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Knowledge in Frankenstein

April 11, 2018

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.

knowledge in frankenstein
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Despair or Apognosis (excerpts from To Cross an Ocean)

January 1, 2018

“Apognosis” – besides forming part of the title of To Cross an Ocean: Apognosis – means something very unique. As you might guess, it is a Greek work (Απόγνωσις), fairly common in Greek. It basically means “despair”, but its etymology is revealing. Apognosis literally means to willingly abandon knowledge. Although I didn’t coin the original word, I would claim its first usage in the English language.

But what does the phrase “to willingly abandon knowledge” could possibly refer to? How can you pretend not to know something? Instead of offering a long philosophical diatribe on the matter, I’ll have two of the characters of the novel do the hard work. That’s one of the roles of fiction, anyway: to make complex issues accessible and relatable.

Despair, apognosis
Come home, all is forgiven…
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