Poor Things is a wonderful and wacky 1992 novel by Alastair Gray that's like a twin story or a sequel to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Would you like to give it a try?
Frankenstein is one of my summer TBRs and Poor Things I never saw before. But I saw film adaptations of both! The idea that PT is a sort of sequel to Shelley's novel never occurred to me! Thank you. In 1994 science fiction writer Michael Bishop wrote "Brittle Innings", in which the Monster is playing minor league baseball in the American South during WW 2. Keep reading!
What an interesting discussion. Frankenstein is one of my favorite novels so I'll definitely check out Poor Things. It sounds really interesting. - I just discovered your channel and look forward to watching some of your other videos!
Thank you! Glad you find it interesting. Hope you'll like it when you get to it. (Not sure if you've heard of the recent film adaptation, personally I'm not a fan, so would recommend reading the book first!) Nice meeting you :)
Frankenstein the book is so much more than Frankenstein in popular culture. I have an audio version of Poor Things checked out on Hoopla, but I haven’t started it yet. I haven’t watched the movie Poor Things because movies take away from my reading time and are often disappointing. Thank you for a fascinating video.
To your question why she makes the daemon good on the inside but ugly outside: there was a lot of commentary by a lot of writers around that time about class and the judgement of someone based on money, what they looked like, and how well they were educated. I mean we still do, but it seems to be more unconscious and we know it's incorrect, whereas this was seen as fact then, as if God made people as beautiful as their hearts were. But writers objected. Think The Picture of Dorian Grey, or the convict in Great Expectations who, during his court case, was said to be a criminal purely because the other guy looked better and was educated.
I haven't read Frankenstein in a long while, but here's what I remember if my read. Victor Frankenstein was not a terribly sexual or even a sociable man who was still constantly exposed to the societal expectation to reproduce. He passionately poured himself into the intellectual project of creation, but with no real interest in the product. Then, in an unfortunately normal pattern for self serving parents, the disinterest turned to disgust towards his imperfect creation. What haunts Victor thru the book is that his creation, Frankenstein, is more 'normal' on the inside than he can become. Frankenstein is not a monster or a demon, he's a guy who looks weird and never had his father's love. Victor gets to be treated as moral, despite being a monster who always chooses from fear. It sounds from this essay that PT expands on generational trauma, but with more emphasis on how girls are raised 'faster' than their brothers to catch up to men?
That's very true! - that his passion is in the process of creating and not the product. It's interesting the mirror image of their inside and outside - thanks for pointing that out!
I need to read Poor Things!
It’s weird and wonderful. I hope you like it!
Frankenstein is one of my summer TBRs and Poor Things I never saw before. But I saw film adaptations of both!
The idea that PT is a sort of sequel to Shelley's novel never occurred to me! Thank you.
In 1994 science fiction writer Michael Bishop wrote "Brittle Innings", in which the Monster is playing minor league baseball in the American South during WW 2.
Keep reading!
Hope you enjoy the novel!
That’s intriguing. I wonder how it goes…
What an interesting discussion. Frankenstein is one of my favorite novels so I'll definitely check out Poor Things. It sounds really interesting. - I just discovered your channel and look forward to watching some of your other videos!
Thank you! Glad you find it interesting. Hope you'll like it when you get to it. (Not sure if you've heard of the recent film adaptation, personally I'm not a fan, so would recommend reading the book first!)
Nice meeting you :)
Frankenstein the book is so much more than Frankenstein in popular culture. I have an audio version of Poor Things checked out on Hoopla, but I haven’t started it yet. I haven’t watched the movie Poor Things because movies take away from my reading time and are often disappointing. Thank you for a fascinating video.
Yes I was reminded of it again reading it this time round.
I completely agree - please don’t watch the film before reading the book!
Thank you :)
To your question why she makes the daemon good on the inside but ugly outside: there was a lot of commentary by a lot of writers around that time about class and the judgement of someone based on money, what they looked like, and how well they were educated. I mean we still do, but it seems to be more unconscious and we know it's incorrect, whereas this was seen as fact then, as if God made people as beautiful as their hearts were. But writers objected. Think The Picture of Dorian Grey, or the convict in Great Expectations who, during his court case, was said to be a criminal purely because the other guy looked better and was educated.
That makes sense especially now you mentioned Dorian Grey! Thank you for pointing that out!
I haven't read Frankenstein in a long while, but here's what I remember if my read. Victor Frankenstein was not a terribly sexual or even a sociable man who was still constantly exposed to the societal expectation to reproduce. He passionately poured himself into the intellectual project of creation, but with no real interest in the product. Then, in an unfortunately normal pattern for self serving parents, the disinterest turned to disgust towards his imperfect creation. What haunts Victor thru the book is that his creation, Frankenstein, is more 'normal' on the inside than he can become. Frankenstein is not a monster or a demon, he's a guy who looks weird and never had his father's love. Victor gets to be treated as moral, despite being a monster who always chooses from fear. It sounds from this essay that PT expands on generational trauma, but with more emphasis on how girls are raised 'faster' than their brothers to catch up to men?
That's very true! - that his passion is in the process of creating and not the product.
It's interesting the mirror image of their inside and outside - thanks for pointing that out!