Frankenstein, Volume One, Chapters Five and Six

In which Victor returns to health, letters arrive from loved ones, Elizabeth expounds at length on the history of a person whom Victor really already knows, tragedy strikes, and Victor figures it's probably his fault but eh, it'll probably end up working out this time, right? And in which the narrator assures you that he, too, will not stay dead.



Lookit that, we're back! This was actually recorded in part over a month ago, but only just completed last night (in case the sound between the two chapters sounds different or anything. Unfortunately, I appear to have, uh, misplaced my notes for Chapter 5, and my computer just ate my notes for Chapter 6, so I'm gonna have to go back through and listen to find out what notes are needed and where. I'll post 'em up here soon as I can!

In the meantime, here's today's cover, from a 1963 edition from Airmont Classics.Boy, this is a good one! I love that we've got Victor being all broody amongst his laboratory equipment that is also a graveyard, with the subtle grim specter of the creature's (Karloff-inspired) face looming in the background. This is also a great example of stock lab equipment in art. Want to show people your character is a "scientist"? Put some colored liquid into some flasks -- round-bottom and Erlenmeyer are especially popular, though I'm surprised there aren't any retorts there -- a smoking crucible over some kind of a burner, probably, and a mortar and pestle and boom! Science!


If you would like to read along, the text can be found at Project Gutenberg. No reading ahead, though!

Sense and Sensibility, Volume the First, Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen

In which Edward continues rather cold and reserved and is revealed to have a suspicious ring, then goes away; and we meet Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, the former most rude and the latter most gregarious; and in which our narrator is mildly creeped out by the hair ring but knows it was a different time and there's really nothing wrong with it.



I actually had this recording all ready to go for Friday, but wasn't able to get everything else together in time. Ah well. Maybe I'll be able to sneak an extra recording in this week to make up for it.

At 4:10, Marianne makes reference to "the taste and elegance of him who first described what picturesque beauty was." This refers to William Gilpin (1724-1804), a clergyman, artist, and Romantic writer who, in essays such as the 1792 "On Picturesque Beauty," was one of the first to define, well, "picturesque beauty." It meant, basically, "that which looks good in a picture," largely focusing on natural landscapes, rustic settings, etc.

At 5:01, we (or at least, I) learn that "banditti" is an acceptable plural for "bandit," and I will be sure to use that word as much as possible now.

6:58 - Came to take a survey of the guest.

When Edward refers, at 12:45, to lawyers driving around in "very knowing gigs," he just means fashionable carriages.

At 13:34, Mrs. Dashwood projects that Edward will end up like Columella, referring to the title character of Columella; or; The Distressed Anchoret: A Colloquial Tale, a 1779 novel by Richard Graves (1715-1804). The short explanation of this reference is essentially what's in the text: Columella is a gentleman who never worked a day in his life who has high hopes for his sons' future professions. A much, much more in-depth analysis of the reference can be found here, if you're into that sort of thing.

Lastly, at 21:06, we are told that Mrs. Palmer "expects to be confined in February," meaning that she is pregnant and is due then. Back in those days, women (well, those who could afford to, anyway) were basically bed-bound in the days leading up to and after giving birth. Not that it's a picnic now, but childbirth was a much, much more dangerous thing back then than it is today.

21:55 - "I declare they are quite charming."

If you would like to read along, the text can be found at Project Gutenberg, and high-res copies of the Thompson illustrations can be found in the British Library's Flickr stream. No reading ahead, though!