Category: ENG 420 Blog (Page 1 of 2)

Hi Jennifer- I enjoyed reviewing your CPB and all of the work you put into it. I loved how much contextual evidence you provide in your entries including all of the paintings/maps/pictures that show what life was life for the authors of these novels. Making the connections between historical events and events in the book helps us understand how these stories were created and their importance to our culture. Looking at the artwork/imagery, it is easy to see how it mirrored life for civilians during Vicotrian times as it is often dark, sad looking imagery. But just as life influenced these books, they also have greatly influenced our lives. Monsters such as the ones we have read about are very prevalent in many aspects of our lives from movies to halloween costumes. I was wondering what you think the largest impact Victorian monsters may have had on our present day lives?

Hi Brittany- Reviewing your CPB, I came across some excellent quotes that summarize the important aspects of each novel whether it was for character, setting, or story development. I found it interesting that many of the quotes you chose seem as if they could have come from any of the novels we’ve read. This would make sense as the settings for these stories play an important role in contributing to our overall view of the monster. With these important quotes we can pick out some of the main commonalities within each book. Examples include dark/misty locations, grotesque institutional rights, suppression of women’s rights,  science vs. religion…etc. All of these subjects are still feared today, which makes me understand why these novels are just as popular today as they were when they were first published. While during Victorian times they may have focused on only the monster being monstrous, today we also look at our previous ways of life, once considered normal, to be included in our description of monstrous. Did the Victorians understand just how horrible their way of life was regarding education/equal rights/living in general? I wonder how the focus of these novels has changed over the years as our ways of living have changed.

Looking at the entries of Gina, Evelyn, and Olivia it seemed as though everyone was digging in deeper to the inspirations of the novel. Gina posted a few reviews that included the changing views of monsters and the unnatural during Victorian times and their struggle to acknowledge it. The topic of the New Woman was also brought up and how Stoker may have used Dracula as a way to attack this concept with his portrayal of Lucy and her forward thinking ideas. A picture of Slains castle believed to be inspiration for the novel was also pictured, which I related to a quote from Evelyn’s post which stated “Nowhere else in Europe of 1897 could provide a more fertile breeding ground for the undead than the Count’s homeland.” Several other students’ entries included imagery of Transylvanian castles and towns, expressing the importance of background setting for a story. In Olivia’s entry, she included a commentary that stated how Stoker gathered his primary information of Transylvanian folklore from Emily de Laszowska Gerard’s 1885 essay ‘Transylvanian Superstitions’. In the commentary, it explains the importance of superstition in the area- “First, there is what may be called the indigenous superstition of the country, the scenery of which is peculiarly adapted to serve as background to all sorts of supernatural beings and monsters.” It is clear that Stoker did extensive research before writing this novel and ensuring the setting was perfect. I wonder how the story would have changed if it had been in a different location. How different would the story be and would it have made the impact that it did?

Dr, Seward-

“Strange and sudden change in Renfield last night. About eight o’clock he began to get excited and to sniff about as a dog does when setting”

“For half an hour or more Renfield kept keeping excited in greater and greater degree.”

Reinfeld-

“I am here to do your bidding, Master. I am Your slave, and You will reward me, for I shall be faithful.”

Sheeley (pg 84-86)

At the time, Renfield is a patient of Dr. Seward who is observed eating flies, spiders, and birds. While it is clear he has some connection to Dracula it is unsure of how. Able to detect his ‘master,’ Renfield escapes to Carfax in an attempt to reach Dracula. This behavior is much different from all other characters who have been under Dracula’s control such as Jonathan and Lucy. Even after Lucy was fully transformed into a vampire she would capture children to satisfy her hunger unlike Renfield who only eats small creatures. Jonathan Harker does not exhibit these behaviors either despite being held captive by Dracula for a long period of time. The strange behavior of Renfield makes me wonder why he acts the way he does. Did Dracula put him in some sort of trance at some point? If so- how, and why not the other characters? What is it that makes Renfield deserving of these different circumstances?

I looked at  Mariahs, Olivia’s, and Evelyn’s sites- all of which included ways that Dracula incorporated the fears of people living in the Victorian ages, especially when it comes to distinguishing science from folklore. Mariah’s entry included some wonderful images and source material for Dracula, including drawings of the setting where it took place. Looking at images of how Transylvania looked when this story takes place makes it easy to see why it is an excellent background for a horror novel.Olivia and Evelyn both brought up how vampires had begun to have more of a sensual nature after this novel, being romanticized often more than made a monster. This is especially apparent when we look at film adaptations of the novel- even the posters main focus is the girls and not Dracula! We have seen this if we look at many contemporary versions of novels we have read in this class, especially in film and television. All of the remakes have completely sensualized the storyline making it stray from the tragic stories they are meant to be. Why do producers feel the need to sexualize these novels instead of make them as they were supposed to be- true horror?

“…in an instant she had vanished, and where, not a moment before, she herself had been, I found myself confronting a monstrous beetle,- a huge writhing creation of some wild nightmare. “

Marsh pg. 245

When Paul Lessingham is first introduced to the creature known as the Beetle, he is a young man in Egypt and becomes seduced not under his own will by a woman who later transforms into the monster. This quote is the moment she changes her appearance and Lessingham is shown the horrifying emergence of the Beetle.

A monster is determined by the contemporary views of society and greatly influenced by your surroundings. Everyone has different determinations of a what a monster entails. It can include some things (visually frightening like Frankenstein) or a completely different set of characteristics (such as greedy politicians). This quote from Ortis-Robles calls to question the relation between animal and monster.

“These monsters are monstrous only to the extent that they
violate the protocols and conventions that sustain the mimetic logic of the literary ecology they inhabit, which must accordingly assert its priority by rejecting that which falls outside its purview.”

Ortiz-Robles pg 2

For this reason, as similar with other monstrous novels, it would be interesting to hear from the creatures point of view. If we had heard the story from the point of The Beetle would we see Paul Lessingham as a monster instead? For the creature to decide Lessingham is worthy of its time and effort to terrorize, I’m sure we would see the reasoning why and potentially have some empathy for it. Why does a monster terrorize who it does?

After looking at Jennifer’s, Evelyn’s, and Gina’s entries I saw some commonality with the interest of the English in Eqyptian art and folklore. Jennifer brought to light some good thoughts on the roots of imperial Gothic literature through connecting the British Empire rule over Egypt to the fascination of Egyptian culture by the English. Noted in Gina’s entry as well- she states how Napoleon was one of the first to bring ancient artifacts to Europe which sparked this interest in Egyptian artwork and folklore and was only amplified when England took control over Egypt. I also enjoyed Evelyn’s commentary on the concept of the New Woman and how the Beetle reflects the fears of women becoming ‘mannish’ during this time period. We have started to see more imagery of the New Woman and women’s rights within the novels we are reading. Most recently, we saw how Jane Eyre was able to demonstrate her abilities to follow her own ideas despite being pressured by men, and other actions that would make me consider her a ‘New Woman.’ This important topic was never explicitly mentioned in either book but the imagery and symbolism make it evident the topic of woman rights was a significant part of daily life.

“I saw someone in front of me lying in a bed. I could not at once decide if it was a man or a woman. Indeed at first I doubted if it was anything human… His age I could not guess; such a look of age I had never imagined. Had he asserted that he had been living through the ages, I should have been forced to admit that, at least, he looked it. And yet I felt that it was quite within the range of possibility that he was no older than myself,—there was a vitality in his eyes which was startling. It might have been that he had been afflicted by some terrible disease, and it was that which had made him so supernaturally ugly.

Marsh pg 53

Robert Holt is first introduced to us scrambling to find shelter in Victorian era London. He soon finds a presumably empty home and sneaks in through the window only to find he is not alone. Taking the form of a beetle, the creature quickly proves its hypnotic powers over him. This quote comes when Holt clearly sees the monster for the first time in one of its forms, an androgynous character that cannot be distinguished by sex or age and was of hideous nature. To see a creature like this would be frightening enough, however it is also able to completely control the actions of Holt, and soon other characters, in a terrifying way that they cannot understand. This power of the beetle is used to avenge the defilement of an Egyptian tomb by a politician named Paul Lessingham. This is the first task Holt completes- when the creature asks him to break into the home of Lessingham and steal letters from his desk. While there, Holt simply has to call the name of the beetle and he has control of the room.

The immense power of the creature is displayed quickly and thoroughly throughout the first chapters- why does the beetle/child of isis take the forms that it does? Does it know what we would expect when we think of a monster so it chooses what would frighten or hold the most power over us? The androgyny of the creature makes me think it has found what scares both men/women and young/old equally by being indistinguishable.

“Yes, that would serve to wrap the dreadful thing in. It had perhaps served often as a pall for the dead. Now it was to hide something that had a corruption of its own, worse than the corruption of death itself- something that would breed horrors and yet would never die.”

wilde, pg 153

After Dorian discovers the painting is taking on the burdens of his sins and not his own body, he decides to hide the paining away out of fear and repulsion. Placing a pall, or casket cover, over the painting is an act that symbolizes the death of a part of Dorian- the part that ages and bears the effects of sin and self punishment. Without these, Dorian does not appear to age, however his soul will always show the marks of his dark behaviors. Despite his appearance of beauty and purity, Dorian is quite turmoiled over the painting and its changing appearance. The painting represents Dorians soul, in a sense he will always be knowing of, and burdened by his poor behaviors even if other people are not able to see them.

Q: Is the painting a way of punishing Dorian for his suspected dark behaviors? Without the painting, he would not likely think about the effects of these behaviors on himself. Looking at the aging, scouring picture, Dorian is reminded of the guilt that should be following him.

“But tonight there was a shudder in his blood; the face of Hyde sat heavy on his memory; he felt (what was rare with him) a nausea and dictate of life…”

stevenson, 44

Mr. Utterson is recalling seeing the face of Hyde, a small, devilish looking man. No one is quite able to describe why they find Hyde’s face so disturbing, yet they are all deeply affected by his appearance. Hydes brutal acts of violence are not necessary to see in order to understand he is a psychopath, however I wonder if anyone would be able to see through Hyde and see his true character underneath if they had tried to understand him. If time had gone on, perhaps Mr. Utterson would have been able to piece together the information needed to know Jekyll and Hyde were actually the same person. Jekyll himself seems unsure if they are the same people- referring to himself in both the first and third person- so it could be possible that there really is a true separation between the two consciousnesses.

Question: Is just looking at Hydes appearance enough to sense the evil he is made up of? Would anyone be able to find Jekyll within Hyde if they had tried hard enough- is there any park of Jekyll in Hyde?

“It seemed I had found a brother; one I could be proud of, – one I could love; and two sisters, whose qualities were such, that when I knew them but as mere strangers, they had inspired me with genuine affection and admiration.”

Brtonë, 482-483

Comment:Jane has recently discovered she has inherited 20,000 pounds from her Uncle John Eyre who had passed away. This inheritance provides her with both wealth and family which overjoys her immensely. Her entire life she has felt as though she did not belong and would be wanted or accepted by anyone else besides Rochester. Now it seems Jane has found all she had hoped for. The children she teaches at school become her friends and she has a family with St. John and cousins Diana and Mary; even deciding to split her fortune with them evenly. This gesture shows Janes value of money. She is more grateful to have found her family than to have been given a large inheritance. Later in the novel, St. John deeply pressures Jane to marry him, but Jane is able to demonstrate she will not give in to these pressures in order to stand up for her beliefs about marriage. After her previous time Rochester, she has seen the importance of following her heart and not giving into persuasive men. Without the fear of ever being alone, she returns to Rochester who is now free of his previous wife Bertha, and able to officially marry her.

Question: Jane Eyre’s life was greatly influenced by the news of her uncles passing and inheritance- how would her relationships with her family be if they had never discovered to be related? Would Jane still have denied St. John and gone back to Rochester?