Why does Frankenstein react with horror to his creation?
We discussed the mother element - postpartum depression
We discussed the idea of anticipation and disappointment as a natural letdown of all that build up
Frogs -
Dead people -
Blood -
Many fears are actually fear of something else.
Many fears are sensible if we look BACK into our past.
Some people believe that some of our fears are built in and come from ancient, almost collective, unconscious.
Carl Jung - student of Sigmund Freud
archetypes
Jung studied people from vastly separate areas - different cultures that had never cross-communicated
he found many really clear similarities in their beliefs, myths, cultural symbols and so on
He wondered why?
He theorized that there was something linking all these people - something deep in their minds that was common - or collective (shared)
it wasn’t something on the surface and it wasn’t something they thought about - it was underneath and it was powerful
it was tied to a way of looking at the world
there is something about being human that makes certain ideas, images, symbols and so on, particularly powerful and rich and those things link us
a Christ figure may exist in many different religions, stories, movies, books, etc.
The Mother
The Wise Master
The Trickster
The Princess
The Knight
The Mad Scientist
Our fears work in a very similar way.
We share common fears based upon our human nature and psychology.
Some obvious fears are based in bodily harm.
Others are less obvious.
Monsters in pop culture are archetypes and they are also SYMBOLS
Why are there so many vampire shows? Vampires are more than just vampires.
What is blood? - injuries, death, sickness.
Frogs - slimy, green - sickness
There is an element to many of our deep fears and reactions to things that are “scary” that has its roots in avoidance of disease and avoidance of the diseased person.
In a very deep place in the human brain, there is a sentry on guard, keeping alert for danger. Keeping us safe, even when we ARE safe.
The amygdala.
It doesn’t think. It reacts.
It responds to “things” that are dangerous.
It can be broken, over-active, messed with, etc.
On some level, Frankenstein is about the human reaction to the way others look.
We can dig into this by looking at our amygdala, at archetypes, at xenophobia and our treatment of those who are “different”.
Monsters are lonely and sad and outsiders and ugly and angry and strike back at the society that excludes them. (this is one area of monster meaning)
They can also represent the sins of those who go into areas into which Man was not meant to go.
Monster = ugly.
We are a shallow society and we judge by looks and we are brutal in our judgment, but some of it is DEEP in that lizard brain and we have to fight that.
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