#dr. mary wollstonecraft

[originalartblog]

[Storm Bringer]

“In fact, I was against using Adam for such a frivolous investigation from the very start,” Dr. Wollstonecraft began in a huff as she crossed her arms again. “The government is always like this. They send a mechanical detective, then blow him up once they’re done to keep any secret information from getting out. [..] I suppose this is the government’s way of saying we ought to neglect science in favor of human life!”

Dr. Wollstonecraft, ma'am, I think your ethically-dubious opinions on science are better saved for other audiences.

Dr. Wollstonecraft (aka Mary Shelley) based on @videogamelover99's design!

[runboybeneaththemoon]

Since Agatha Christie and the other english poets are probably gonna be the next big villains, I hope we're gonna see Mary Shelley again

[allthingsgeorgian]

Confinement during the Georgian era, guest post by Jessica Cox

It is always delightful to welcome new guests to All Things Georgian, and today, I am joined by Dr Jessica Cox. Jessica is an academic in the Department of Arts and Humanities at Brunel University, London, where she teaches and researches nineteenth-century literature and culture. She has authored books on Charlotte Bronte and Victorian and contemporary popular fiction and her latest book…

[femmefatalevibe]

Essential Feminist Texts Booklist

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

A Vindication of The Rights of Women by Mary Wollstonecraft

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by Bell Hooks

Feminism is For Everybody: Passionate Politics by Bell Hooks

The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution by  Shulamith Firestone 

Sexual Politics by Kate Millett

Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner 

Yes Means Yes!: Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape by Jessica Valenti

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez 

Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Men Explain Things To Me by Rebecca Solnit

The Female Gaze: Essential Movies Made by Women by Alicia Malone

Girlhood by Melissa Febos

The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel

Is This Normal?: Judgment-Free Straight Talk about Your Body by  Dr. Jolene Brighten

Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski, Ph.D

The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health with Facts and Feminism by Dr. Jennifer Gunter

The Pain Gap: How Sexism and Racism in Healthcare Kill Women by Anushay Hossain 

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World by Elinor Cleghorn 

The Turnaway Study: The Cost of Denying Women Access to Abortion by Diana Greene Foster, Ph.D

Regretting Motherhood: A Study by Orna Donath

[thalassandra]

Introducing 𓆸 Thalassandra

about me 𓆸

⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ Hello! My name is Alexandra, but you can call me Lexi or Lex for short. I’m a reality shifter, an artist, a bookworm, and a Pinterest addict, born and raised in Sweden.

pinterest

⁺ ݃ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ ݃ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ ݃ * ₊

I love! love! love!: journals and sketchbooks — think chaotic collages, pressed flowers, coffee stains, messy sketches next to intricate watercolour and gouache artworks, as well as streams of thoughts in the form of pen scribbles —, seashells, summer rain, handwritten letters from a time long passed (I’m a sentimental woman), sunny winter days, fresh dates and figs, carnations, and the ocean.

My favourite books are The Secret History by Donna Tartt, Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Circe by Madeline Miller, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

All time favourite movie is Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022), but I’m currently obsessing over the series Dark (2017-2020). Honestly, anything that even remotely touches upon the subject of reality shifting, the multiverse, and/or time travel I’ll love!

⁺ ݃ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ ݃ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ * ₊ ･ ﾟ⋆ ˚｡⁺ ݃ * ₊

my realities 𓆸

✶ The Maze Runner (main DR)

Lexi; beloved Glade Mother; working as a med-jack; was probably a med-student before the Glade; the first and second-to-last girl to arrive in the box; mischievous prankster; ”I’m just a girl!”; *casually switches languages mid-sentence*; raging sweet tooth; ”please ask the creators for more fresh dates and art supplies.”; I spend most of my free time laying on the grass somewhere in the Glade, or on the floor of the Homestead; ”I need my daily floor time.”

✶ Band & illustrator DR (main DR)

Set in the 90s and 2000s; ’ALEX’; (almost) secret identity; co-creator of Gorillaz; artist, illustrator and writer; ”wait… ’ALEX’ is a…GIRL?”; part-time guitarist whenever Damon is too hungover.

✶ Fame DR

Set in 2012; emerging actress from Sweden; international sweetheart; med-student by day, disco girl by night; mysterious and private; big break after portraying the character Agnes in the Swedish cult classic Show Me Love; will eventually be portraying my TMR DR self in The Maze Runner trilogy.

✶ Singer DR

Basically stealing borrowing Veronica Maggio’s entire discography for this one…

✶ Marauders Era

Set in the 70’s; Hogwarts student; Ravenclaw; part of the Marauders; whimsical and spunky, just full of mischief.

✶ Sailor/fisherman DR

Fisherman’s daughter; set in 1920s Norway; Old salt; HANNO: father, sailor, traveller.

✶ Huset Anubis

Swedish House of Anubis; the dubbed version of the original Het Huis Anubis; takes place in Sweden, 2006; member of Sibuna Club.

+ many more!!

my shifting journey 𓆸

I’ve been a part of the subliminal and manifestation community since early 2019, which eventually led me to discover reality shifting after stumbling across a subliminal about traveling to different realities (back in 2020). The rest is history.

I was previously active on Amino (before it turned into a desolate wasteland) and have been lurking on Shiftblr for about a year now (I love y’all!).

I’ve shifted three times so far (that I’m aware of). The first two shifts happened back in 2020: one to my (now archived) DR and the other to a communal WR. My most recent shift was to my TMR reality back in December 2024! :D

That was it for now, byebye!

with love, Lexi.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Bsd stormbringer except Adam kidnaps Chuuya Despicable Me 2 style. Shows up back in London with a very disgruntled and pissed off Chuuya.

Who wasn't exactly happy being luggage. The flags tagged along, because of course they did.

Dr Wollstonecraft walks in on everyone arguing like "tea?"

She explains everything going on, and when Chuuya asks why didn't Adam just tell them that. She simply says "would you have listened?"

Chuuya hates that she's right. There's some back and fourth on the whole Verlaine is dead... Wait he's not dead... And the hell you mean he's my brother?!

It's a long day for Chuuya.

He reluctantly agrees to stay, after the flags convince him too. And the Flags all agree to stick around. Apparently Mori has been informed of all this and says sure have fun.

Dr Wollstonecraft also known as Mary Wollstonecraft is a kind, eccentric woman who for being maybe part of law enforcement is rather grey.

She makes one to many references to grave robbing in university, and that she has her (under very mysterious circumstances) dead husbands calcified heart.

And Doc might have a massive crush on her.

Lippman, Albatross and Pianoman are all trying to be his wingmen while Chuuya and Iceman are just watching them like... I ain't getting involved.

[anti-dazai-blog]

miniseries -- BSD Characters as Musicals

part 1 -- ADA part 2 -- PM part 3 -- Guild part 4 -- DOA + Hunting Dogs

*standard disclaimer that this isn't meant to be taken too seriously

[content warning for musicals that heavily feature. 1930s-40s Germany and sexual abuse? I guess? not even sure what to call some of these]

Part 5 -- 15 + Stormbringer original Characters

Rimbaud -- Moulin Rouge

why? -- the whole 'I love you. But I have a job to do.' that he's got going on with Verlaine.

Rimbaud 🤝 Satine: 'I love you, I would die for you, but you are actively doing something that will put us both in danger and you gotta stop this.'

---

Verlaine -- Epic

why? -- he really does live by the "ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves" mindset.

he's really out here killing everyone. just to be safe. just to make sure there's no one left alive who could mess up his epic plans of hanging out with his brother.

very intentional of me to choose the Ocean Saga cover for the image here

---

Albatross -- Starlight Express

why? -- it's trains. it's about trains racing. and he's the fast transportation guy.

---

Pianoman -- Beetlejuice

why? -- they.. they like to wear the same aesthetic.

I'm positive he owns a black and white striped suit. it's practically canon.

---

Lippmann-- Mean Girls

why? -- well I'm not calling my guy Regina George but he sure does know how to play politics. Mr PR man. Beautiful. Can destroy your life if he so wished.

---

Iceman -- A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

why? -- he's known to kill with whatever's on hand or available. Doesn't even bring his own weapons to a murder. Very Monty Navarro of him.

Monty 🤝 Iceman: getting a bit creative with the murder methods

---

Murase -- Cabaret

why? -- similar to Clifford Bradshaw, when he was desperate for work, he took a job that ultimately lead to him doing something harmful (in his case, killing children)

and I'd like to think that similar to Clifford, if he had the chance to just. straight up beat up the government (or his brother) that had him doing this job, he would.

although he's still in contact with N, I'd like to think that if he were made aware of what was going on, he would choose violence.

[content warning before you go and listen to cabaret: if you're not familiar with Cabaret, this is fully about nazi germany. and although clifford (the male lead) does beat up a nazi, it ultimately doesn't end well for anyone. so. do with that what you will.]

---

N -- G*psy

why? -- it's the whole Making someone into something they're not. whether they like it or not. Molding someone into what you want them to be. Forcibly.

I was debating between N or Mori for this one, but Mori's more subtle than this.

The scene where Rose forces Louise to do the strip show really was just. blatant. The taking of someone's bodily autonomy through force for personal gain.

Both N and Rose use more manipulation tactics than physical force to strong-arm people. And both are convinced that they're not doing anything wrong. No matter how bad their actions are, they're convinced that they're working towards some greater goal.

and they both pretty much get away with it

(N dying doesn't count because from his pov he still succeeded in every way)

---

Dr. Mary Wollstonecraft -- Firebringer

why? -- we're back to the silly goofy musicals!! yeah it's just for the whole appreciation of innovation. hot take, Mary and Zazzalil would get along. in fact Mary would respect her. The inventor of fire and the inventor of sentient androids. they'd love that.

---

Adam -- Maybe Happy Ending

why? -- androids going against their programming by falling in love with each other? This would be his new 'watch on repeat' show

which he could do literally. as an android. he could attend the show once and record it with his internal cameras, and then watch it whenever he wants.

I recognize that he's a law enforcement officer of some sort and it's probably not encouraged for him to take illegal recordings, however. he does have free will. so let him do with that what he will.

---

Shirase -- Bad Cinderella

why? -- Thinks of himself as cool. Everyone around him finds him annoying.

I'm so sorry Shirase I love you but you're objectively an annoyance to everyone who puts up with you.

[sunlitsorrows]

2024 Read List

(no particular order, and the ratings are entirely subjective—just how much i enjoyed the book, not a reflection of how technically good i thought it was—several were excellent but just not my jam)

The Pale Blue Eye 5/5

Where the Crawdads Sing 5/5

The Murderbot Diaries (7) 5/5

The Hunger Games (4) 4/5

The Neverending Story 3/5

The Last Unicorn 6/5

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency: The Case of the Missing Moonstone 4/5

Three Men in a Boat 5/5

Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde 2/5

Frankenstein 4/5

The Perfect Place to Die 2/5

The Goblin Emperor 6/5

Counting by Sevens 2/5

All the Pretty Horses 6/5

The Moonstone 4/5

Broken World 1/5

Ivanhoe 5/5

Mrs. Frisby & the Rats of NIMH 4/5

Running On Empty 3/5

Project Hail Mary 4/5

.

Grand Total: 29

.

2024 DNF

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi 4/5

(will try again—victim of hyperfixation/mood swing)

Starter Villain 2/5

(Meh, just not really my genre—got super interesting for about two chapters in the middle, then lost me again.)

Every Heart a Doorway 1/5

(Got too excited for the premise, execution was so disappointing I couldn’t finish.)

[laddersofsweetmisery]

So excited to start the books I've picked out for October. I'm especially eager to read this little beauty. Two chapters in and I'm appreciative of the amount of research and care taken to tell the lesser-known elements of the behind-the-scenes narrative of Mary Shelley's masterpiece, Frankenstein. She's so fascinating. More so, I am always floored by anything new I learn regarding her mother, often regarded as the first feminist, Mary Wollstonecraft. Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, is a biography of sorts exploring the lives and work of Mary Shelley’s haunted circle of literary contemporaries—with a particular focus on the four poets and friends with her the stormy night she was inspired to write her gothic tale. Also featured in the book are those who influenced her magnum opus, Frankenstein, but were only in the room with her in spirit.

Poets and friends from that stormy night:

Lord Byron was that famous English Poet described in the book as “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” He’s attractive, intimidating, and has a thing for scaring his guests. After frightening his guests with a reading of Fantasmagoriana, a collection of German horror stories, during a stormy night, he proposed a contest where they all take a shot at writing a ghost story of their own.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, or “Mad Shelley,” was fascinated by the occult and married to our equally fascinating Mary Shelley. He wasn’t as popular for his work during his life, likely because it was cut short when he drowned at 29, but his work gained notoriety after his death. He is considered one of the major English Romantic poets.

Dr. John Polidori is credited for the first and most influential novel about a human vampire: The Vampyre. His haunted figure is likely inspired by Byron himself. The two didn’t really get along. The Vampyre was also written as part of the ghost story contest proposed by Lord Byron.

Claire Clairmont was the mother of Lord Byron’s illegitimate child and Shelley’s stepsister.  

Before we make our way into Mary Shelley’s circle, we are introduced to her immutable parents William Godwin and his wife, who I’m casually obsessed with, Mary Wollstonecraft. No joke, their love story will bring you to literal tears, my god. I felt genuinely sick reading about her death and how those who very clearly despised her feminist views took her death as an example of the weakness of her sex. I hope she haunted those fuckers to madness.

Wanna read with me this October? I'll be reading the following books over this month, feel free to pick them up, too! This year, the classics are calling my name 🎃🕯 Since starting Monsters, I'm really craving more so I’ll be reading and rereading works that relate to it in some way :)

Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (We’re starting here, obviously.)

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley (We just have to!!!) Available on Kindle Unlimited

An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, by William Godwin (We just have to read from the parents who raised our beloved Mary Shelley.)

The Wrongs of Woman, or, Maria, by Mary Wollstonecraft (Again, we have to! Plus, it’s one of my favorites. I need to share it with everyone who crosses my path.)

Fantasmagoriana, “Tales of the Dead” (Why not read what inspired that stormy night writing contest?) Available on Kindle Unlimited

Lord Byron: Selected Letters and Journals, edited by Leslie Marchand (I wanna know more about this fella. He is also mentioned in The Wager. This one might be a little hard to find, but I’ll post what I can.)

The Vampyre, by Dr. John Polidori (Let’s end our October reading about a lil vamp and finding the comparisons to Byron.) Available on Kindle Unlimited

I'll be posting my thoughts and pages that stick out to me at the end of each day <3

[marygodwin-bsd]

Canon Mary BSD...

i went and checked the canon Mary shelley bsd wiki and i got... very mad

not because there was a mary shelley in BSD, im just really mad they did her so dirty

like... SOOOOO DIRTY

asagiri when i CATCH YOU for making her a loli scientist i effin SWEAR--

anyway i was mad abt that for like 2, 3 hours??? then i figured out how to make sure i could still have my mary and have her exist alongside Asagiris Dr. Wollstonecraft.

ill probably go on a rant about it sometime soon but i have to update my top post before i do that <3

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Umm, off topic, but I am SO into this!!! https://variety.com/2023/film/news/guillermo-del-toro-frankenstein-andrew-garfield-oscar-isaac-mia-goth-1235555256/

I have faith that GDT will be able to do Mary Shelley justice. Also hoping that Isaac will play the monster while Garfield will be Dr. Frankenstein. I think they'll be able to nail the roles the other way as well. This is so exciting!! Hope Netflix doesn't blow this.

Okay, I guess this could be good. I'm on the fence with Del Toro. Sometimes I like his stuff, sometimes not.

You know what I really wish, though? I really wish someone would make a version of Frankenstein that truly respects Mary Shelley's book, and not just make a monster movie.

Frankenstein is not a book about a monster. Frankenstein is an allegory of the female author dealing with overwhelming grief in her life due to the death of her children. When she originated the idea in 1816, she had already had two children die in infancy, as well as possibly some other lost pregnancies. Her sister had also had children die. By the time of its publication in 1818, her third child had died. Only her fourth child, born in 1819, would survive to be an adult. By the time she was 25, she had also lost her husband. Add the final layer onto this: Mary Shelley was a motherless child, her own exceptional mother Mary Wollstonecraft having died after birthing her. Frankenstein is fundamentally about birthing death. It is ultimately a book only a woman in the 19th century could have written, as no male author would have so intimately felt that connection of birth and death.

I would like to see a film version that actually tackles that theme, and doesn't just go with the showy monster take.

[super-powerful-queen-reyna]

Here's my list of forgotten/cool women from history. Please take it, reblog it with more, spread it, learn about them, make books about them:

Lucy (slave used for experimentations on the uterus)

Nightwitches from WW2

Grace Hopper

Mary Anning

Maria Mitchell

Ada Lovelace

Kate Warne

Agnes Barre

Flora Tristan

Olympe de Gouges

Eleanor Roosevelt

Bessie Smith

Sylvia Plath

Sweet Tee

Lady D (the rapper)

The Sequence

Lady B

Rachel Carson

Baya

Tahireh

Lalla Fatma N'Soumer

Rosalind Franklin

Miriam Makeba

Alexandra David Néel

Suzanne Noël

Helena Rubinstein

Katherine Switzer

Jeanne Barret

Sophie Germain

Katherine Johnson

Margaret Hamilton

Hedy Lamarr

Betty Snyder Holberton

Kathleen McNulty Mauchly Antonelli

Marilyn Wescoff Meltzer

Frances Bilas Spence

Ruth Lichteman Teitelbaum og Jean Jennings Bartik

Valerie Thomas

Karen Sparck Jones

Dr Shirley Ann Jackson

Radia Perlman

Stacy Horn

Dr Betty Harris

Beulah Louise Henry

Elizabeth "Jake" Feinler

Empress Zenobia of the Palmyrene Empire

Surya Bonaly

Dolly Parton

Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Shelley

Queen Nzinga of Ndongo Kingdom

Queen Yaa Asantewa Ashanti

Empress Candace of Ethiopia

Queen Sarraounia Mangou of Aznas Kingdom

Dona Beatriz

Mileva Marić

Matoaka

Janet Sobel

Claudette Colvin

Marsha P. Johnson

Marian Anderson

Madam CJ Walker

Frida Kahlo

Mirka Mora

Dahomey Amazons

The 40 Elephants

Diamond Alice

Maggie Bailey

Julie d'Aubigny

Bessie Coleman

Policarpa Salavarrieta

Annie Oakley

Anna Julia Cooper

Sojourner Truth

Ida B. Wells

Shirley Chisholm

Mary Church Terrell

Audre Lorde

Harriet Tubman

Maria W. Stewart

Angela Davis

Florynce Kennedy

Jocelyn Bell

Alice Ball

Lise Meitner

Chien Shiung Wu

Marie Tharp

Elizabeth Blackwell

Amanirenas

Wu Zetian

[burningvelvet]

I love the Romantics (esp 2nd gen) and was wondering where you learn more about them outside an academic setting?

I am by no means an expert, but I will try to answer by using stuff that has helped me!

For books, I highly recommend Young Romantics: The Shelleys, Byron and Other Tangled Lives by Daisy Hay as an introduction to the second generation Romantics. My only complaint is that it leaves out a ton of entertaining stuff imo, but it’s meant to be brief. It isn’t available for free anywhere afaik, but it’s very worth buying. It gives an overview of the movement & explains how all the key figures are interrelated in a very clever way. For biographies imo the best on Byron is Byron: a Portrait by Marchand, most agree the best on Shelley is Shelley: The Pursuit by Richard Holmes, most agree the best on Mary is Miranda Seymour’s Mary Shelley, & the best on Keats is (more arguably?) John Keats by Walter Jackson Bates. For critical analysis on the works, it’s best to research on a case-by-case basis (there are literally thousands of books & papers analyzing Frankenstein… I shudder to think of attempting to read even half of them).

This link to the BARS Blog "Romanticism: online resources list" -- https://www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=2900 -- is a fantastic resource list by Dr. Anna Mercer who is an important Romanticist. She wrote a work called The Collaborative Literary Relationship of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (2019) which is also one of my favorites & I highly highly recommend it as well.

Other good resource guides: 1 University of Texas at Arlington Romantic Resources under the internet & lib headings https://libguides.uta.edu/romantic/resources 2 Jack Lynch of Rutgers Romantic resources list https://jacklynch.net/Lit/romantic.html 3 Uni of Pittsburgh Romantic research guide under the links heading https://pitt.libguides.com/romanticism/links 4 Queen's Uni Romantic research guide https://guides.library.queensu.ca/engl340/websites

Having access to databases and libraries really helps, but those are academic (unless you have a public library—if so, pls use it). If I’m researching a broad topic I sometimes start through Wikipedia & go from there, searching for what information I need by “phrase searching” on Google.

IMPORTANT ADVICE: this will all feel very overwhelming and confusing at first! I highly suggest just picking a work or a writer, finding something that really interests you, then learn more about it/them if you’d like, & just continue from there as a starting point. For me: I knew a *little* about these writers, and I’ve always loved Frankenstein, but I didn’t start any heavy Romantic research until I read Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage by Lord Byron, specifically Canto III, which is considered one of his best works and one of the key Romantic works in general. It really shook me to my core. I believe I discovered it from the Wikipedia page on the “Byronic Hero” concept (which stemmed from Childe Harold). I really just went down the rabbit hole from there… and I don’t know how I got here…

Good luck on your journey, and thx for the ask!

Btw — despite being an English Lit major, I haven’t actually studied Romanticism in any of my classes sadly! I just haven’t had the opportunity or it hasn’t come up; my program is mainly based on modern topics though, and so most of us only get to take a few historical classes. But my research on this has been independent. The first gen Romantics have been briefly discussed in one or two of my classes, and Frankenstein has featured in a lot of my classes, but that’s in a league of it’s own really—it’s one of the very few classic novels that most Americans are familiar with tbh!

[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.

[sairenecomics]

My rendition of Dr. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley from Bungou stray dogs Stormbringer stage play since she had no canon art yet- I just tried to copy the stage play and it's not really very good but it's okay for me tho- well yeahhh

[carigmonier]

-La mujer del astronauta. (La cara oculta) Rand Ravich

Los monstruos

1 - Bebés muertos

Un verano, un verano bizarro como pocos, me pescó leyendo el trabajo de Allouch sobre el duelo. Se trataba sobre “Ajó, el monstruo del cielo”, el relato de Kenzaburo Oé. Ese mismo verano cayó en mis manos una copia en video de “Gothic”, la película de Ken Russel, y esa sola y larga imagen que ofrece la clave del monstruo. El bebé, tal vez el feto, que se balancea lentamente en el agua. Ojos y boca hinchados, sellados, casi cosidos, el bebé muerto se mece suavemente entre las plantas acuáticas, en el fondo del río. Esa es, en la versión de Russel, la razón de la escritura de Frankenstein.

La pregunta entonces se presentó así: ¿Cómo es que un bebé muerto -en la Inglaterra del siglo XIX y en el Japón actual-, da por resultado un monstruo?

Y un monstruo no es una cosa frecuente.

“Ajó, el monstruo del cielo”, es uno de los tantos relatos de Oé que rondan sobre la paternidad y la monstruosidad de su hijo, nacido con un tumor en la cabeza tan gigantesco que parecía una “segunda cabeza”. En el relato, el padre -en idéntica situación que el autor- deja morir al niño que necesitaría una extensa cirugía para sobrevivir convertido en un vegetal. Ese monstuo-bebé innominado persigue desde el cielo al padre alucinado.

También el monstruo de Mary Shelley persigue al Dr. Frankenstein hasta el polo norte, reclamándole la paternidad y no haberle dado siquiera un nombre.

En ambos casos el monstruo no tiene nombre, en ambos casos ejerce una extensa e implacable persecución de un padre en falta.

A los 17 años de edad, prófuga junto a un hombre casado, Mary Wollstonecroft -que sólo años después sería Mary Shelley- dio a luz a un bebé. La situación no era precisamente confortable. Harriet, la esposa legítima de Shelley, había dado a luz unos meses antes que ella. La pareja estaba en fuga de sus familias, escondiéndose de los acreedores, y sosteniendo la relación entre ellos en unas inestables configuraciones triangulares. No debía carecer de resonancias allí la otra Mary Wollstonecraft, madre de Mary, mujer renombrada tanto por su brillo intelectual como por lo escandaloso de su vida. El primer embarazo de la madre de Mary también cursó en plena fuga con un hombre que, si bien no era casado, la abandonó para casarse con otra mujer durante los primeros meses de pregnancia. Su segundo embarazo la mató -aparentemente por una septicemia- tras el nacimiento de Mary.

La bebé que Mary (hija) dio a luz se llamó Clara, y tenía alrededor de diez días de vida la noche del episodio que Ken Russell no relata pero al que alude. Mary se levanta en mitad de la noche, y se acerca silenciosamente a la cuna, con una lámpara en la mano, para amamantar al bebé. Pero algo la detiene. No toca al bebé ni le da de mamar. Vuelve a su cama y se acuesta sin haber visto lo que había que ver dentro de la cuna. Algo “evidente por su apariencia”, que ella, mirando, no puede ver.

Al día siguiente escribe:

“ Mi querido Hogg mi bebe está muerto - vendrás tan pronto como puedas? - quisiera verte - Estaba perfectamente bien cuando me fui a la cama - desperté en la noche para darle de mamar, parecía estar durmiendo tan quieto que no lo desperté - estaba muerto entonces pero no lo descubrimos hasta la mañana - por su apariencia evidentemente murió de convulsiones. - Ven - eres una criatura tan calma y Shelley teme la fiebre de la leche - por mí que ya no soy madre ahora”.

Este episodio, poderosamente siniestro, se sitúa en los cimientos de su larga construcción, letra tras letra, del monstruo del Dr. Frankenstein. Pearcy y Mary Shelley fueron, hasta la muerte del primero, una pareja tan prolífica en literatura como en niños muertos.

El niño de Kenzaburo Oé, por su parte -a diferencia del de su personaje en “Ajó, el monstruo del cielo”-, no murió de manera efectiva. Sin embargo, en la disyuntiva entre dejarlo morir o lanzarlo a una vida de vegetal, hay, en efecto, una muerte ineludible. El bebé de Kenzaburo era directamente y efectivamente un monstruo. El escribe:

“Como una planta acuática en la penumbra, tumbado con los ojos abiertos e inexpresivos, no era más que una presencia callada. (...). Ni siquiera lloraba. A veces dudada de que estuviera vivo.”

Cuando fueron a buscarlo tras un mes de internación el bebé estaba tan cambiado que apenas lo reconocieron: “Es como si le hubieran hecho algo horrible. Me sentí más alejado de él que si hubiera muerto. Total, que nos volvimos con las manos vacías”.

Es claro que se trata de un bebé muerto, tanto como en el personaje del padre del monstruo del cielo.

2 - Un monstruo cinematográfico

Las extrañas relaciones entre bebé y monstruo están bastante bien establecidas en los clásicos temores de la pregnancia, e incluso en el lenguaje común: el monstruo es una “criatura”; de alguien particularmente feo y deforme se dice que es “un feto”.

Es muy difícil en esta circunstancia no verse invadido por los grandes monstruos cinematográficos de nuestra época que apuntan, precisamente, en esa misma dirección. Una monstruosidad que mostró eficacia masiva no hace una década lo muestra claramente. ¿A quién no se le cortó la respiración cuando el Alien, perforando el tórax de su portador, saltó chillando hasta la mesa donde el desayuno transcurría amablemente?

Veamos brevemente qué sabemos de ese monstruo. Hay primero que nada un episodio de inseminación, por vía oral. El monstruo se desarrolla lenta y sigilosamente dentro del cuerpo de su anfitrión, alimentándose pacientemente en sus entrañas hasta que está en condiciones de sobrevivir por su cuenta. Entonces irrumpe desgarrando huesos, bañado en sangre, listo para matar.

Este relato es ni más ni menos que una teoría bizarra sobre la concepción y el alumbramiento que -como para darle el gusto a Freud- ignora la existencia de la vagina. Es lo más parecido a una teoría sexual infantil.

Por si a alguien le quedan dudas sobre las resonancias del octavo pasajero, las siguientes películas de la saga se ocupan de explicitarlo más y más. En la tercera película la Teniente Rippley debe hacerse una ecografía para definir si porta un alien o está embarazada. En la cuarta ella -que entretanto ha adquirido un ligero aire monstruoso- enuncia con claridad: “I’m the mother´s monster”.

Sin embargo, y curiosamente, la segunda película de la saga del Alien, presenta una inversión. El monstruo se devela en la imagen de una abeja reina que comanda el horror rodeada por sus huevos. La identificación es indudable: Eso es una madre. Para confirmarlo, como casualmente, aparece allí una niña, atrapada en su telaraña babosa, en pleno proceso de degradación orgánica, de disolución.

Pero en este caso también se da otra inversión. No sólo la “criatura” perseguirá a la Teniente Rippley hasta el último confín de la galaxia, sino que también la Teniente Rippley perseguirá a la “criatura”.

De más está decir que el Alien, como los monstruos literarios con que tropezamos más arriba, tampoco tiene nombre.

Estas son, como mínimo, unas convergencias curiosas tratándose de monstruos tan diferentes.

3 - La forma

Esto nos tienta a seguir explorando en algunas constantes del género cinematográfico. Género, por otra parte, repleto de constantes. Y la primera que salta a la vista es la cuestión de la forma del monstruo. La monstruosidad incluye por implicación a lo de-forme. Sin embargo la literatura cinematográfica va más allá. Incluye un slogan clásico que tiene el valor casi de una definición:

“Terror has no shape”

Este es el anuncio de un gran clásico del Terror: La Mancha

La incidencia de esta persistente fatalidad en el poeta, Pearcy Shelley, se presenta también en el registro de lo siniestro. Luego de la pérdida del cuarto bebé -en este caso nonato- Shelley sucumbió a extraños sueños angustiosos y alucinaciones. Mary y Edward Williams dan testimonio de algunas de estas visiones:

“Mientras andaba por la terraza, su propia imagen le salió al paso y le dijo: ¿Cuanto tiempo piensas estar satisfecho?”