Teratology: The Study of Monsters
All humans have some minor trace of monstrosity in them so that means that every monster that has ever existed has been a human being. Contemplating monsters and monster like behavior is not a precise science. When the idea of studying monsters is explored, often times the teratology effort is seen in a negative realm. Not all monsters are evil. Some monsters are forged out of necessity or survival. All monsters have a trace of humanity that dwells within them.
Miss Havisham, from Great Expectations, is not the classic, run of the mill, everyday monster. Although, she is manipulative, deceptive, and just plain mean at times she does have human qualities. True, she turned out not to be Pip’s benefactor, but she gave him access to Estella before she was burned alive. She truly did love Estella, even though she did not know how the express her love. I would even venture to say she loved Pip as well. And once upon a time, Miss Havisham, even love a man. Before she reached monster status she had even planned to marry said man. However, things do not always work out as planned and as results, monsters, like Miss Havisham, are created. Our next monster is Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian was good, then he turned bad, but throughout the transition he remained beautiful. To the conflicting, on canvas was another story. Thanks to his portrait he could remain beautiful, save for the truth behind the portrait. This truth betrayed his monstrous soul. Dorian does struggle to maintain a conscience but he is unsuccessful. He goes to great lengths to protect his portrait. If something happens to the portrait then that something happens to him. He is aware of this and he retreats to survival mode when the portrait is threatened. He certainly did not propose to kill his best friend, things sometimes just happen. Dorian was completely consumed with self-preservation and all of his evil acts were forged out of this concept. What Dorian’s treatment of the painting represents may be seen as evil. He does not want to be evil. The painting made him do it. So, our monster number two, Mr. Dorian Gray, is in fact a monster created out of survival. The psychoanalytic aspect in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is overshadowing in this teratology. …show more content…
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a creation of Oscar Wilde’s consciousness and unconsciousness and consequently exposes his dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality. This novel is by all means "a well-written book" known not only for its attractive plot, the elegant language and the well-intended moral implications, but also for its credible revelation of the author 's sophisticated personality. The painful struggle between the three parts of Wilde 's personality present themselves in The Picture of Dorian Gray. “The three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Henry, faithfully reflect the three levels of Wilde 's personality, the id, the superego and the ego. According to Sigmund Freud, id, ego, and superego are the three divisions of the personality” (These 2). Charles Dickens’ characters, Miss Havisham and Estella, I believe, are based on his relationships with Catherine and Mary Hogarth,
All humans have some minor trace of monstrosity in them so that means that every monster that has ever existed has been a human being. Contemplating monsters and monster like behavior is not a precise science. When the idea of studying monsters is explored, often times the teratology effort is seen in a negative realm. Not all monsters are evil. Some monsters are forged out of necessity or survival. All monsters have a trace of humanity that dwells within them.
Miss Havisham, from Great Expectations, is not the classic, run of the mill, everyday monster. Although, she is manipulative, deceptive, and just plain mean at times she does have human qualities. True, she turned out not to be Pip’s benefactor, but she gave him access to Estella before she was burned alive. She truly did love Estella, even though she did not know how the express her love. I would even venture to say she loved Pip as well. And once upon a time, Miss Havisham, even love a man. Before she reached monster status she had even planned to marry said man. However, things do not always work out as planned and as results, monsters, like Miss Havisham, are created. Our next monster is Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dorian was good, then he turned bad, but throughout the transition he remained beautiful. To the conflicting, on canvas was another story. Thanks to his portrait he could remain beautiful, save for the truth behind the portrait. This truth betrayed his monstrous soul. Dorian does struggle to maintain a conscience but he is unsuccessful. He goes to great lengths to protect his portrait. If something happens to the portrait then that something happens to him. He is aware of this and he retreats to survival mode when the portrait is threatened. He certainly did not propose to kill his best friend, things sometimes just happen. Dorian was completely consumed with self-preservation and all of his evil acts were forged out of this concept. What Dorian’s treatment of the painting represents may be seen as evil. He does not want to be evil. The painting made him do it. So, our monster number two, Mr. Dorian Gray, is in fact a monster created out of survival. The psychoanalytic aspect in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is overshadowing in this teratology. …show more content…
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a creation of Oscar Wilde’s consciousness and unconsciousness and consequently exposes his dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality. This novel is by all means "a well-written book" known not only for its attractive plot, the elegant language and the well-intended moral implications, but also for its credible revelation of the author 's sophisticated personality. The painful struggle between the three parts of Wilde 's personality present themselves in The Picture of Dorian Gray. “The three main characters, Dorian, Basil and Henry, faithfully reflect the three levels of Wilde 's personality, the id, the superego and the ego. According to Sigmund Freud, id, ego, and superego are the three divisions of the personality” (These 2). Charles Dickens’ characters, Miss Havisham and Estella, I believe, are based on his relationships with Catherine and Mary Hogarth,