#quote: marry Shelly. Frankenstein

[sonicexelle-junkary]

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

[melodi-jackson]

“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.”

[jennyviviandee]

"The most perfect education, in my opinion, is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated strengthen the body and form the heart. Or in other words, to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as render it independent."

On this day in 1797, English poet and author Mary Shelley (Wollstonecraft was her original last name: her father was political philosopher William Godwin and her mother was feminist Mary Wollstonecraft) was born. She became Shelley after marrying Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1816. She edited and promoted the works of his. In 1818, at the age of 18 she'd anonymously publish Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus, a genius novel. Shelley's name appeared on the second edition of the first true science fiction story five years later (1823). 1831 would bring the most widely read version of Frankenstein that included a new and longer preface from Shelly herself.

In 1822, Percy drowned when his sailing ship sank during a storm in Viareggio, Italy. In 1823, Shelley would return to England with her son Percy Florence Shelley (after three other attempted children ended with death prior to Percy's birth in her life) with her focus on raising him whilst being a professional writer. Alas, the final decade of her life was full of strife (illness) likely caused by the brain tumor that killed her at age 53 (1851).

The book image I posted was the cover of the version I read many years ago now. To the best of my knowledge, I've read at least two published versions of Shelly's Frankenstein. The 1831 and 1818 ones, I think. I have unfortunately misplaced the book somewhere. Still haven't found it...

Even though Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the scientist's name, his creation actually has no name. I believe Shelley chose Victor in reference to John Milton's Paradise Lost that frequently labels God as "the Victor". Not to mention there's a quote from Paradise Lost serving as the book's epigraph as well.

Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay

To mould Me man? Did I solicit thee

From darkness to promote me?

-John Milton, Paradise Lost

Victor's decision to "play God" would lead to his creation being made. Dr. Frankenstein displays hubris in thinking he could generate life like God. Then feigns responsibility for his own creation after giving it life.

Erroneously the name Frankenstein has been associated with Victor's creation. Even in some official play adaptations and films despite being incorrect. The closest to a name Dr. Frankenstein's creation receives is when he calls himself "the Adam of your labours", and elsewhere as someone who "would have" been "your Adam", but is instead "your fallen angel." Her word usage of "Adam" is in probably a reference to the story of Adam and Eve. The rest of the time he's identified as a "wretch", "creature", "monster", "demon", and "it" in Shelley's groundbreaking influential novel that is a horror, science fiction, and a tragedy all at once. Similar to Clint Eastwood's Man Without a Name, Dr. Victor Frankenstein's creation is An Entity Without a Name.

It is a tale I absolutely recommend checking out (that is one of my favorites from one of my favorite authors). Same applies to the 1931 film adaptation of Shelley's famous Frankenstein (based more on a 1927 play from Peggy Webling and John D. Balderston than her novel) from openly gay Hollywood director James Whale. Boris Karloff gives an impeccable performance in it.

[the-lit-in-literature]

My friends: "you've never had a crush on a fictional man in a book?... you're lying"

meanwhile, men in the books I've read:

• man murders ppl to test out a theory

• man makes a person out of limbs to test the limits of science and then abandons it

• man turns into a bug and dies

• man shoots another man because the sun was too hot

• man stabs his friend because of moral corruption and arrogance

im not lying it's not that hard i promise

[modernmary]

The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.

Mary Shelly

[uberfluss]

1-97 xoxo

1. What’s your middle name? i forgot i needed one

2. What are you listening to right now? this baby dont cry by K. Flay!

3. What was the last thing you ate? oatmeal

4. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? my aunt

5. Do you drink? occassionally 

6. Do you smoke? nope

7. What is the first thing you noticed in someone? usually their affect

8. What is your hair color? naturally dark brown currently fire engine red that wont fucking fade

9. What is your eye color? blue green grey 

10. Do you wear contacts/glasses? both

11. Dogs or cats? cats!

12. What’s your favorite animal?cats oscars or ferrets

13. What’s your favorite television show? myth busters or how its made

14. What’s your favorite movie? beetlejuice!!

15. What’s your favorite band/singer? Billie Eilish Grandson Kflay and Mallrat have been the most recent

16. How old are you? i literally dont know half the time

17. Do you have a crush on anyone? not to my knowledge

18. What’s your sexual orientation? bi

19. What’s your favorite color? honestly i think pink

20. What was your most embarrassing moment? i literally dont know 

21. Do you ever wish you were someone else? all the fucking time

22. What were you like when you were a kid? annoying as hell never shut up and never stopped moving

23. What would your dream house be like? a small little apartment that i could safely afford

24. What last made you laugh? shaving cream in a crock

25. What is your favorite word?idt i have one 

26. What is your least favorite word? not sure

27. What turns you on? no

28. What turns you off? someone being a fucking asshat

29. What is your star sign? triple sagittarius

30. What are your favorite books? hunger games, illiad, mary shelly’s frankenstein, les miserables, and donte’s inferno.

31. Do you have any siblings? too many

32. Do you like to dance? only by myself

33. What is your definition of cheating? starting a relationship with no intent to tell your other partner(s)

34. Have you ever cheated on someone? no

35. Do you regret anything? loads

36. Do you have any phobias? driving through farmland gives me anxiety if that counts

37. Ever broken any bones? i’ve only fractured my rib the rest have been just dislocations and subfluxes which are daily occurances 

38. Ever come close to death? we all do

39. What is your religion, if any? a mess

40. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist? yep currently seeing one

41. Are looks important in a relationship? not really?

42. Are you more like your mom or your dad? hopefully neither

43. What is your favorite season? summer!!!

44. Do you have any tattoos? like 2

45. Do you have any piercings? like 9 hopefully gonna make it 11 soon

46. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? three

47. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? lydia deetz when i was like 7 

48. Who is your celebrity crush? winona ryder 

49. Are you a virgin? not answering

50. Do you get jealous easily? i literally cant name a time i’ve been truly jealous

51. What is your favorite type of food? sweets

52. Do you ever want to get married? i see no point in signing a legally binding document that ties me to a person for the foreseeable future. if anything it sounds like really bad dangerous idea.

53. Who was your first kiss with? a girl named maggie in the 6th grade and not the maggie that i post about

54. Have you ever been cheated on? no

55. What is your idea of the perfect date? sitting on a rooftop of a parking garage downtown at night taking photos and enjoying the view of the buildings around eating fries from some fast food place

56. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? extroverted introvert

57. Do you believe in aliens or life on other planets? i wouldn’t be suprised

58. What talent do you wish you’d been born with? a way with words that doesnt make me seem like an asshole half the time

59. What is your saddest memory? when i lost contact with my parter for two and a half years

60. Do you believe in love at first sight? no

61. Do you believe in soul mates? yes

62. Have you ever dyed your hair? all the time

63. Has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you? no

64. Would you go against your moral code for money? no

65. What are three things most people don’t know about you? 1 i have a kid 2 im partially deaf 3 im in mensa

66. Who are you jealous of? no one really

67. Do you sleep with a stuffed toy? a plush heart from my partner

68. How long was your longest relationship? dont know

69. Is the glass half empty or half full? the glass is half full of air and half full of liquid and therefore completely full

70. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you? no

71. Who is your most loyal friend? Maggie Lizard U.

72. Are you in a relationship?  yes

73. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her? everything

74. Are you a bad person? it feels like it some days

75. Are you a lover or a fighter? lover

76. What did you do on your last birthday? i dont do anything for my birthday ever

77. What is your favorite quote and why? 

“ there are 7 billion 47 million people on the planetAnd I have the audacity to think I matterI know it's a lie but I prefer it to the alternative”Because you do have to convince yourself there’s value to your life. even if you know deep down there’s nothing because if  you dont you’ll walk down a very dark and dangerous road with only one end. and its not a very pleasant one

78. If your best friend died, what would you do? given she’s the reason im alive i’d probably be completely unable to cope 

79. If you had to go back in time and change one thing, what would it be? i dont even know

80. If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do? i’d call the people i love and tell them i love them and try to hang out with them if i could

81. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had? the only dream i can remember is sitting on a curb with maggie playing some jenga like game next to a crashed helicopter surrounded by terrified people with guns and we were just smiling watching a giant giant gaint ship come barreling towards us and i KNew that it was the start of the end of the world. 

82. Are you happier single or in a relationship? i think the same. depends on the relationship.

83. Who were you in a past life? some Victorian bastard

84. What is your happiest childhood memory? driving around around midnight through downtown milwaukee after a death cab concert at the rave

85. Have you ever experienced unrequited love? yes

86. Have you ever had an imaginary friend? no but my sister had an imaginary friend called mr fork taht she never questioned and she thought when she got older he’d turn into mr knife. she didnt like mr fork and she wanted him to leave

87. If you were the president, what would you do? step down

88. What is your ideal career? i plan on going into phsychology and becomning a therapist ideally i want to run a shelter for run-aways or kids that got kicked out that would provide a stable enviroment and gave kids a place to stay as long as needed and if possible get the parents into therapy with those kids and resolve the home conflicts while the kids are still in the care of the shelter to ensure that they’re not mistreated as a result of anything that was said 

89. What is your political affiliation? socialist at minimum

90. Are you conservative or liberal? liberal

91. Is the male or female body closest to perfection? what the hell is perfection??

92. Do you like kissing in public? depends on the place

93. If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change? create healthy equality 

94. Where would you like to live? in the middle of a giant bustling city like new york or hong kong or in a secluded pine forest running on solar pannels and well water and being completely sustainable

95. Where would you go on your dream vacation?

everywhere

96. Describe yourself in one word.

headache

97. Describe yourself in one sentence.

a dumbass who is really trying their hardest and it just doesnt wanna work

[jasonsutekh]

Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

A group of unique individuals band together to defeat supernatural creatures that threaten the world.

 The actors all felt very suited to their characters. It would be difficult and probably unfair to single any of them out because they all did a great job. Not only did they all look as their characters should be but some even had slight twists which worked just as well. Most of the characters had a fair amount of development and emotional range too which gave the actors a chance to show what they were capable of.

 Some of the sub-plots were generally more interesting than others, for example in the first season, the parts where Dorian and Vanessa spoke were often quite slow, but by the third season Dorian’s scenes were often some of the best. Likewise, the scenes in America in the third season somewhat paled compared to the other action in the season. Some of the twists also were a little predictable, for example if the audience are clearly not being shown a character whose exact identity is mysterious then it’s fairly obvious that it has to be the only new character which has been added.

 The series was consistently set and directed very well. There was a lot of macabre imagery which was employed effectively and some rather iconic moments from literature recreated in a way which did credit to the source material. The Gothic/Romantic atmosphere of the series, contrasted by the liberal use of gore, gave the series an interesting subtext about human nature.

 The numerous narrative strands could have ended better, for example nothing really came of the Dr Jekyll storyline and they reveal it near the end as though it’s a revelation and not entirely obvious. Also the main villains don’t tend to get defeated; they just wander off and presumably don’t bother to take revenge on the main characters again for some reason. There was a lot that was left unresolved and could have been explained much better by the end.

 7/10 -Well above average, but no masterpiece-

 -The phrase “and then?” is used at least once in every single episode.

-The Verbis Diabolo was created by a professor of ancient languages by combining Aramaic, an obscure dialect of Arabic, Ancient Greek, and Latin.

-Victor Frankenstein often quotes Percy Bysshe Shelly who was once married to Mary Shelly who wrote the original novel on which his character is based.