Friday, October 8, 2010

Performing the Uncanny Heimlich Maneuver on Frankenstein's Monster

What drew Frankenstein to loathe his creation? Why did humanity frame his creation has a creature, not even acknowledging him as human, but something subhuman; a wretched and abhorrent monster wreaking havoc on civilization? According to Freud, it could have been due to the creature's uncanny nature. Freud states "The uncanny is that class of frightening which leads back to what is known of old and long familiar." (NA 825) He goes on to develop a precise definition for the German term heimlich and consequently unheimlich; the first term not only meaning something home-like and familiar, but also "the notion of something hidden and dangerous". Unheimlich holds a similar definition to the latter mentioned previously.

I found a similarity in the two definitions associated with heimlich in that the home can be viewed as a shelter, and if viewed as that, isn't that where we all retreat or hide from the forces of the outside world? If so, then the home transforms not only into a place of familiar comfort, but also into one of hidden secrets. The uncanny effect that the creature may have on people is that he resembles something so close to the human form, something close to home, yet he is considered physically appalling. His physical deformities could represent the undesirable characteristics which lay hidden within all of humanity. His presence therefore acts as a mirror to people, in which they see their own flaws presented in his physical character.

Freud goes on to quote Ernst Jentsch, stating "In telling a story, one of the most successful devices for easily creating uncanny effects is to leave the reader in uncertainty whether a particular figure in the story is a human being or an automaton, and to do it in such a way that his attention is not focused directly upon his uncertainty, so that he may not be led to go into the matter and clear it up immediately." (829) Freud also stated "Jentsch believes that a particularly favourable condition for awakening uncanny feelings is created when there is intellectual uncertainty whether an object is alive or not, and when an inanimate object becomes too much like an animate one." (833) These statements encapsulate almost our entire discussion regarding the creature in Frankenstein because one of the main questions we have been discussing is could the creature be considered human and what does he reflect about humanity. Jentsch defines what we could consider the "creature archetype".

Another uncanny effect Freud discusses is the use of repetition of events to create anxiety. He suggests that when repressed emotions are brought to light, they are considered frightening. This idea could be related to the multiple deaths Victor encounters in the story.
However, I would like to put a spin on Freud's theory because I think it could be applied to the creature in a number of ways. According Spivak, looking at Frankenstein as a text representing English imperialism, Victor functions as the imperialist and the creature as the imperialized. The creature desires to join the community but is rejected, turning him into a minority. It could be thought of then, that all of his dialogue within the text represents what Deleuze and Guattari would refer to as minor literature.
Could the existence of the creature be viewed as the repressed minority coming into main view in the story and the reaction that ensues because of this a reflection of how imperialists would usually react to an native uprisings?

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