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Knowledge in Frankenstein

April 11, 2018

academia, creativity, criticism, Gothic, knowledge

Note: the following article on the element of knowledge in Frankenstein is a modified excerpt (pp. 168-169) from my doctoral dissertation, “Time is Everything with Him”: The Concept of the Eternal Now in Nineteenth-Century Gothic, which can be downloaded (for free) from the Tampere University Press pages. For a list of my other academic publications, see the related page of my website.

Knowledge in Frankenstein: a Central Element

One of the central themes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the element of knowledge. Particularly, the novel is preoccupied with the connection between knowledge and quality of life. There are direct, dire consequences for all the characters of Frankenstein who seek knowledge, and the creature is explicit in regard to that: “Increase of knowledge only discovered to me more clearly what a wretched outcast I was” (Shelley 1999, 101).

Indeed, in Frankenstein knowledge is clearly seen as a burden. This is particularly true for the creature, who describes how his sorrow increased along with knowledge. He adds that he wished to “shake off all thought and feeling”. He also pessimistically adds that the only escape to overcome pain was death (Shelley 1999, 93). It is a noteworthy detail that Paradise Lost is one of the books the creature reads that lead to his increase of knowledge (Shelley 1999, 100) – a subtle hint at the complex metatextual dynamics involved in Frankenstein.

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Gender and Sexuality in Dracula

March 17, 2018

Criticism

academia, criticism, Dracula, sexuality

Note: the following article on gender and sexuality in Dracula is a modified excerpt (pp. 102-107) from my doctoral dissertation, “Time is Everything with Him”: The Concept of the Eternal Now in Nineteenth-Century Gothic, which can be downloaded (for free) from the repository of the Tampere University Press. For a list of my other academic publications, see the list on the main website.

Productive and Non-Productive Sexuality in Dracula

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a text replete with sexual innuendos. More importantly, it is filled with hints at a non-normative sexuality.

Count Dracula makes it almost explicit, when he warns the three female vampires that are about to attack Jonathan to stay back, stating “[t]his man belongs to me!” (Stoker 2003, 46). Hindle notes that Stoker’s earlier drafts were even more revealing, as Dracula’s full warning originally was “[t]his man belongs to me I want him” (Hindle 2003, xxxiv).

sexuality in Dracula — Victorian sexuality is a misunderstood subject

In this regard, it is pertinent to underline that this kind of sexuality implied here is non-productive. Not only is it contrary to the normative heterosexual monogamy encouraged by Victorian society, but through this very lack of procreation it also becomes atemporal; by denying the children, it essentially denies the future.

In terms of homoeroticism and temporality, it is also worth noting that Baudelaire considered the lesbian as “the heroine of modernism because she combines with a historical ideal the greatness of the ancient world” (Benjamin 1983, 90).

Perhaps tapping into Stoker’s only-unconscious writings, Coppola’s film adaptation includes a fleeting scene where Mina and Lucy kiss in the garden during the storm.

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How to Review a Book Fairly

February 28, 2018

Literature

book, comparing, criticism, fairness, fiction, literature, review, usefulness

As a reader, a writer, and a former academic, I have encountered countless reviews, from various perspectives. I have written reviews for other authors, I have received reviews for my own books, and I have also read many reviews in general. And let me tell you this: most people don’t know how to review a book.

That is, they don’t know how to review a book fairly.

A fair review is useful to the author and other readers alike. Conversely, an unfair review isn’t useful to anyone – and it shouldn’t affect an author (though realistically it often does). In today’s post we’ll take a closer look at what it means to review a novel fairly, and how one can learn to do it. Sneak preview: Leave your personal preferences out of it.

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