What is "Frankenstein" really about?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a novel about an eighteenth century scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates life from a dead body and cannot handle the consequences of his action. Immediately after his creation comes to life, Frankenstein abandons his creation due to pure disgust of its appearance. Read More Abuse Of Power In Frankenstein
What was the main plot of Frankenstein?
Summaries. An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body. A young neurosurgeon (Gene Wilder) inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein.
What is Frankenstein's real name?
Mary Shelley created the monster as much less evil and more human than storybooks read to children portray. One of the biggest differences between the modern and the real story of Frankenstein is the name itself. The true name of the monster was never revealed, instead many gave it the last name of his creator, Victor Frankenstein.
What is scary about Frankenstein?
What makes Frankenstein scary? Frankenstein is simultaneously the first science-fiction novel, a Gothic horror, a tragic romance and a parable all sewn into one towering body. Its two central tragedies – one of overreaching and the dangers of ‘playing God’, the other of parental abandonment and societal rejection – are as relevant today ...
What did Dipple do in Castle Frankenstein?
What is the best known monster in the world?
What was the branch of alchemy?
What period was Mary Shelly writing?
What happens to the Baron in Frankenstein?
Who was the main inspiration for Victor Frankenstein?
Who was the scientist who created Frankenstein?
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What is the story behind the writing of Frankenstein?
In 1816 Mary, Percy and Lord Byron had a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for days, Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein after imagining a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made.
What is the main message of Frankenstein?
The main message that Frankenstein conveys is the danger in the pursuit of knowledge and advancement in Science and Technology. In the novel we see Victor try to push forward the limits of science by creating a creature from old body parts. The creation of the creature backfired on Victor once the monster escaped.
Is Frankenstein based off a real story?
In previously unseen documentation, it has been revealed that Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein” was indeed based on a true story. After some damning evidence was uncovered, it was found that Shelley had actually tried many of the experiments on her pet dog, Richard.
Who is the real monster in Frankenstein?
Victor is the true monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He is the reckless scientist who unleashed a creature on society that was helpless to combat the horrors and rejection that society placed on him due to his differences.
Why did Frankenstein create the monster?
Why does Frankenstein create the Monster? Frankenstein believes that by creating the Monster, he can discover the secrets of “life and death,” create a “new species,” and learn how to “renew life.” He is motivated to attempt these things by ambition. He wants to achieve something great, even if it comes at great cost.
What did the creature do to the boy?
He seized a small boy, and discovered that he was William Frankenstein. What did the creature do to this person? He strangled the boy.
What is the true horror of Frankenstein?
A scene from "The Bride of Frankenstein." If fictional scientist Victor Frankenstein had created a mate for his nameless Creature, humans would have gone extinct in about 4,000 years, according to a new study co-authored by a UC Merced professor.
Why Victor is the real monster?
Victor is the true monster through his actions and personality throughout the book. Victor's hostility towards the creature, obsession with creating life, and the yearning for a God-like status and power all reveal the inner monster Victor possesses.
What does Frankenstein teach us about humanity?
Frankenstein is a novel that is defined by its distortion of humanity. Mary Shelley's objective is to expose how horrible humans can be to each other. In her eyes the monster represented the cruelty of mankind. Not all humans in the novel were cruel, but Victor was the creator and the monster was part of him.
What is the purpose of reading Frankenstein?
The title foreshadows the intended and unintended consequences of one's actions. Therefore, one of the main reasons for reading “Frankenstein” is that the story and themes remain relevant because the plights of the characters exemplify the many issues and concerns of modern societies.
What are two major themes in Frankenstein?
Themes in Frankensteinbirth and creation. Frankenstein succeeds in creating a "human" life form very much as God does.alienation. Victor chooses to be alienated because of his desire for knowledge.family. Frankenstein presents the value of the domestic circle. ... dangerous Knowledge. ... ambition. ... revenge. ... nature.
What does Frankenstein teach us about society?
Frankenstein believed that it would be incredible if he could create life, only to find out that his incredible creation was, in fact, a catastrophic mistake. This teaches us, as a curious society looking to better ourselves and create new things, to be cautious of what we delve into.
What was the name of the book that Shelley wrote in 1818?
The conditions that summer were damp and cool due to a volcano eruption the year before, creating an uncanny atmosphere. One night, Byron suggested they engage in a writing contest to see who could come up with the best ghost story. Shelley's entry would become Frankenstein, published two years later in 1818. Byron's suggestion might have come from the party's reading material: an anthology of German horror stories titled Fantasmagoriana.
When was Frankenstein written?
Frankenstein was written as the result of a writing contest between Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron in 1816 . Mary Shelley continued to develop her story into a full-fledged novel, which was published two years later in 1818. Download PDF. Print. Page Citation.
What inspired Shelley to create a living thing?
The creation of a living being from dead tissue was inspired by talk of the experiments of scientist Luigi Galvani, who famously discovered that the legs of a dead frog would twitch when hit by an electric current.
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Who was the writer of Frankenstein?
The Shelleys had traveled to Lake Geneva with Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, in the summer of 1816 to visit with Lord Byron, Clairmont's lover at the time. John Polidori, a physician and writer, was also present.
Who discovered that a dead frog's legs would twitch when hit by an electric current?
The creation of a living being from dead tissue was inspired by talk of the experiments of scientist Luigi Galvani, who famously discovered that the legs of a dead frog would twitch when hit by an electric current. Last Updated by eNotes Editorial on February 9, 2021.
Who is John Polidori?
John Polidori, a physician and writer, was also present. The conditions that summer were damp and cool due to a volcano eruption the year before, creating an uncanny atmosphere. One night, Byron suggested they engage in a writing contest to see who could come up with the best ghost story.
What are the influences of Shelley's writing?
Shelley was heavily influenced by both of her parents' works. Her father was famous for Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and her mother famous for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Her father's novels also influenced her writing of Frankenstein. These novels included Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams, St. Leon, and Fleetwood. All of these books were set in Switzerland, similar to the setting in Frankenstein. Some major themes of social affections and the renewal of life that appear in Shelley's novel stem from these works she had in her possession. Other literary influences that appear in Frankenstein are Pygmalion et Galatée by Mme de Genlis and Ovid, with the use of individuals identifying the problems with society. Ovid also inspires the use of Prometheus in Shelley's title.
What influences Frankenstein?
The influence of John Milton 's Paradise Lost and Samuel Taylor Coleridge 's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are clearly evident in the novel. In The Frankenstein of the French Revolution, author Julia Douthwaite posits that Shelley likely acquired some ideas for Frankenstein's character from Humphry Davy 's book Elements of Chemical Philosophy, in which he had written that "science has ... bestowed upon man powers which may be called creative; which have enabled him to change and modify the beings around him ...". References to the French Revolution run through the novel; a possible source may lie in François-Félix Nogaret [ fr] 's Le Miroir des événemens actuels, ou la Belle au plus offrant (1790), a political parable about scientific progress featuring an inventor named Frankésteïn, who creates a life-sized automaton.
What is the class code for Frankenstein?
LC Class. PR5397 .F7. Text. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus at Wikisource. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.
Where did Shelley go in the book?
Shelley travelled through Europe in 1815 along the river Rhine in Germany, stopping in Gernsheim, 17 kilometres (11 mi) away from Frankenstein Castle, where two centuries before, an alchemist engaged in experiments.
What is Frankenstein's obsession with Walton?
Frankenstein starts to recover from his exertion; he sees in Walton the same obsession that has destroyed him and recounts a story of his life's miseries to Walton as a warning.
Where is Frankenstein Castle?
The German name Frankenstein means "stone of the Franks ," and is associated with various places in Germany, including Frankenstein Castle ( Burg Frankenstein) in Darmstadt, Hesse, and Frankenstein Castle in Frankenstein, a town in the Palatinate.
Did Mary Shelley visit Frankenstein Castle?
A literary essay by A. J. Day supports Florescu's position that Mary Shelley knew of and visited Frankenstein Castle before writing her debut novel. Day includes details of an alleged description of the Frankenstein castle in Mary Shelley's "lost journals.".
When was the first Frankenstein movie made?
The first Frankenstein film was produced by Thomas Edison in 1910. Two German films, The Golem (1914) and Homunculus (1916), dealt with a similar theme derived from Jewish folklore. The Hollywood film Frankenstein (1931), with Boris Karloff as the monster, was based as much on The Golem as on Shelley’s novel. This film was a great success and was followed by dozens of variations on the Frankenstein story in films such as Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Frankenstein Conquers the World (1969), a Japanese-made version. The character of the monster has also been used as a vehicle for easy humour—as in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and Mel Brooks ’s Young Frankenstein (1974).
What is the book Frankenstein about?
The book tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss student of natural science who creates an artificial man from pieces of corpses and brings his creature to life.
Was Frankenstein based on a book?
The Hollywood film Frankenstein (1931), with Boris Karloff as the monster, was based as much on The Golem as on Shelley’s novel. This film was a great success and was followed by dozens of variations on the Frankenstein story in films such as Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Frankenstein Conquers the World (1969), a Japanese-made version.
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Who was the actor who played Frankenstein in the movie?
Boris Karloff. …Pictures’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, one of Hollywood’s first important horror films, Karloff was hired for the part. The film was a sensation, and Karloff’s tender, sympathetic performance received so much critical praise that he became an overnight sensation. When the actor starred in a succession ...
What did Shelley argue about the pursuit of knowledge?
Knowledge, Shelley argued, should always be pursued in tranquillity; creation should always be the intellectual fruit of a “peaceful mind”. The words that Frankenstein utters can be read, too, as an expression of Shelley’s approach to authorship.
How old was Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein?
Much has been made of her comparative youth when she wrote Frankenstein. The novel was begun when she was 18.
What is Victor Frankenstein's goal?
Victor Frankenstein’s aims in creating new life are, after all, commendable. Reflecting the mixed aspirations of his mythological counterpart Prometheus, Frankenstein wishes to “pour a torrent of light into our dark world” and in so doing “renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption”.
What is the Frankenstein effect?
The “Frankenstein effect” has become synonymous with questionable advances in genetics, in vitro fertilisation and artificial intelligence, evoking the spectre of dangerous science. It has become an example of what goes wrong when science goes too far.
What was Shelley's response to Scott's review of her novel?
Shelley’s response to Scott’s review of her novel was swift. Writing to Scott on June 14, 1818, she pointed out his error, noting, “I am anxious to prevent your continuing in the mistake of supposing Mr Shelley guilty of a juvenile attempt of mine.”.
What was Davy's account of science?
Davy’s account of science was mesmerising for the sheer excitement that it conveyed: “Science has … bestowed upon [man] powers which may be called almost creative, ” he declared. Frankenstein, drawing upon the scientific advancements of its age, Erasmus Darwin’s early theory of evolutionary development in the 1790s, vitality, ...
What is Shelley's assertion of women's rights?
It may be the one for which we now celebrate Shelley, but all of her works reveal an assertion of women’s rights to create as authors and artists , associating these rights with a calm pursuit of knowledge. Shelley, author of Frankenstein, cautious supporter of scientific advancement, was much, much more than the sum of the parts of her first monster.
How did Percy Shelley die?
Polidori committed suicide in 1821. Percy Shelley drowned during a freak storm in 1822, when he was just 29 years old. Byron took the daughter he had with Claire, Allegra, away from her mother and sent her to a convent to be educated; she died there in 1822 at age 5. Byron died in 1824 after contracting a fever.
What was the deadliest volcano in the world?
In 1815, a gigantic volcanic eruption at Mount Tambora in Indonesia choked the air with ash and dust. The eruption killed roughly 100,000 people in its immediate aftermath, but the overall toll ended up being much higher—it is now considered to be the deadliest volcano eruption in history. The next summer, the warm growing season never came.
Why was Byron annoyed with Claire?
Byron was annoyed by Claire’s attempts to enchant him. Mary had to fight off sexual advances from Polidori, who had become obsessed with her. Percy was depressed. By the time three days of rain trapped them inside the villa, tensions had reached a boiling point. They coped by reading horror stories and morbid poems.
How old was Mary Shelley when she wrote Frankenstein?
It sounds like the stuff of a horror story—and for Mary Shelley, it was. She wrote her masterpiece Frankenstein when she was just 19 years old, and the dark, stormy summer nights that helped bring her monstrous creation to life were nearly as dramatic as the novel itself. Strangely enough, the saga of Frankenstein started not with a vision ...
What was the first novella to include a blood sucking hero?
His novella “The Vampyre, ” published in 1819, is the first work of fiction to include a blood-sucking hero—which many think was modeled on Byron himself. Mary wanted to write a story, too, but she couldn’t land on a subject.
How many people died in Tambora?
Crop failures stretched across Europe, Asia and even North America for three years afterward. Famines, epidemics and political revolts followed. Historians estimate that at least a million people starved in the aftermath of Tambora’s eruption, while tens of millions died from a global cholera pandemic that it unleashed.
Where did Byron stay in Frankenstein?
During the frigid evenings they gathered with the rest of the group at the Villa Diodati, the stately mansion Byron had rented for his stay along with John Polidori, his doctor. They read poetry, argued, and talked late into the night. Villa Diodati, near Geneva, where literary character Frankenstein was created in 1816.
How did Mary Shelley die?
Afterward she wrote, “I have only to lament that, when the bitterness of death was past, I was inhumanely brought back to life and misery.” She died two years later from puerperal fever , about ten days after giving birth to Mary Shelley. Her resuscitation and her despair at being saved echo through Frankenstein, where tragedy is set in motion by a rash attempt to make life out of death.
What was Mary Shelley's second major scientific influence?
The second major scientific influence on Mary Shelley came from the emerging field of electrophysiology . In the 1780s, Italian scientist Luigi Galvani began investigating the effects of electricity on animal tissues. He found that by passing an electrical current from a lighting storm or an electrical machine through the nerves of a dead frog, the frog’s legs could be made to kick and twitch. In 1791 he published an essay announcing his discovery that animal muscles and nerves contained an innate electrical force, which he dubbed “animal electricity.”
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Who wrote Frankenstein?
Mary Shelley was steeped in these questions in the summer of 1816 when she wrote the first draft of Frankenstein in a rented house on the waterfront at Lake Geneva. She was well read in the sciences and furthermore was accompanied by her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley, an ardent amateur chemist. In a neighboring house were Lord Byron and his personal physician John Polidori. The group had wide-ranging philosophical conversations that touched on scientific investigations into the nature of life, including galvanism. When Lord Byron challenged each member of the group to compose a ghost story, Mary Shelley responded by weaving fantasy and scientific fact in a way that had never been done before, creating a masterpiece that has fascinated and terrified readers for generations.
Who was Galvani's nephew?
Several years later, Galvani’s nephew, the physicist Giovanni Aldini, combined his uncle’s discoveries with those of Alessandro Volta (the inventor of the first electric battery) to stage a series of dramatic experiments and demonstrations around Europe. Before crowds of astonished onlookers, he used electric currents to stimulate motion in the bodies of dismembered animals. The head of an ox, for example, was made to twitch and open its eyes.
What did Dipple do in Castle Frankenstein?
The German tried to swap the recipe for the elixir for Castle Frankenstein, but this offer was wisely refused, by the owners. There are many stories told about Dipple. Some claim that he experimented with explosives and during one, he accidentally blew up a tower in Castle Frankenstein. It is known that Dipple conducted experiments on dead bodies and animals. This was illegal and many people believed that such experiments meant that Dipple was engaged in black magic. There are claims that the local people eventually drove him from Castle Frankenstein. Many others saw him as a fraud. He continued to work as an alchemist and claimed to have found an elixir that could exorcize demons.
What is the best known monster in the world?
Frankenstein is perhaps one of the best-known monsters in all of literary history and popular culture. The monster and the tale of his creation has been portrayed countless times in movies, comics, and even cartoons. The story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation is concerned with some profound themes, such as the ethics of science and the nature of humanity.
What was the branch of alchemy?
Alchemy was considered to be a branch of natural philosophy, the forerunner of modern science before the modern era. Alchemists were a combination of magicians and scientists. They were often believed to be engaged not in science, which was not well-defined in the Middle Ages, but in Black Magic. There were undoubtedly some aspects of alchemy that were related to myth, magic and the spiritual world. They carried out experiments that attempted to turn base metals into gold. Some alchemists tried to find magic elixirs that made people eternally youthful or even immortal.
What period was Mary Shelly writing?
The author was writing during the Romantic period which was fascinated by the occult and magic. Supernatural and occult stories from German were especially popular. Mary Shelly was very familiar with stories about Medieval alchemists.
What happens to the Baron in Frankenstein?
Victor vows revenge and follows the Creature, who flees to the Arctic. During the pursuit, the Baron, falls sick and dies. The monster is distraught at the death of his creator and is last seen on an ice flow drifting out to sea, presumably facing certain death.
Who was the main inspiration for Victor Frankenstein?
Many academics believe that Johann Conrad Dippel (1673-1734), who was a German theologian, mystic, scientists, fraud, and alchemist was the chief inspiration for Victor Frankenstein and his experiment. He was born in Castle Frankenstein, this is a castle that overlooks the city of Darmstadt, in Germany. Shelley sets some of her chapters in her novel in this old fortress and adopted its name for her main character, Victor Frankenstein. Dippel was a child prodigy and had mastered many subjects at a young age. He achieved fame because of his theological writings, which claimed that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. Dipple was a very controversial figure and his theories were widely condemned by mainstream theologians. At some time, he became interested in alchemy and he developed an elixir that he claimed could help people to live to a great age. This became known as ‘Dipple’s Oil’ and became popular.
Who was the scientist who created Frankenstein?
In the second edition of her most famous novel, Shelley states on the night that she conceived of the story of Victor Frankenstein and his Creature she was thinking about the work of Giovanni Aldini (1762 – 1834). He was a scientist and was the nephew of Luigi Galvani (1737-1798). Galvani was one of the pioneers in bioelectricity and he was the first to demonstrate that the muscles of dead animals could be briefly re-animated by electricity, a method that was known as the ‘galvanic process’. Galvani was one of the first to show how electricity was important as signaling in the muscles, nerves, and brains. Aldini continued his uncle's works and even extended it to other areas. Aldini was also a brilliant anatomist and was concerned about how to extend human life. Much of his work was scientifically significant.
Mary Shelly- Brilliance and Tragedy
- The creator of one of the greatest horror stories of all time was an English lady. Mary Godwin (1797-1851), was the daughter of the great feminist author Mary Wollenscroft and the political philosopher William Goodwin. When she was 16 she began an affair with the English poet Percy …
Literary Influences
- Like many writers, Shelley was moved to create a character or story by her literary peers. One of the possible literary sources of Shelley’s work was likely to have been François-Félix Nogaret (1740-1831). He wrote a novel with a central character with a name similar to Frankenstein who is also a scientist. He creates an automaton or a robot. Nogret work is an allegory of the French Re…
The Occult
- The author was writing during the Romantic period which was fascinated by the occult and magic. Supernatural and occult stories from German were especially popular.Mary Shelly was very familiar with stories about Medieval alchemists. Alchemy was considered to be a branch of natural philosophy, the forerunner of modern science before the modern era. Alchemists were a …
Giovanni Aldini
- Mary Shelley was a very learned woman and she was very aware of the intellectual trends of the time. Following the Enlightenment, there were a remarkable number of scientific discoveries in areas as diverse as chemistry and biology. The study of electricity was something that was emerging at this time. It fascinated many, who believed that it could transform not only society b…
Johann Conrad Dippel
- Many academics believe that Johann Conrad Dippel (1673-1734), who was a German theologian, mystic, scientists, fraud, and alchemist was the chief inspiration for Victor Frankenstein and his experiment. He was born in Castle Frankenstein, this is a castle that overlooks the city of Darmstadt, in Germany. Shelley sets some of her chapters in her novel in this old fortress and ad…
Conclusion
- The story of Victor Frankenstein and his Creature have captivated the imagination of the public for two centuries. The novel is a work of fiction, but it was undoubtedly based on historical events and people. Shelley was inspired in part by the experiments by alchemists. Her novel is very similar to many of the tales of medieval occultists. Shelley was writing in a period when scientist…
Further Reading
- Carlson, Julie A. England's First Family of Writers: Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, Mary Shelley. (JHU Press, 2007.) Fisch, Audrey, Anne K. Mellor, and Esther H. Schor, eds. The Other Mary Shelley: Beyond Frankenstein. (Oxford University Press, 1993.)
Overview
Frankenstein [ˈfʁaŋknˌʃtaɪn]; or, The Modern Prometheus, is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when s…
Summary
Frankenstein is a frame story written in epistolary form. It documents a fictional correspondence between Captain Robert Walton and his sister, Margaret Walton Saville. The story takes place in the eighteenth century (the letters are dated as "17-"). Robert Walton is a failed writer who sets out to explore the North Pole in hopes of expanding scientific knowledge. During the voyage, the crew spots a dog sled driven by a gigantic figure. A few hours later, the crew rescues a nearly frozen a…
Author's background
Mary Shelley's mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, died from infection eleven days after giving birth to her. Shelley grew close to her father, William Godwin, having never known her mother. Godwin hired a nurse, who briefly cared for her and her half sister, before marrying second wife Mary Jane Clairmont, who did not like the close bond between Shelley and her father. The resulting friction caused G…
Literary influences
Shelley was heavily influenced by both of her parents' works. Her father was famous for Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and her mother famous for A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Her father's novels also influenced her writing of Frankenstein. These novels included Things as They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams, St. Leon, and Fleetwood. All of these books were set in Switzerland, similar to the setting in Frankenstein. Some major themes of social affections and t…
Composition
During the rainy summer of 1816, the "Year Without a Summer", the world was locked in a long, cold volcanic winter caused by the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815. Mary Shelley, aged 18, and her lover (and future husband), Percy Bysshe Shelley, visited Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The weather was too cold and dreary that summer to enjoy the outdoor holiday act…
Frankenstein and the Monster
Although the Creature was described in later works as a composite of whole body parts grafted together from cadavers and reanimated by the use of electricity, this description is not consistent with Shelley's work; both the use of electricity and the cobbled-together image of Frankenstein's monster were more the result of James Whale's popular 1931 film adaptation of the story and other …
Publication
Shelley completed her writing in April/May 1817, and Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus was published on 1 January 1818 by the small London publishing house Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones. It was issued anonymously, with a preface written for Mary by Percy Bysshe Shelley and with a dedication to philosopher William Godwin, her father. It was published in an e…
Reception
Frankenstein has been both well received and disregarded since its anonymous publication in 1818. Critical reviews of that time demonstrate these two views, along with confused speculation as to the identity of the author. Walter Scott, writing in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, praises the novel as an "extraordinary tale, in which the author seems to us to disclose uncommon powers of poetic imagination," although he was less convinced about the way in which the monster gain…