The Maternal And Fear Of The Womb - 960 Words

In Frankenstein, the need to abnegate the maternal and fear of the womb seems to be an inherent, even subconscious, impetus behind the scientist’s choices. Matrophobia is evident throughout the Gothic where the maternal protector is usually absent; either deceased like Madame St. Aubert in The Mysteries of Udolpho or imprisoned like Louisa Bernini in A Sicilian Romance. The mothers that continue to be present in the narrative are usually oppressed, such as Hippolita in The Castle of Otranto, or deviant, as Laurina is in Zofloya, where she is ‘the primary cause’ of all the misfortune in the novel (Dacre 246). Frankenstein seems to share this desire to eliminate the maternal but disguises his impulses under the guise of rational thought and logic. For example, when Frankenstein decides not to fulfill his promise of making a companion female monster, he presents this as a rationalised decision, weighing up whether he has ‘a right’ to ‘inflict this curse’ upon humanity (174). However, a closer analysis of his reasoning reveals that Frankenstein is primarily preoccupied with the monstrous fertility of a female creature since, through her, ‘a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth’ (174). We might recall that when creating his male progeny, Frankenstein was not afraid of a ‘race’ or ‘new species’ since he was still the absolute creator (80). Although the creature has not mentioned offspring, Frankenstein does not have the actual power of the divine to restrictShow MoreRelatedWilliam Faulkner s A Southern Renaissance Essay952 Words   |  4 Pagesthe wilderness implies ‘The Real,’ which is â€Å"neither symbolic nor imaginary, and remains foreclosed from the analytic experience, which is an experience of speech.† In other words, the wilderness is ‘primitive chaos’ and at the same time, ‘semiotic maternal body.’ Actually, a pass age which describes Isaac’s first entrance into the wilderness conveys somewhat sexual impression. †¦He entered it. Sam was waiting†¦while the wilderness closed behind his entrance as it had opened momentarily to accept himRead MoreThe Conception Process Of A Sperm Cell1709 Words   |  7 Pagesthe fourth month and the sixth month the fetus would be almost formed I would have gained another half-pound to a pound. An irregular breathing movements occur. After the 25 weeks of conception, the fetus would have a chance of surviving outside the womb. However, it may need some help for breathing in case the baby is born before the week 37 because its lungs are not completely mature. â€Å"One of the most remarkable aspect of the prenatal period is the development of the brain† During this period neuronsRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s The Bear939 Words   |  4 Pagescannot go through the wilderness; in contrast, it is almost trapped inside the wilderness just like a wretched phallus gets locked in a huge womb of a female. Another representative of ‘wilderness’ in this novel is the bear, Old Ben. He is â€Å"a phantom, epitome, and apotheosis of the old wild life† (Faulkner 31). Just like the wilderness is huge enough to rouse fear to humans, Old Ben is so huge that almost every creature feels â€Å"abjectness† in front of him; every wild lives, dogs, and even the human beingsRead MoreThe Birth Of The Pregnancy Stage Of Her Life850 Words   |  4 Pagesresults of many things such as mother’s age, maternal drug use, drinking too much caffeine, environmental toxins, mother’s diet or even stress. Bringing a baby in to this world is so exciting but there are precautions the expectant mother needs to take in order for the baby to be healthy. Even though the body serves as a barrier between the unborn baby and the environment, there are certain toxins that can affect the baby’s health even in the mother’s womb. Doing this research I finally understood howRead MoreEssay Femininity in Homer’s Iliad1882 Words   |  8 Pagesthe characteristics of life itself. It is the woman who gives birth to the heroes and therefore she is the first to bring her child to life and to put him on the road to death. This biological phenomenon might seem superficially irrelevant to the fears and concerns of the masculine heroes who are most concerned with death, destiny and honor, the principle themes of the Iliad. These are of great importance to these heroes because these aspects of life will determine whether or not the world will rememberRead MoreHow Does Gay Genes Affect Homosexuality? Essay1389 Words   |  6 Pagestestosterone have been shown to vary with increasing number of births, so it is likely that the youngest sibling would be exposed to the lowest level of testosterone in the womb when compared to the oldest child (Miller, 2000). Another explanation for the birth order affect also lies within the mother. This hypothesis is th e maternal immune hypothesis. When a woman gives birth to a child, particularly male in this case, some of the child’s cells will be left in the mother and allowed to circulate.Read MoreNature Vs Nurture : Is It Nature Working With Nurture?1550 Words   |  7 Pages and abnormal brain processes, such as depression, drug dependence, and other psychiatric disease†¦and can pass down to subsequent generations (2011). High levels of stress activate a variety of genes, including those suspected of being involved in fear, shyness and some mental illnesses. Children conceived during a three-month famine in the Netherlands during a Nazi blockade in 1945 were later found to have twice the rate of schizophrenia as did Dutch children born to parents who were spared theRead MoreMotherhood, All Love Begins And Ends Here1383 Words   |  6 PagesFor Kavita, her grief is doubled at the birth of her son, who is so cherished by her family. â€Å" They have showered on her all the trad itional gifts, as if this is her first baby, their first child. What about the other times I’ve carried a baby in my womb, given birth, held my child in my arms?†(65) She tries to envision her baby girl, while internally she struggles to let go of her resentment against her family, who now cherishes so lovingly on her son. Kavita does not care about the gifts or the celebrationRead MoreThe Final Climatic Scene On Prom Night886 Words   |  4 PagesPalma’s focus on the horrific female body and womanhood from a male perspective shows the patriarchal ideology of castration anxiety and fear of a woman’s power. Carrie is not empowered and enacting justice in the end, she is monstrous and leaves death and destruction in her wake. She regrets her choices and returns to the â€Å"amniotic fluid of the maternal womb in the bath† (Lindsey, 40). Carrie tries to retreat from her horrifying womanhood and return to her prepubescent form as an innocent childRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Bloody Chamber By Angela Carter1611 Words   |  7 Pagesthe journey of male into masculinity. For the boy, his mother is his first love while he is in the Oedipal stage. Much the opposite, his father remains his rival until the moment he realizes his mother doesn’t have a penis and he turns to fears his father. This fear creates a divide from his mother and creates the super ego which ends the Oedipal phase. Similarly, the girl begins with her mother as love object and father as rival. However, the realization of genital status in this situation, keeps her