October Book Club; Frankenstein

This fine Saturday morning finds me still in my pj's, drinking coffee & eating a delicious peanut butter cookie (leftover from book club) and reminiscing about last nights meeting. Carla G hosted our Halloween event and this month's book was Frankenstein in honor of the holiday. There is just no predicting what you will learn when you are around these brilliant women!

Thankfully, none of us were sitting around in our "chonies" as we discussed how simulacrum relates to art and the possibility that the monster in our story was a Dingleberry, or was it Doppelganger? Terry informed us that "chonies" is a word for "whitey-tighties".

Terry & Laura had returned from Portland where they attended the art opening of Terry's son John Payne. I am posting a link to his web site on the right side of the page. Her son has titled his art work "simulacrum" which means "representative of another thing such as a god or an inferior object without substance." Darby elaborated by telling us that the Frenchman Jean Baudrillard had written at length on this subject & I discovered another definition that "accepted ideals or priviledged position could be changed or overturned through the work." There is a lot to this theory and I can see that it actually could relate to our book discussion had we gone down that road.

Carla and I had just returned from New Mexico where we went to see the Balloon Festival and spent a gorgeous day on Canyon Rd. in Santa Fe where the art astounded us and even moved us to tears at one point. This is how we ended up in a discussion with words like "simulacrum". Can you use that word in a sentence today? I've already used it 3 times and I haven't gotten out of bed yet! Denise launched both of her daughters on to the international scene and then spent a week on the beach in LA. And, Pam had just returned from Vale. It is good to come back together each month with tales of our travels!

In other astounding news, Janie has a new job. After much trial and effort and suffering in a hostile work environment she now has the job of her dreams. And we celebrated with a champagne toast and hugs all round. We absolutely could not be happier for her. We also celebrate both Pam and Barb's birthdays AND we welcome Terry back after a brief absence - all is right with the world. Thanks to her for her the wonderful "Friday Song" she serenaded us with!

Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was an interesting and informative discussion. One thing I have learned over the years is that reading the Classics informs your modern day reading in a way that enlightens and enriches it beyond just the surface of a good story. Most Classics have some roots in the Greek/Roman mythology as did our book whose subtitle is: The Modern Day Prometheus. Prometheus was the god who stole fire from Zeus (the creator) and gave it to humans and then was punished for it. En"light"enment was one of the themes of the book. MWS used the story of the "creator" and his "monster" to argue the points of Romanticism vs. The Enlightenment. The supporters of Romanticism believed in the power of nature and the mystery of life & that some things were not meant to be known or explained. The Enlightenment camp was about science and knowledge and chasing the knowledge behind the mystery. They thought that the meaning & mystery of existence could be proven scientifically. The book argues with that point and says ultimately it is the knowledge, the knowing too much, the obsession with that knowing that is at the heart of the destruction that occurs.

In the end, it is the monster that is the more sympathetic of the characters. Dr. Frankenstein is the mad scientist, the self-involved narcissist who removes himself from family and friends as he obsesses on not just the discovery of how life is created but on becoming the creator himself. Once he has attained his goal, however, it terrifies him. He turns his back on "it" and thus "creates" the monster that does what he knows or learns how to do in order to punish Dr. Frankenstein or gain his attention. Everyone that Frankenstein loves is destroyed in one way or another as a result of this experiment. One of the lessons is that it is one thing to chase the knowledge and that in itself is not a bad thing. But Dr. Frankenstein did not think beyond the moment of creation to what possible implications this would have. And while you can never fully know ahead of time the full ramifications of any act he did not consider that it would have an impact at all and that was devastating. In the end, both creator and created wish that they had never been born. This book was way ahead of its time in the theme of man creating life but nearly 200 years later mankind has learned to clone and create life in a test tube. When we will know the ramifications of such "knowledge?" While Frankenstein sees the error of his ways and he suffers loss and grief he is unable to take the necessary actions to rectify his situation and everyone suffers.

Terry brought up the fact that the monster is often considered a "Doppelganger" which is a character that is used as a peripheral energy to the main character. One that is not an exact mirror but more a representation and is often a foreboding of danger or death. The story is not only an argument of Romanticism vs. Enlightenment but also good vs. evil and is evil born or created? Is it nature or nurture that creates us? or both?

The story is told through a series of letters, narrative and perspectives. It is understandable that she used this technique as way to compare the various characters and make her arguments through them but some found this structure laborious. The book is 192 years old and the style and language of the day is different from the more modern day storytelling we are accustomed to. While some enjoyed the passive style of the writing others were bored by it and it received a 4.14 based on the 7 of 12 that rated it.

Whether you enjoyed the writing of the story or not, this book is remarkable for a number of reasons. First, it was written by a 19 year old woman circa 1817. Women of the time were not published unless they used a man's name and for a story with such depth and complexity that it was written by one so young is a bit mind boggling. This brings to mind that we touched on the fact that all the women in the book are passive characters with doomed destinies. Another significant fact is that all modern day science fiction and horror stories owe their inception to MWS.

Carla G provided her guests with a baked potato bar, brisket, Bellini's and an Apple Crisp. Diana & Barb brought toppings for the potatoes, Denise brought a fruit salad, Carla A brought butternut squash soup, Pam brought Artichoke dip, Terry brought biscuits and peanut butter cookies, and Sherrie brought the brie/pastry. There was wine and coffee and Arnora brought the beautiful flowers. We missed Lou and Lis this month.

As always, the evening was entertaining and educational. Book club is always a delight for all the senses! November Book Club is at Darby's and the book is "People of the Book." For December we will be reading David Sedaris "Holiday on Ice" and making a collection of everyone's favorite poems. Please send your selection to Darby in a word.doc by Dec 1 and be sure to include the name of the poem, the poet and the year it was written! Happy Reading!