I come to realize that in my literary journey, there’s a clear magnetism toward broken and tragic figures. It is no coincidence that one of my yearly traditions is to read Frankenstein.
“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from Earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.”
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
But what is it about these figures that call out thru the vast eons of ink and words with such a strong resounding voice? For me the answer is easy, I have felt broken all my life, like an amorphous creature, sawn together with the pieces of what was left over from existence, animated only by chance and a few thousand volts.
There’s a deep echo in the search for meaning by Frankenstein’s Monsters, that there’s more to life than the deformed Visage that his creator bestowed upon him. The major question that comes to me from the harrowing story is: Does the creature deserves the pursuit of a dignified life?
The answer will always be yes, no matter how broken we feel, we deserve redemption, and as our path leads us to the harshest condition the final destination is finding that all the cogs that are inside of us can only be repaired by ourselves.
This is why I think the tradition of reading Frankenstein should come to an end. I need to mend not only the visible scars that have made up the creature that I’m today but more importantly, find the faulty inner gears and gently put them back in place. The time has come to not feel broken, redemption is well within reach, I just have to believe that I deserve it.
Remember, you are a unique beautiful creature that by insurmountable odds is experiencing the breathtaking miracle of existing.
You are enough and you always were.
azr
lostinamillionpages.com 
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