Quote: “Shifting the Creature to center stage, in contrast, has habitually inspired all manner of leaps to interpret him as a metaphor for various marginalized human identities and situations, from Irish rebels to emancipated slaves. When we discuss some aspect of imaginative literature as providing “a metaphor for x,” x is always our destination—the tenor, what we value and want to discuss, (Holmes, 374).”
Comment: As is mentioned in the quote above, the Creature from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has been interpreted by multiple marginalized groups as a representation of their identity. Two distinct groups (though not the only ones) who see themselves and people like them reflected in Frankenstein’s Creature is the transgender and disabled communitiy. The interpretation of the Creature as a metaphor for either/both communities can be seen represented in Cohen’s Monster Culture, which contains seven thesis’s which help to explain the formation of “monsters” and their context with culture and society. The idea addressed in this quote best fits in Cohen’s sixth thesis, “the monster dwells at the gates of difference.” That is though there are distinctions between these two communities, there are also similarities, which can be seen in the way that the Creature views himself and his body, and the way society views him.
There is a similar connection that is addressed in two different articles pertaining to these communities Martha Holmes Born This Way: Reading Frankenstein with Disability, and Anson Koch-Rein’s Trans-lating the Monster: Transgender Affect and Frankenstien, which describe the scene where the Creature looks into a pond and sees his reflection for the first time. Both articles go on to describe how this scene and the Creature’s interpretation of himself is similar to the experiences of the marginalized communities that each article is about. In this scene the Creature says, “at first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I become fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensation of despondence and mortification, (Shelley 90).” In the case of the disabiled community, this scene is a reflection of the Creature realizing that he is different from the people that he has encountered. Though he does know that he is different prior to this scene from being stared at and run away from, it is seeing his own reflection that allows him to see this difference. Along with this Holmes says, “The dynamics of the social construction of deformity are central to the Creature’s narrative of development. He recognizes his bodily difference from those who flee from him, (Holmes 378).” Disability is shown in the Creature as Holmes says, “purely aesthetic in nature, (377)” and the exclusion that he experiences from it. As mentioned prior, this same scene was used in Koch-Rein’s article to reflect on the similarities between the Creature’s thoughts about himself and dysphoria that transgender individuals experience. When talking about this scene Koch-Rein says, “the monster experiences effectively, knows through acute moments of dysphoria, what it means to be viewed, and comes to view oneself as a monster. The monster’s view of his reflection in the transparent pool is no direct apprehension of something disgusting or shameful, (Koch-Rein 53-54).” It is interesting how this same scene can be interpreted to fit the experiences of different groups of people, and how said groups can see themselves and their experiences in the Creature. I think this really speaks to the intersectionality and overlap between the queer and disabiled communities.
Question: What are some of the overlapping similarities between marginalized (specifically queer and disabiled) communities? Why do so many of these groups see themselves and their experiences through the Creature?
