Monthly Archives: October 2015

Female Rule – Western Europe vs. Russia

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Catherine the Great ‘s fame derives from her leadership and rule of Russia during eighteenth-century Russia. Like all autocrats during the time, she received criticism from countless different sources. However, Brenda Meehan-Waters argues that criticisms of Catherine differ along the lines of the sources’ areas of origin. In particular, Meehan-Waters suggests that Western European and Russian writers differ in that “Russian writers viewed her more positively and displayed much less agitation over the female issue. Catherine is desexualized to the extent that she is treaded as an individual rather than as a women.” ((Kaiser, Daniel H. and Gary Marker. Reinterpreting Russian History: Readings 860-1860s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. 383-384.))

Meehan-Waters examines the writings from the period of Catherine the Great’s reign. These writings, all published by men, carry various perspectives ranging from foreign ambassadors to Russian leaders to Western philosophers (who were also her patrons) such as Voltaire. One fact becomes clear through these writings – whether they criticized or praised Catherine – Westerners often placed her sex at the center of their ideas while Russian authors rarely commented on it. Western authors would associate her positive characteristics with her masculine side while they portrayed her shortcomings as feminine qualities. ((Kaiser, Reinterpreting, 382.)) While Russian writers such as G.S. Vinsky criticized Catherine, Meehan-Waters notes that such critics not base their qualms on her womanhood. ((Kaiser, Reinterpreting, 382.)) Despite identifying the differentiating narratives coming out of Western Europe and Russia, Meehan-Waters offers little in a reason for why such a difference exists.

 

Meehan-Waters notes that Russian had many female autocrats throughout the eighteenth century while few existed in Western Europe. Does Russia’s familiarity with empresses explain the lack of emphasis on Catherine’s sex?

Potemkin 2

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or less – from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Princepotemkin.jpg

Potemkin, one of Catherine’s advisors and former lovers, was the center of much scrutiny and debate among her foreign critics. They saw Potemkin as an example of how women were overcome with sexuality and allowed themselves to be dominated by their lovers.

Frankenstien Volume ll

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In volume two of Frankenstein Victor travels to Chamounix after the mourning of William. While there Victor encounters The Monster for the first time since its creation. In this confrontation Frankenstein at once tries to kill it. However through some persuasion the Monster is able to convince his creator to listen to its story. Shelly then switches the stories perspective from being told by Frankenstein to being told by The Monster. The Monster recounts his travels from the University to a small farm owned by an old man, Agatha, and Felix. He finds shelter in a hovel attached to the cabin. This is where he observes the family and is able to learn how to learn their language as well as learn about the human race. The Monster describes his growing like and admiration for the farmers through description of the beautiful words they spoke and actions they performed. This growing fondness inspired it to look out for the family but helping out with chores at night. One day The Monster decides to approach the Old Man but is ran out of the cottage by Felix. This rejection causes The Monster so much pain that when he comes across William and discovers that he is the son of his despised creator, he kills him. The story is then brought back to the present where Frankenstein and The Monster are talking. The Monster demands that Frankenstein creates another monster that can be his wife so he will not be lonely anymore. They then departed from one another on the agreement that if Frankenstein created a wife for The Monster, he would leave the human race alone forever.

One of the passages that struck me as interesting was on page 78. The Monster is describing his stay at the farm and how it took milk and vegetables that the farm produced in order to provide for itself. However it states, “When I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained, and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots…” (Shelly 78). I thought this passage to be so important due to the amount of empathy that this creature shows. He cannot even communicate yet nor does really know what his hosts are saying. Yet he has a deep enough understanding of humans that he understands the farmers are just as hungry as he is and they need the food that he has been sneaking. I believe Shelly is trying to communicate that even the simplest life form can express empathy and care. As shown through The Monster, who was starving, to give up his food source in order to benefit the Old Man, Agatha, and Felix, whom he does not even know.

Frankenstein Pages 61-107

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In the second section of Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, Victor Frankenstein succumbs to an overwhelming darkness in his psyche after his brother William is killed by his creation. He is distraught not only because of his responsibility to creating the Monster, but the fact that he cannot clear the name of Justine Moritz, the girl who was a ward of the Frankenstein family and executed wrongly for the murder of William Frankenstein. Alphonse Frankenstein, Victor’s father, attempts to clear the minds of his family from their recent terrors and takes them to Belrive, Switzerland as a distraction. Victor experiences a bout of happiness surrounded by nature and free of trouble, taking a boat and traveling across Lake Geneva often to relax. One day on one of his expeditions, this time to the Summit of Montanvert, Victor runs into the Monster again. They argue for a while, with Victor threatening violence. Eventually he relents to the Monster’s requests and follows him into a cave where the Monster recounts his life.

The Monster explains to Victor the hardships of his short life, and how he taught himself to understand the world. The Monster talked about how he first encountered fire, the first time he viewed himself, and his encounters with humans. He quickly came to understand beauty, and fear when he encountered humans. He also learned language, and kindness from a poor family he watched from afar. Eventually he gathered the courage to speak to one of the residents of the poor household, De Lacey, who is blind and would not be able to view his horrific features. Unfortunately the other members of the household returned and drove him off with disgust, leaving the Monster alone without a familiar again. The Monster’s thirst for companionship drives him mad with rage against his creator who left him to ruin. The Monster talks about how he found the Frankenstein residence and killed William while blaming Justine for the murder.

After this recounting of events, the Monster requests that Victor creates a companion for him. Victor vehemently refuses, horrified at the thought of bringing another Monster into the world when the first one killed two people so close to him. The Monster is persuasive however, and makes promises to travel to an uninhabited place and live there with his companion for the rest of his life, never bothering Frankenstein again. Eventually realizing that he has no way of controlling the monster, Victor gives in to his demands and agrees to create a companion for the Monster.

A theme that has intrigued me in this story has been education and knowledge decreasing the quality of life of characters. Victor Frankenstein pursues the knowledge to create life from the dead, and manages his goal. Unfortunately for him, the knowledge does not improve his reputation or acclaim, but backfires and ruins his life and harming those he loves. The Monster, in the second section of the book, gathers knowledge of the world around him, and its people. But as he does this, he comes to realize how isolated he is as a freak of nature. The knowledge he gains depresses him, and eats away at his mind driving him to murder for revenge. This knowledge warps his mind and thoughts, instead of improving his life. The books he reads on human culture and nature do not draw him closer to companionship with humans, but rather pushes him farther away the more he learns.

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Reforming Tsars in 18th Century Russia

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In Cynthia Whittaker’s The Reforming Tsar: the Redefinition of Autocratic Duty in Eighteenth-Century Russia, she discusses the idea of the reforming tsar. She specifically explores how this idea shaped the Romanov dynasty, the Russian people, and the emerging country of Russia during the Eighteenth Century. Peter the Great created the idea of the reforming tsar through his reshaping of Russia into an innovative country with a strong European influence. After his death later Tsars began to take on the idea of the reforming Tsar because the people of Russia saw Peter’s reign as successful. The introduction of new ideas and laws became instrumental during each new Tsars reign. Russia wanted to feel like they were leading the change in the world. One of the main points in Whittaker’s article is that the Russian people’s belief in the Reforming Tsar is what kept the Romanov line in power for so long. The line was eventually destroyed because the ideas of the Russian people surpassed the laws of the country.

Some of the main ideas that Peter introduced never came in to fruition but as later Tsars followed his lead a huge change happened in Russia. First Secularization began with Peter taking power away from the church and lessening the amount of people, such as monks and nuns, working in the church. Peter saw the importance of respecting laws and working for the state over the unquestioning faith in God that previously permeated Russia. He certainly did not mean to eradicate the Russian Orthodox Church all together but to lesson its control. His second main idea was expand education throughout Russia. This did not happen until years after his death but many of the Tsars, such as Elizabeth, that follow him showed their position as a Reforming tsar through the expanding of education and the creation or reinstating of colleges. The third was the specification of the Law. Catherine the Great played a huge part in this clarification of how the legal system should run.

The people of Russia were looking for a Monarch who could fulfill the role that Peter the Great created. The folklore about his extraordinary reign spread throughout Russia and made the idea of the Reforming Tsar a requirement. What needs to be acknowledged is that because of the illiteracy of a huge part of Russia the passing down of knowledge through folklore was common. With this comes the problem of changing information and this caused much of the ideals regarding Peter the Great to be exaggerated. Many of his reforms did not actually last but the idea of his power did and it shaped the Romanovs and all of Russia.

 

 

 

Whittaker, Cynthia H. “The Reforming Tsar: The Redefinition of Autocratic Duty in Eighteenth- Century Russia.” Slavic Review 51.1 (1992): 77. Web.

The Problem of Female Rule – Catherine the Great

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Portrait of Catherine II (1763)

Portrait of Catherine II (1763)

In the article Catherine the Great and the Problem of Female Rule, Brenda Meehan-Waters argues that Western European writers and Russian writers view the reign of Catherine the Great differently, and that these views reveal cultural reactions towards women in positions of power. Western foreigner ambassadors and correspondents alike of Catherine II almost always bring into discussion the fact that she is a women and the traits that differentiate men and women. Foreigners describe her as having “a masculine force of mind” with a “weakness vulgarity attributed to her sex” and as “an ambitious and unnatural women” giving the impression that “there was something inherently perverse in female ambition”. ((KM 380 – 382)) In general, the authors states that Westerners who felt threatened by the idea of a women ruler responded either by denying that Catherine held any real power or they exaggerated her negative qualities, therefore making her sound less qualified.

Russians, on the other hand, rarely brought up the fact that she was a women. There are two exceptions to this that the author brings up. Karamzin contrasts the masculinity and femininity of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great and states that their reign complements the other but also attributes masculine traits as positive and negative traits as feminine. Sumarokov too has similar viewpoints articulates that there are strong and weak rulers and Catherine falls in between the two. ((KM 380-381)) In general though, Russians rarely focus on her femininity. The author points out that there was no ideological battle on female rule in Russia as there was in Western Europe, adding evidence that the sex of the ruler was less important to Russians. In fact, Russian empresses are often found in poetry as viewed as great warriors and strong figures. Another reason as to why the Russians view Catherine’s reign more positively is the old Byzantine idea of a hermaphroditic being that united the principles of both sexes. ((KM 384))

At the very end, Meehan-Waters points out that we more often study the reasons why Russians don’t judge her based on sex, and not why Europeans do judge her in this way and that this take on it is backwards.

Question:

Why do you think we assume that the Russian’s acceptance of a female is abnormal? How can this be explained by referring to leading Western thinkers?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Profile_portrait_of_Catherine_II_by_Fedor_Rokotov_(1763,_Tretyakov_gallery).jpg

Frankenstein Volume II

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In Volume II of Frankenstein author Mary Shelly depicts the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein in deep distress after his creation killed his younger brother William. Victor wants vengeance on the monster that killed Justine and William. In order to “seek relief” from the situation Victor goes to the valley of Chamounix. In nature the protagonist is nostalgic of his pleasant childhood. Shelly describes the sublime valley as giving the protagonist consolation. While in the wilderness Victor encounters the creature he created. The creature demands Frankenstein listen to his story and threatens to kill more people if he does not. The monster explains his journey in the wildness and the challenges he encountered when attempting to interact with humans. The creature is fascinated with everything that he sees and has a thirst for knowledge like Victor. After wandering in the woods the creature notices a cottage and observes the people in it. He calls the people in the cottage his “protectors”. The monster continues to struggle with how ugly he is, considering that is the reason why people are afraid of him. A blind man named De Lacey lives in the cottage with his family who came to Germany after being banned from France. The creature hopes to talk to De Lacey and believes because he is blind that the man will not run away in fear. One afternoon when everyone in the house left the creature talks to the blind man but the monster is then violently kicked out of the college after the children come back to see De Lacey. The monster reiterates how he wants to have a relationship, someone to sympathize with him. Then when walking through the forest during the day the creature saves the life of a girl then is shot. At this point the creature wants to get revenge on Victor for creating such an ugly monster that continues to be alienated. In search of Victor the monster goes to Geneva and finds William and explains how he killed William and framed Justine. When the creature is finished telling his story he demands that Frankenstein create an ugly female monster. The creature longs for a connection with another creature. After arguing with the monster Victor finally agrees to make another creature.

A reoccurring theme throughout the novel is the power of nature to comfort man. At times the presence of nature affects the characters in ways that human relationships cannot. While in the mountains Victor explains how the sublime sights of nature, “subdued and tranquillised[1]” his guilt. Nature is able to offer Victor relief that the relationship with his sister Elizabeth cannot give him. The creature is also enamored by nature. He explains how his, “spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature[2]”. For both Victor and the monster he created the power of nature offers the characters serenity.

A passage that stood out to me is the first time the monster feels emotion. He said, “I felt sensations of a peculiar and overpowering nature: they were a mixture of pain and pleasure, such as I had never before experienced, either from hunger or cold, warmth or food; and I with drew from the window, unable to bear these emotions[3]”. I believe that the monster having emotions humanizes him and allows the reader to feel sympathy for the monster. A trait that separates humans from animals is the profound want to create deep connections and relationships. If the creature merely wanted to destroy Victor out of tribal instinct the reader would not feel as bad for the monster. Opposed to the monster wanting to harm Victor because of his inability to form relationships.

[1] Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Frankenstein (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,1994), 66.

[2] Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Frankenstein (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,1994), 81.

[3] Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Frankenstein (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,1994), 75.

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Frankenstein 60-108

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Chapter Nine begins with Victor in a deep depression, even considering suicide, after the death of William and execution of Justine. Realizing Victor’s poor state, Alphonse takes the family on a trip to Belrive. The place’s beautiful scenery gives Victor momentary bliss. However, the depression resurfaces, so he later decides to travel on his own to Montavert hoping the scenery will cheer him up again. He takes in the beauty of the mountains and glaciers and is somewhat comforted by the “sublime” view.
Seconds later, Victor sees an obscure figure running across the glacier who he then determines to be his monster. The monster eventually convinces Victor to come into his cave and listen to his story. The narration then switches to Frankenstein’s monster. He tells of his difficult life ever since his creation and coming to the realization that he had to distance himself from humans because they feared him so much. He eventually finds shelter in a hut next to a cabin where he watches a young man and woman and an old man through a hole in the wall.
The monster notices that the young man, Felix, seems unhappy. One day, however, when a girl named Safie moves into the cabin, Felix immediately cheers up. As Felix teaches Safie English, the monster watches and learns along, as well. The monster learns about humanity from watching those in the cottage as well as from the books he finds, most notably, Paradise Lost by John Milton, with which he sees many connections with his own life. The monster also finds in his coat old pages from Victor’s journal, which reveals to the monster how ugly and frightening his own creator thought he was, upsetting the monster even more.
Due to his continuing feelings of isolation and loneliness, Felix attempts to meet the cottagers. However, when he tries to talk to the old blind man while the others are out, Felix unexpectedly comes back and forces the monster out of the house. After this incident, the monster vows to take revenge on all humans, his creator in particular.
The monster then describes to Victor how he murdered William when he found out he was related to Victor, and purposefully placed the picture of Caroline in Justine’s pocket in order to frame her for the murder. After disclosing his life story to Victor, the monster tells Victor that he will not end his murderous rage until Victor creates a female companion for him. He promises to move to South America and live in the jungles with her so that he will no longer have the urge to murder. Victor eventually reluctantly agrees.

“It is a scene terribly desolate. In a thousand spots the traces of winter avalanche may be perceived, where tree lie broken and strewed on the ground; some entirely destroyed, others bent, leaning upon the jutting rocks of the mountain or transversely upon other trees. The path, as you ascend higher, is intersected by ravines of snow, down which stones continually roll from above; one of them is particularly dangerous, as the slightest sound, such as even speaking in a loud voice, produces a concussion of air sufficient to draw destruction upon the head of the speaker. The pines are not tall or luxuriant, but they are sombre and add an air of severity to the scene” (66-7).
This passage describes just how much Victor is in awe of nature and its beauty. It is interesting that he finds comfort in nature after “messing” with science and creating an ugly, murderous, monster as a result. Nature clearly brings Victor more comfort than does science at this point in the novel. The passage also contains a bit of irony. He describes the scene as “desolate” and “sombre”, many of the emotions he has been feeling in his depression. However, these feelings, when seen in nature, become beautiful. It is as if Victor comes to terms with and is comforted by the fact that nature is all-encompassing and more powerful than he.

Frankenstein, 61-107

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After Justine’s execution, Victor starts to become extremely sad and even contemplates suicide.  He is held back by the thought of Elizabeth, his father, and the beautiful scenery at his family home.  Victor then finds himself in despair once again and looks to find something pure with natural beauty so he ventures to the summit of Montanvert, where he comes across his monster.  The monster convinces Victor to come back to his ice cave and here is where the perspective changes in this book to that of the monsters.  The monster describes his acclimation to the world through sensations of light, dark, hunger, thirst, and cold.  He also discovers fire, which he learns is beneficial for food and warmth.  The monster stays away from humans because of the fear they had when they saw him.  He discovers a family who is always unhappy due to poverty and he does what he can to help them out, like gathering wood for their use.  He learns the names of his neighbors by repeating the sounds he hears from them.  Then, a woman named Safie shows up to their house and they become happier that she is around.  The monster learns the language perfectly and also learns history from Ruins of Empires.  The monster learns family and human relations, which makes him feel more pain from his isolation.  He tries to approach the blind neighbor, De Lacey, so he wouldn’t fear his exterior; however, the others come back before he could explain his situation and they are horrified so Felix drives him away.  The monster now vows his revenge against human beings and Victor in general and strangles Victor’s brother, William, to death.  The monster then implores Victor to create a female monster to be his mate, which Victor agrees to do because he feels responsible for the damage his monster has done by being his creator.

A passage that stood out to me was on the bottom of page ninety-five, where the monster says to De Lacey, “They are kind – they are the most excellent creatures in the world; but unfortunately, they are prejudiced against me.  I have good dispositions; my life has been hitherto harmless and in some degree beneficial; but a fatal prejudice clouds in their eyes, and where they ought to see a feeling and kind friend, they behold only a detestable monster.”  This quotation stood out to me because it shows the judgements that human beings jump to of something different and not of the same human beauty in their eyes of what they are accustomed to.  Anything different will be isolated or disliked in this society and it shows in this quotation.

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Frankenstein Pages 61-107

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The second half of Mary Shelley’s novella, Frankenstein, portrayed the lonely creature’s journey and attachment to an estranged family. Victor Frankenstein happened to cross paths with his creation while clearing his mind in the woods. Frankenstein listened to the tale of his creature, which created a shift in narration from Victor to the nameless creation. He began by explaining the sensations that overwhelmed him causing much confusion between touch, sight, and smell. However, his natural instincts allowed him to follow the moon, which in turn introduced him to the warmth of the fire that was left behind by travelers. Warmth becomes a constant motif in the second volume of the novella because it is essentially the feeling that he seeks in life. He soon found a hovel closely situated to a cottage that housed Mr. De Lacey, Felix, Agatha, and Safie. After months of observing the family, the creature was able to understand language, emotions, literature, and social interactions, however; he remained uninformed in mind. His yearn for a family and acceptance grew exponentially, which led him to enter the cottage one day when only blind Mr. De Lacey was home. The incidents that occurred in the house caused the creature to venture off on a tangent, destroying anything in his way. Upon helping a young girl avoid drowning, he was shot by a townsman, which even furthered his rage and self loathing. This drove him to discover the town of Geneva where Victor Frankenstein’s family once resided. While rummaging through the woods, he stumbled upon William Frankenstein and strangled the boy until he was lifeless. He even admitted to placing the evidence that helped convict Justine’s guiltiness on her while she slept in the barn. However, his encounter with Justine furthered his desire to seek companionship from a creature similar to himself. Towards the end of their conversation, the creature begs of Frankenstein to produce an additional life form that would serve as the creature’s companion.

While reading the second volume of Frankenstein, I found a passage on pages 68-69 that was emotionally moving. He creature emotionally confesses to his creator that he will not seek vengeance on Frankenstein because he is the creature’s “lord and king” and that his misfortunes had caused his benevolence to turn rotten. He claimed that he is excluded from all the bliss in life due to his unattractively superior body figure. While reading this passage it is hard not to emphasize with the creature because all he hopes for in life is to feel acceptance and the warmth of kindness from other humans.

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Frankenstein: pp. 60-108

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In the second section of Mary Shelley’s novella Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein finally officially meets his creation. Frankenstein is back in Geneva with family because of his brother William’s death and one day goes exploring in the wilderness. When he finishes scaling some rocks, he notices the figure of a tall, dark person in the distance; this figure turns out to be the being he created. Instead of running away, Frankenstein starts yelling at the creature, who tells him to come to a nearby hut and listen to his story. If Frankenstein does not let him recount his life experiences, he warns, more people will be killed. Reluctantly, Frankenstein agrees, and the rest of the section is the creature telling his story. The monster talks about his time wandering the wilderness and being confused by even the most basic aspects of nature, most notably the moon. After much wandering, he came upon a cottage with a family in it and spent the rest of his time in a “hovel” next to it. From just watching the family every day, the creature learned how to read, speak, and understand French. Because he spent so much time in this hovel, it makes sense that the creature is very articulate. What was perhaps the most striking aspect of this chapter was the despair the monster felt because his appearance caused people to run away and treat him horribly. He explains to Frankenstein that he is very lonely and just wants a companion, much like Frankenstein himself. The way he describes the family shows how emotional he is, a quality he also shares with Frankenstein. At the end of this section, he demands that Frankenstein create a female companion for him who is “of the same species” and has “the same defects”[1]. After some debate, Frankenstein agrees and the creature leaves the hut.

The theme that I found most prevalent in this section was that of friendship and companionship. All the creature wants is to be accepted by others and have someone with whom to exist. This desire is very similar to that of his creator, Frankenstein, who values his friendship with Clerval and his relationship with Elizabeth more than anything. The monster’s tone in his narration shows extreme tenderness towards the family in the cottage (before Felix attacks him) and his unwavering eagerness to be close to other people. His request at the end of Chapter Seventeen further demonstrates his need for companionship and how this need reflects Victor’s own.

A passage that stood out to me is on page 91. It is in the section where the creature recounts the books he read during his time in the hovel. The book he describes in this passage is the Sorrows of Werter. What I found most interesting was his ability to analyze the texts he read even before his reading was fully developed. He applied the characters’ situations and personalities to his own, finding both similarities and differences between the two. Towards the end of the passage, the monster asks a series of questions about his origin that he was not able to answer at the time he read Werter. He questions his purpose in life and his future, both questions he also cannot answer. This passage shows the creation’s ability to read and understand literature and its application(s) to his own life. His constant self-reflection parallels Frankenstein’s: they both call themselves wretches and at some point question their life’s purpose.

[1] Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Frankenstein (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,

1994), 104.

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