Theme Of Motherhood In The Babadook

   Frankenstein can be read as a tale of what happens when a man tries to create a child without a woman. It can, however, also be read as an account of a woman's anxieties and insecurities about her own creative and reproductive capabilities. The story of Frankenstein is the first articulation of a woman's experience of pregnancy and related fears. Mary Shelley, in the development and education of the monster, discusses child development and education and how the nurturing of a loving parent is extremely important in the moral development of an individual. Thus, in Frankenstein, Mary Shelley examines her own fears and thoughts about pregnancy, childbirth, and child development.

In Seven Monster Theses, Jeffery Cohen develops an idea that “monsters” are essential to society. In fact, they construct what is “normal”, “rational”, and “civilized”. Specifically, “monsters” are foundational to how we view ourselves. “Monsters” contain all the traits deemed unacceptable and odd. It can be concluded that every outlier is a “monster”. In St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell tells the story of a pack of wolf girls who are transitioning into young ladies. Russell delves into society’s need for conformity, gender roles, and change. The story is told from the point of view of the middle wolf girl, Claudette, and follows her on her journey from wolf to woman. In relation to Jeffery Cohen’s idea of monster culture, Claudette’s journey applies to Thesis IV “The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference” and part of Thesis I “The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body”. Claudette is torn between two worlds and she has to learn how to successfully “move between the two cultures”. Through Cohen’s theses, Karen Russell uses character development and dialogue to depict the inner and outer battle of societal femininity and individualized femininity and the consequence of accepting either side. The presence of “monsters” are essential for this acceptance.

Elisheva Baumgarten’s work stands as a model for students and scholars alike in its comprehensive review of little-known writings and other sources from medieval Ashkenazi Jews as well as in its meticulous analysis of the often ambiguous writings. In Mothers and Children, Baumgarten examines a plethora of primary sources to explore the inner dynamics of Jewish families; she then uses this information to draw objective conclusions about the relationship between the Jewish and Christian communities in the middle ages.

What differentiates Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein from the majority of horror novels are the very real and timeless themes it explores.  The overriding theme of the novel - scientific investigation without consideration of morality and responsibility is still an important topic in today’s world.  “Perhaps the reality of cloning and genetic engineering makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published”(Patterson). This theme, along with the more subtle themes of revenge, the inability to accept those who are different, and the inability to control one's destiny are all themes which separate Frankenstein from other novels in the genre.

A predominant theme in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is that of child-rearing and/or parenting techniques.  Specifically, the novel presents a theory concerning the negative impact on children from the absence of nurturing and motherly love.  To demonstrate this theory, Shelly focuses on Victor Frankenstein’s experimenting with nature, which results in the life of his creature, or “child”.  Because Frankenstein is displeased with the appearance of his offspring, he abandons him and disclaims all of his “parental” responsibility.  Frankenstein’s poor “mothering” and abandonment of his “child” leads to the creation’s

Dr. Diana Baumrinds’ research on the various parenting methods are directly mirrored in the parents that influence Sophie. The narrator of the short story closely resembles Dr. Baumrind’s first method of parenting, authoritarian. Dictating Sophie’s actions can be traced back to her cultural background, with a high stress on obedience and discipline she often times forces Sophie to conform

The character of the mother executes the tell-tale signs of counterfeit happiness when she tells the murderous story of the narrator’s father’s brother. “‘Oh honey,’ she said, ‘there’s a lot that you don’t know. But you are going to find out’” (36).

In “Monster Culture”, Jeffery Cohen develops an idea that “monsters” are essential to society. In fact, they construct what is “normal”, “rational”, and “civilized”. Specifically, “monsters” are foundational to how we view ourselves. “Monsters” contain all the traits deemed unacceptable and odd. It can be concluded that every outlier is a “monster”. In St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, Karen Russell tells the story of a pack of wolf girls who are transitioning into young ladies. Russell delves into society’s need for conformity, gender roles, and change. The story is told from the point of view of the middle wolf girl, Claudette, and follows her on her journey from wolf to woman. In relation to Jeffery Cohen’s idea of monster culture, Claudette’s journey applies to Thesis IV “The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference” and part of Thesis I “The Monster’s Body is a Cultural Body”. Claudette is torn between two worlds and she has to learn how to successfully “move between the two cultures”. Through Cohen’s theses, Karen Russell uses character development and dialogue to depict the inner and outer battle of societal femininity and individualized femininity and the decision of accepting either side. The presence of “monsters” are essential for this acceptance.

The gothic fictions “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” approach the importance of a parent role and the effect of such role on the child’s life. In Mary Shelley’s novel, she uses Victors past and present to demonstrate how the poor treatment from his parents lead him to poorly fathering his own child. In contrast, James’ takes the approach of showing parenting in a more overbearing and overexerted way, in demonstrating the relationship between the governess and the children and as their guardian how she seeks to protect them from all danger. This essay will look at these two works and how critics have interpreted this theme to view the similarities in the effects of certain parenting and the differences that led to these outcomes. In looking at the main characters of both narratives and their approach with their children it is possible to see how there must be a balance in the presence and absence of parental figure in the developmental period of a child or creature’s life. Moreover, if such balance cannot be attained this could be the leading factor to the detrimental downfalls of the families in these novels.

“ People fear what they do not understand. ” In the original 1888 edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this saying is excessively shown throughout the journey of Frankenstein himself and his creation known as “ the creature.” Fear is spreaded in this famous, gothic novel because the epitome of society is lacked by both the creator and the creation, leading to much misunderstanding with who is the real monster. In this novel, the true monster is society because the ideals indirectly presented led Frankenstein to abhor and abandon the creature, the ultimate isolation of both, and the delirious vengeance developed by the two.

Over the years, the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has become universally portrayed in one way: a tall, green-skinned, dumb brute with no language or reasoning abilities. Society has turned the story of Frankenstein into a mere horror story, dehumanizing the monster more than was intended in Shelley’s novel. However, the message of Frankenstein is a far cry from the freak show displayed by the media. While many people may only see Frankenstein as a grotesque story meant to thrill its audience, its purpose goes much deeper as it advocates for the equal rights of women in society.

In Margaret Atwood’s “Lusus Naturae”, a young girl/ monster is hidden away from the world because her family will not accept her appearance. While her parents thought keeping her locked up in the house was a beneficial decision, she became isolated and lacked the knowledge and understanding of the world outside her four walls. Even though “Lusus Naturae” is a dark, twisted, and frightening tale there is more to the story than just a “freak of nature” being hidden from the world. One must read the story more in depth and closer to illustrate the themes of women’s roles in society in relation to the monster. Margaret Atwood uses symbolic parallels and narrative tones to exemplify her views of women’s historical roles in society.

The Babadook is a haunting film filled with twists and turns that leave the audience terrified without ever utilizing a single cliché jump-scare. The audience is constantly in a state of dread and fear along with the protagonist. One of the final scenes in the movie shows the protagonist walking into her basement to feed the monster that she keeps down there. The scene is a unique ending that is not commonly seen in horror films. It revolves around implicit meaning and the interesting point-of-view editing. Without the implicit meaning of the film and the point-of-view editing in this scene, the emotional impact of the film would have been much weaker.

Calling The Babadook “true horror” is subjective; though to a certain extent true. It utilizes an extensive list of terrifying tropes, whilst also shaping them into images that are fresh. A key aspect of the movie is the attention to color and its effect on the viewer. With a grey tone to the colors, the movie makes use of an atmospheric suffusion of solemnity. Subsequently, The Babadook removes the “pure” or “light” from objects and people alike, resulting in the “dark side” pervading most scenes. An illustration of this is a children’s book Amelia reads to her son; the shadows are deeper and darker when paired next to the muted palette. By taking the color and, by extension, even the life out of the movie as a whole, the audience is left with decayed mise-en-scene. What remains is the grim “evil” of the world. With regard to the assertion that film creates true horror, the cinematographic choice too mute the tone of the entire production is the foundation causing the intrinsic anxiety. For that reason, it can be argued The Babadook creates “true horror.”

In The Night of The Hunter, Directed by Charles Laughton, this 1950s Noir film exist to shock but also educate the audience in this surrealist “parable” like tale of good versus evil. Backdrop to a SETTING, at the center of the story is a young boy, John, whom is tasked by his late Father to protect his Sister Pearl and his Mother from harm. However, what complicates this story is the 2000 GRAND, his Father stole in order to protect the family that he also entrusts his son to keep secret. Ironically, the money because the ultimate endangerment for the family, as it forces both John and Pearl to run away from home after a Preacher discovers where the money is hidden, thus killing their mother, Willa, in the process. In the Preacher stopping at nothing to obtain the money, both John and Pearl seek shelter in an elderly women’s home where they defeat and ultimately rid themselves of the Preacher forever. The elderly women, Rachel, while appearing physically later into the storyline, embodies the folk tale and parable elements of this warped fairytale through her strong religious ties that juxtapose with the Preacher. With the Preacher, Harry Powell, using religion to manipulate and deceive, Rachel becomes his opposite in the storyline, using religion to teach and to forgive the characters choices that are provoked by the Preachers manipulation. However, what is interesting is the choice in choosing Rachel to embody