Looks like dark romance isn’t a new phenomenon at all lol.
Comment on "But I prefer The Creature if it's all the same to you."
yesman@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t deserve any sympathy; he’s pure evil. I know this contradicts the opinions of the characters in the book. He does suffer mightily and unfairly despite all efforts at kindness.
The problem is that his solution is to create another to suffer as he has. He even instructs the Doctor to make her hideous like him so that she’ll have no choice but to be his companion. The doctor wonders if this will be enough to stop the “bride” from going rogue.
These are the only two times in the novel anyone considers that the “bride” might have motivation or pathos of her own.
He also refers to his potential bride as the “female” which, well ya know.
yamanii@lemmy.world 1 week ago
prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 week ago
To be fair, Shelley was on some other shit… She was exceptional. I don’t believe there was anyone at that time writing anything like it. She pretty much spawned entire major genres like horror and science fiction.
SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
I feel like the Frankenstein might have been a product of a poor upbringing.
Doctor Frankenstein is the real monster in the story.
Reyali@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Oh, I may have a book (series) for you! The Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss. It starts with Mary Jekyll, the daughter of Dr. Jekyll, and expands to find a daughter of Hyde, Sherlock and Watson, Justine—the woman made to be Adam Frankenstein’s bride, and other women left in the path of various men who tested the limits of humanity. It even talks about Shelley’s book and why she might have written it as she did. The second book expands into the wife and daughter of Van Helsing.
I’m about 75% of the way through the second book and have been loving them. They’re very post-modern though, with the characters somewhat frequently interrupting the narrator to discuss the way the story is written. I love that sort of thing but know it’s not for everyone!
Moah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 week ago
Funny I avoided that book because of the title, and now I realize how deliberate the choice was.
Reyali@lemm.ee 1 week ago
Deliberate in what way?
Moah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 week ago
What I didn’t like in the title is the erasure of the women’s name in profit if her relation to a (presumed) male: she’s not Amanda, she’s just the alchemist’s daughter. It’s a trend in naming books too. But now I see this whole thing is actually the subject matter of the book, so it makes sense to use this trend.
FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Interesting way to look at the story. It certainly is an odd choice for a book written by a woman. A daughter of a notable 19th century feminist no less.
AFallingAnvil@lemmy.ca 1 week ago
In fairness it’s two men discussing a woman, in her era it makes sense that’s only to ensure she’s subservient to them.