Our Frankensteins

 Soon it will be Halloween, and I am reflecting on ways that I can engage my Grade 4 students in a Halloween theme that ties in Greek Mythology. By coincidence, in fact, the kids are about to read about Prometheus, which ties into Mary Shelley's story of Frankenstein. I am definitely seeing interesting parallels across myths and this particular book, and I am especially interested in the subtle exploration of creator and creation.
   Most analyses of Frankenstein focus on the parallels between the monster and modern science or technology, commenting on to what extent humans should control nature or be in charge of creating life. I have a somewhat different take on this book these days, since I am thinking of to what extent Frankenstein's monster really represents one's shadow, or thoughts that one chooses to disown. It's often the case that when I am deeply critical of myself, I will project onto other people this critical tendency, believing that I am forced to believe others' critical remarks when in fact they are my own. Put it in this way: whatever I hear from others gains power by my belief that what they are saying is the absolute truth, rather than one moment in an unfolding process. I have swallowed into the idea that there are "other people" who are separate beings, rather than looking at the ways in which these others are only extensions of my thinking. For example, I hear a comment that is hurtful, and then I believe that this comment actually belongs to someone and is a fixed part of their personality. In fact, however, that comment is only one moment among others, and it would be incorrect for me to generalize that this comment exists eternally within another person. But by magic, I continue to associate that person with one hurtful remark that only came and went.
  To go back to Frankeinstein analogy, is it possible that Frankenstein is an allegory for ways in which our thoughts take on a life of their own if left unchecked, and we have to take some responsibility for this life? This metaphor suggests that rather than seeing one's creations as separate, that one truly see them as reflections of one's thought processes and to own them as phenomena of one's mind. Unless we do so, thoughts become "monsters", hijacking our families and friends, and leading us to faraway places where we have to bear our inner dramas in isolation.