Almond as my scholarly article. The article talks about the reasons why women fear childbearing and deducts that Mary Shelley’s own fears created the novel Frankenstein and the monster. Almond propositions that the two main concerns of giving birth are “firstly, the monster is an impossible child, the issue of a failed dream… Secondly, and perhaps more important…

Words 356 - Pages 2

Mary Shelley: Autobiographical Characteristics And Motherhood

living a very tragic life during the time she was writing Frankenstein. Shelley coped with the loss of her mother and the distance her father had created between the two of them. Many speculate that Shelley had a hard time coping with these tragedies and channeled them into her writings. Frankenstein may be shaped by Shelley’s fears and life experiences regarding maternity, birth, guilt and revenge. During the time Shelly was creating Frankenstein she was also trying to get pregnant. She was not successful…

Words 538 - Pages 3

Mary Shelley Frankenstein Comparison Essay

Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley, is an age-defying novel. It has been the deemed the pioneer of horror novels. Mary Shelley has inspired many novelist and artists with her array of knowledge and captivating language. Mary Shelley was a visionary. Certainly, many writers have be inspired by Frankenstein. Frankenstein has lead to a profusion of adaptations. One being the 1994 movie Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has similar aspects to Frankenstein, but it also strays…

Words 936 - Pages 4

Parenthood In Frankenstein

very human emotional needs. Frankenstein, while not prepared for parenthood, is also not prepared for what he creates. Victor is a teenager who has lost his mother, and her death inspires his need to beat death and become a God-like creator of life. He is consumed with creating something that lives and breathes, yet he ignores the emotional aspect of the monster. Humans have a need for love, community, companionship, and acceptance and so does Victor’s creature. Frankenstein forced a life upon this monster…

Words 1237 - Pages 5

The Role Of Parenting In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus, is a cautionary tale of what may happen when a person chooses to go against the natural order of life. In her novel, Shelley’s protagonist Victor Frankenstein asking himself, where it all went wrong as his previously quiet and studious life is turned into chaos. Faced with several tragedies, Frankenstein is never quite ahead of the curve in a way which allows him to attain peace and happiness, a problem he oftentimes brings upon himself but a…

Words 858 - Pages 4

Victor Frankenstein's Mental Development

In Mary Shelley’s horror story Frankenstein, the main character exhibits a negative passage through Erikson’s virtues of psychosocial…

Words 1178 - Pages 5

Masculinity In Frankenstein

history, the nurturing, care taking parental role has prominently been the employment of the mother. Gender roles have established and restricted the duties of parents: fathers are the breadwinners: mothers are the coddlers. Although these gender roles have not always been enforced in all parts of the world and all throughout history, they were prevalent in eighteenth century Europe. In the novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explores the complexity of masculinity and femininity and the importance of…

Words 934 - Pages 4

Victor's Guilt Quotes In Frankenstein

Shelley’s Frankenstein, the reader questions what Victor is doing very little, even though is most definitely immoral and could even be considered evil. This is due to the focus of negative aspects in Frankenstein's life, such as becoming very ill or the murder of his brother. On the basis of Frankenstein's actions alone, he can be considered evil and immoral, but due to the novel focusing on his family, tragic losses, and guilt, the reader feels much more sympathetic for Victor Frankenstein and is…

Words 996 - Pages 4