Part 1 of Doug Bradley reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Hello and welcome to the first

part

of my

reading

of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. As I said in the introductory article, if you watched that video, I'll read it in about twelve

part

s. I think the whole read will take about ten hours, so this is episode 1, if you repeat like I said before, although you won't see them live, these are live recordings. I am sitting in a corner of a room in my house, there may be strange noises, it is not a The studio is not a soundproof room and it is recorded live. There will be no edits or retakes.

If I make mistakes, I'll address them as best I can and move on. The first part of the novel is really a prologue. the narration of Captain Walton in a series of letters he writes to his sister in England while sailing through the Northwoods towards the Arctic, where he hopes to find a paradise of perpetual sunshine, although that may be an invention on the part of Mary Shelley, which is The truth is that he is also searching for the so-called Northwest Passage to find a way through the ice he is describing, that journey which then becomes a different journey when he first discovers thicker ice on a dog sled. of an unusual size.

I imagine he writes and then pauses to another person who was apparently sledding out of the sea heading north and that individual reveals himself to be Victor Frankenstein and just a word about the quotes, it's a curiosity of 19th century novels. I've never fully understood it, to be honest. As a child, I was very upset and bewildered that they never gave me the exact year, so the first letter here, Mary Shelley, is from st. Petersburg 11 December 17 - I'm not going to read 17 - so I'll leave the year out when necessary Mary Shelley writes in the early 19th century.

I think we can assume that the novel is set in the The lake dates back to the 18th century in 1700, so we can take that for granted and I won't read it, so it's time to start turning off the cell phone and not creaking. You see candy wrappers. Frankenstein or the modern Prometheus. start that again i told you there would be mistakes

frankenstein

or

mary

shelley

's modern prometheus to mrs. Savile England st. Saint Petersburg, December 11. You will be glad to know that no disaster has accompanied the beginning of an enterprise that you have contemplated with such bad forebodings.

I arrived here yesterday and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my well-being and increasing confidence in success. From my company I am already far north of London and as I walk through the streets of Saint Petersburg I feel a cold northern breeze playing on my cheeks that strengthens my nerves and fills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling, this breeze that has traveled from the The regions I advance towards give me a preview of those frozen climates. Buoyed by this wind of promise, my reveries become more fervent and vivid, and I try in vain to convince myself that the pole is the seat of the frost and desolation that always presents itself before my eyes.

Imagination as a region of beauty and delight there Margaret, the Sun is always visible, a perpetual splendor there because, with your leadership, my sister, I will trust the previous navigators, their snow and frost have vanished and sailing on a calm sea we may be swept away to a land that surpasses in wonder and beauty all regions hitherto discovered on the habitable globe; Its productions and characteristics may be without example, as are undoubtedly the phenomena of the celestial bodies in those undiscovered solitudes, which cannot be expected in a country of eternal light. There I will discover the wonderful power that attracts the needle and that can regulate a thousand celestial observations that only require this trip to make their apparent eccentricities consistent forever.

I will satisfy my burning curiosity with the vision of a part of the world never before visited and I will be able to set foot on a land never before marked by the foot of man. These are my attraction and they are enough to overcome all fear of danger or death and to induce me to begin this laborious journey with the joy that a child feels when he embarks on a small boat with his vacation. companions on an expedition of discovery up the river of their native river, but supposing that all these conjectures are false, there can be no question of the inestimable benefit which I will confer upon all mankind down to the last generation by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries to which those that I can currently reach.

It takes so many months or so to discover the secret of the magnet that, if possible, it can only be affected by a company like mine. These reflections have dissipated the agitation with which I began my staircase and I feel that my heart burns with an enthusiasm that lifts me to the heaven of nothingness. It contributes as much to calm the mind as a firm purpose, a point on which the soul can fix its gaze. intellectually, this expedition has been the favorite dream of my early years. I have read with ardor the accounts of the various voyages that have been made with the prospect of reaching the North Pacific Ocean through the seas that surround the pole.

You may remember that a history of all the voyages made for the purpose of discovery made up the entire library of our good uncle Thomas, my education was still neglected. I was passionate about

reading

these volumes, I studied day and night, and my familiarity with them increased the regret I had felt as a child when I learned that my father's dying order had forbidden my uncle to allow me to embark on a sailor's life in those days. dates. The visions faded when I first heard those poets whose outpourings pierced my soul and lifted it to heaven.

I also became a poet and for a year lived in a paradise of my own creation. I figured I, too, could get a place in the world. temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare are enshrined, you know well my failure and how much I endured disappointment, but just at that moment I inherited my cousin's fortune and my thoughts turned to the channel of his previous six years. They have passed since I resolved my present company. I can still remember the time when I dedicated myself to this great company. I began by supporting my body through hardship.

I accompanied whale fishermen on several expeditions to the North Sea. I willingly endured the cold of hunger. thirst and lack of sleep I often worked harder than ordinary sailors during the day and devoted my nights to the study of mathematics, the theory of medicine, and those branches of the physical sciences from which a naval adventurer could derive the greatest advantage. practice. I myself was second mate on a Greenland whaler and behaved with admiration, I must confess that I felt a little proud when my captain offered me the second dignity on the ship and begged me to remain with the greatest seriousness, so valuable did he consider my services and now.

Dear Margaret, don't I deserve to achieve some great purpose? My life could have been spent in peace and luxury, but I preferred glory to every temptation that wealth put in my path. Oh, if some encouraging voice would answer in the affirmative, my courage and resolution are firm but my hopes fluctuate and my spirits are often depressed. I am about to embark on a long and difficult journey whose emergencies will demand all my strength. I must not only lift the spirits of others but sometimes support mine and theirs. they are failing this is the most favorable time to travel through Russia they fly quickly over the snow in their sleighs the movement is pleasant and in my opinion much more pleasant than that of an English stagecoach the cold is not excessive if you are wrapped in furs dressed that already I have adopted it because there is a big difference between walking on deck and sitting motionless for hours when no exercise prevents the blood from freezing in the veins.

I have no ambition to lose my life on the post road between st. Petersburg and Archangel, yes, I will leave for the latter city in fifteen or three weeks and my intention is to rent a boat there, which can easily be done by paying the insurance to the owner and hiring as many sailors as I think necessary among them. those who are used to whaling I have no intention of setting sail until June and when will I return ah dear sister how can I answer this question if I succeed many many months perhaps it will be years before you and I can meet if you fail , you will see me again soon or never say goodbye, my dear and excellent Margaret, may heaven shower you with blessings and save me that I may testify again and again my gratitude for all your love and kindness, your affectionate brother, our Walton, Mrs.

Savile England Archangel March 28 How slowly time passed How slowly time passes Here surrounded as I am by ice and snow But I have taken a second step towards my enterprise I have rented a boat and I am busy collecting my sailors those whom I already I have committed myself, they seem to be men I can trust, and they certainly possess dauntless courage, but I have a desire which I have never yet been able to satisfy, and the absence of purpose which I now feel to be a very severe evil. No friend Margaret, when I am shining with the enthusiasm of success, there will be no one to share in my joy, if disappointment assails me, no one will strive to support me in despondency.

I'll write my thoughts on paper, it's true, but it's a bad idea. medium for the communication of feelings I desire the company of a man who can sympathize with me whose eyes respond to mine you may consider me romantic my dear sister but I bitterly feel the lack of a friend I have no one near me kind but brave I possess a cultivated mind and spacious whose tastes are like mine to approve or modify my plans. How could such a friend make amends for your poor brother's faults? I am too ardent in execution and too impatient in the face of difficulties, but this is still a greater evil for me that I have been self-taught for the first fourteen years of my life.

I ran wildly across a common field and read nothing but our Uncle Thomas's travel books. At that age I became famous poets of our own country, but it was only when being buried ceased to be in my power to obtain the most important benefits of such a conviction that I perceived the need to become familiar with more languages ​​than the from my native country, I am now 28 years old and I am actually more illiterate than 15-year-old schoolboys, it is true that I have thought more and that my dreams are more extensive and magnificent, but they want, as painters call it, to conserve and I need very much a friend who has enough common sense not to despise me. as something so romantic and with enough affection to make an effort to regulate my mind well, these are useless complaints.

I certainly will not find friends in the wide ocean, not even here in Archangel, among merchants and sailors, but some pure feelings from the dross of human nature throb. even in these rough breasts, my left tenant, for example, is a man of wonderful courage and initiative, is madly desirous of glory, or rather, to express my phrase more characteristically of advancement in his profession, is an Englishman and in the midst of national and professional prejudices. Unsoftened by cultivation, he preserves some of humanity's noblest gifts. I first met him aboard a whaling ship and discovered that he was unemployed in this city.

I easily hired him to help in my company. The captain is a person of excellent disposition and is notable on the ship for his gentleness and the gentleness of his discipline, this circumstance added to his well-known integrity and dauntless courage made me very eager to hire him when I was young. The solitude of my best years spent under his gentle and feminine care has so refined the foundation of my character that I cannot overcome an intense disgust at the usual brutality exercised on board ship. I never believed it was necessary and when I heard of a sailor equally known for his kindly thinness of heart and the respect and obedience shown to him.

Thanks to his crew I felt particularly lucky to be able to secure his services. The first time I heard about him in a rather romantic way was through a lady who owes him the happiness of her life. This is briefly his story. A few years ago I loved a young routine. Some years ago he loved a young Russian woman of moderate fortune and having amassed a considerable sum in prizes, the girl's father consented to the marriage. He once saw his lover before the planned ceremony but she was in tears and throwing herself at him. Her feet begged her to forgive her, confessing at the same time that she loved another but that she was poor and that her father would never consent to the union, but my generous friend calmed the supplicant and upon being informed of the name of her lover, she immediately abandoned her En His efforts had already bought with his money a farm in which he had planned to spend the rest of his life, but he gave it to his rival along with the rest of the prize money to buy shares and then he himself asked the young woman's father He consented to marry his lover, but the old man flatly refused, believing himself bound by honor to my friend, who upon finding his inexorable father abandoned his country and did not return until he found out that his former lover had married according to his inclinations.

How noble! you exclaim that he is one, but then he is not assigned as a Turk at all and is accompanied by a kind of ignorant carelessness that, ifWell it makes his behavior even more surprising, it detracts from the interest in sympathy he would otherwise arouse, but let's not assume that because I complain a little. little or because I can conceive a consolation for my efforts that I may never know that I am faltering in my resolutions are as fixed as destiny and my journey is only now delayed until the weather permits my embarkation the winter has been terribly severe but The spring It promises well and is considered a remarkably early season, so perhaps it will be able to set sail sooner than expected.

I won't do anything hastily. You already know me enough to convert me. You know me enough to trust my prudence and consideration whenever the safety of others is entrusted to my care. I cannot describe to you my feelings regarding the upcoming perspective of my company. It is impossible to communicate to him an idea of ​​the future. Trembling sensation half pleasant and half fear with which I prepare to leave. I am going to unexplored regions to the land of fog and snow but I will not kill any albatrosses and therefore do not be alarmed for my safety or if I return to you.

As Warren and pitiful as the Ancient Mariner, you will smile at my allusion, but I will reveal a secret. I have often attributed my attachment to my passionate enthusiasm for the dangerous mysteries of the ocean, to that production of the most imaginative of modern poets. work in my soul that I do not understand, I am practically a hard-working worker who strives to execute with perseverance and work, but in addition to this there is a love for the wonderful on the page, the wonderful intertwined in all my projects that rushes me to leave the common paths of man. even towards the wild sea and unvisited regions which I am about to explore, but returning to Dirac's considerations, shall I meet you again after having crossed immense seas and having returned by the southernmost Cape of Africa or America?

I dare not hope for such success. However, I cannot bear to look at the back of the image, continue for the moment writing to me at every opportunity I can receive your letters on some occasions when I need them most to risk sustaining my spirit. I love you very tenderly. Remember me fondly, in case you never hear from me again, your affectionate brother Robert Walton, Mrs. Savile England July 7, My dear sister, I write a few lines hastily to say that I am safe and well along on my journey. This letter will arrive in England on a merchant ship which is now on its journey home from Archangel, luckier than I, who may not see my native land perhaps for many years I am nevertheless in good spirits my men are bold and apparently firm of purpose, nor do the floating ice sheets that continually pass indicating the dangers of the region towards which we are advancing seem to discourage them.

We have already reached a very high latitude, but it is the middle of summer and, although it is not as warm as in England , the southern gales that push us quickly towards those coasts that I so desire to reach breathe the degree of renewing warmth that I did not expect, no incidents have occurred. that have so far happened to us that would make a letter of one or two strong gales and the leek sprout are accidents which experienced sailors hardly remembered to record and I will be very glad if nothing worse happens to us during our Adyar voyage My dear Margaret Please be assured that, for my sake as well as yours, I will not rush into danger.

I will be calm, persevering and prudent, but success will crown my efforts. That's why until now I haven't been tracing a safe path along the way, much less seeing the same thing. the stars themselves are witnesses and testimonies of my triumph why not press forward above the untamed but obedient element that can stop the determined heart and the resolute will of man my swollen heart involuntarily spills out like this but I am about to finish heaven bless my beloved sister rw2 madam. saddle England August 5, an accident so strange has occurred to us that I cannot fail to record it, although it is very likely that you will see me before these documents reach your hands.

Last Monday, July 31, we were almost surrounded by ice that was The ship approached from all sides, barely leaving the marine space in which it floated. Our situation was somewhat dangerous, especially as we were surrounded by very thick fog. Therefore, we expected some change in the atmosphere and weather around two o'clock. At that moment the fog dissipated and we saw vast and irregular planes of ice extending in all directions that seemed to have no end. Some of my comrades groaned. My own mind began to become alert with anxious thoughts when a strange sight suddenly attracted our attention, and diverting our attention from our own situations, we perceived a low carriage, fixed on a sled and drawn by dogs, proceeding northwards, at a distance. distance of half a mile, a being that had the shape of a man but apparently of gigantic stature was sitting on the sleigh. and we guided the dogs, we observed the rapid progress of the traveler without telescopes until he was lost among the distant inequalities of the ice.

This apparition excited our unconditional astonishment. We were, as we believed, many hundreds of miles from any land, but this apparition seemed to denote that in reality it was not that far away. As we supposed it was locked, however due to the ice it was impossible to follow its trail, which we had observed with the greatest attention approximately two hours after this event we heard the sea in the background and before night the ice broke and was freed. However, we left our ship - until morning, fearing to find in the darkness those large loose masses floating after the breaking of the ice, we took advantage of this time to rest a few hours in the morning, but as soon as dawn came I went on deck and found to all the sailors busy on one side of the ship, apparently talking to someone at sea.

In reality, it was a sled such as we had seen before, but which had approached us during the night on a large patch of ice. There was only one dog left alive, but inside there was a human being whom the sailors were persuading to get on the ship. He was not like the other traveler. He seemed to be a wild inhabitant of some undiscovered island, but in European, when I appeared on deck, the captain said here. our captain is here and he will not allow you to die in the open sea when he sees me the stranger addressed me in English although with a foreign accent before boarding his ship he said that he would be kind enough to inform me if he is tied up now, you can conceive my astonishment upon hearing such a question addressed to me by a man on the brink of destruction and for whom I should have supposed that my ship would have been an asset which I would not have exchanged for the most precious wealth. the earth can afford it.

However, I responded that we were on a voyage of discovery to the North Pole. Hearing this, he seemed satisfied and consented to come on board. Oh my God, Margaret. If you had Dean, the man who thus capitulated for his safety, you would be surprised. I had never seen a man in such a miserable condition, we tried to take him to the cabin, but as soon as he left the fresh air he fainted, so we brought him in. We brought him back on deck and brought him back to animation by rubbing him with brandy and forcing him to swallow a small amount as soon as he showed signs of life, wrapped him in blankets and gradually placed him near the galley fireplace. he recovered, and with a little soup which restored him wonderfully, two days passed before he could speak, and I often feared that his sufferings had deprived him of understanding, when he had recovered to some extent, I took him to my own cabin and I attended to him as much as my duty permitted.

I never saw a more interesting creature. His eyes usually have an expression of wildness and even madness, but there are times when if someone performs an act of kindness towards him or does him the most insignificant service. His whole countenance is illuminated as if by a ray of benevolence and sweetness that I have never seen equaled, but he is generally melancholy and desperate and sometimes grinds his teeth as if impatient with the weight of the evils that oppress him. When my guest was a little recovered, it cost me a lot keep at bay the men who wanted to ask him a thousand questions, but I did not allow him to be tormented by his idle curiosity in a state of body and spirit whose restoration evidently depended on complete rest once he emerged.

Hand asked why he had come so far over the ice in such a strange vehicle. His face instantly assumed an appearance of the deepest sadness and he replied that he should look for someone to flee from me and that the man you were pursuing should travel the same way as him. I asked him yes, he said okay, so I guess we've seen it. I said that the day we picked you up we saw some dogs dragging a sled with a man in it across the ice. This aroused the attention of the strangers, and they asked a multitude of questions about the path which the demon, as he called it, had followed shortly afterwards when he was alone with me, he said.

I have certainly aroused your curiosity and that of these good people, but you are too considerate to ask questions. I certainly said that, indeed, it would be very impertinent and inhuman of me to trouble you with any inquisition of mine, and yet he said that you rescued me from a strange and dangerous situation, that you have benevolently brought me back to life soon after this he asked me. If I thought the break in the ice had destroyed the other sled. I responded to the light. He could not answer with any degree of certainty because the ice had not broken until about midnight and the traveler might have reached safety before that time, but he could not judge this from this hour. a new spirit of life animated the stranger's decaying body;

He expressed the greatest enthusiasm to be on deck to watch the sleigh that had appeared earlier, but I have persuaded him to remain in the cabin because he is too weak to endure the harshness. of the atmosphere, I have promised that someone should keep an eye on it and notify you immediately of any news that appears within, as my diary of what relates to this strange event to this day. The stranger has gradually improved his health, but he is very silent and seems uncomfortable when anyone but myself enters the cabin, yet his manners are so conciliatory and kind that all the sailors are interested in him, although they have had very little communication with him, for my part, I begin to love him as a brother and his constant and deep pain fills me with sympathy and compassion.

He must have been a noble creature in his best days. Being even now shipwrecked, he is so attractive and kind. In one of my letters, my dear Margaret, I said that I would find no friend on the wide ocean. yet I have found a man who, before his spirit had been broken in misery, I should have been glad to have possessed as the brother of my heart. I will continue my journey in relation to the stranger at intervals if I have any new incident to record on August 13, my affection for my guests increases every day. He arouses both my admiration and my pity to an astonishing degree.

How can I see such a noble creature destroyed by misery without feeling the most poignant pain? He is so gentle but so wise. His mind is so cultivated, and when he speaks, though his words are cold with the choicest art, they flow with swiftness and unparalleled elephantine, he is now well recovered from his illness, and is continually on deck, apparently waiting for the sleigh that preceded his. , but, although unhappy, he is not so completely occupied by his own misery but is deeply interested in the projects of others, has frequently conversed with me about mine which I have communicated to him without disguise, he entered attentively into all my arguments in favor of my eventual success and in every detail of the measures I had taken to achieve it, the sympathy he showed me easily induced me to use the language of my heart to express the burning ardor of my soul and say with all my heart fervor that had warmed me how I would gladly sacrifice my fortune, my existence, all my hopes for the advancement of my company.

A man's life and death were but a small price to pay for the acquisition of the knowledge he sought for the Dominion that he must acquire and pass on to elemental enemies. of our race as he spoke, a dark darkness spread over the face of my listener at first I perceived that he was trying to suppress his emotion, he put his hands before his eyes and my voice trembled and failed me when I saw tears running quickly from between his fingers. a groan arose from his heaving chest and he paused for a moment he spoke in broken accents unhappy man said you share my madness you have also drunk of the intoxicating drink listen to me let me reveal my story to you and you will throw the cup from your lips such words can be imagined to have strongly excited my curiosity, but the paroxysm of grief that had seized the tension overcame his weakened powers, and many hours of rest and quiet conversation were necessary to restore his composure, having overcome the violence of his feelings, the devotee seemed, having overcome the violence . of his feelings he seemed to despise himself for being a slave to passion and stifling the dark tyranny ofDespair led me again to talk about myself personally.

He asked me the story of my early years. The story was told quickly but sparked several series of In my reflection I spoke of my desire to find a friend of my thirst for a more intimate sympathy with a companion. of spirit than I had ever had in my lot and I expressed my conviction that a man could boast of a little happiness if he did not enjoy this blessing now I agree with you replied the stranger we are out of fashion that we a friend so it should be do not lend your aid to perfection eight our weak and defective natures I once had a friend, the noblest of human creatures and therefore I have the right To judge regarding French friendship, you have hope and the world before you and you have no reason to despair, but I have lost everything and I cannot begin life again.

When he said this, his face became expressive of a calm and resolute sorrow that touched my heart, but he was silent and retired to his cabin, broken as he is in spirit, no one can feel more deeply than he the beauties of the nature, the starry sky, the sea and every sight that these wonderful regions offer seems to still have the power to lift his soul from the Earth, such a man has a double existence, he may suffer misery and be overwhelmed by disappointments, but when he is withdrawn into himself himself, will be like a celestial spirit who has a halo around him, within whose circle there is no pain or madness.

The bankers will smile at the enthusiasm I express regarding this divine vagabond, they would not do so if they saw him, they have been instructed and refined. by books and withdrawal from the world, and therefore you are a little fastidious, but this only makes you more apt to appreciate the extraordinary merits of this wonderful man. I have sometimes endeavored to discover what quality he possesses that elevates him so immeasurably above every other person. another person I knew I think it was an intuitive discernment a power of quick but never failed judgment a penetration into the cold a penetration into the causes of things unequaled in clarity and precision add to this an ease of expression and the voice was varied intonation Tsar Soul Music Subduing Yesterday August 19th the stranger told me you can easily perceive Captain Walton that I have suffered great and incomparable misfortunes.

I had determined at one time that the memory of these evils must die with me but you have won me over to change. my determination you seek knowledge and wisdom as I once did. I ardently hope that the fulfillment of your desires is not a snake that bites you like mine has been. I do not know if the account of my disasters will be useful to you yet when I think that you follow the same path exposing yourself to the same dangers that have made me what I am. I imagine that you will be able to deduce from my story an adequate moral, which will guide you if you succeed in your enterprise and will console you in case of failure, prepare to hear events that are generally considered wonderful in which we find ourselves among the scenes of nature.

Tama. I might fear meeting your disbelief, perhaps your ridicule, but many things will seem possible in these wild and mysterious regions that would provoke laughter from those who do not know them. with the always varied powers of nature, nor could I doubt that my story transmits in its series internal evidence of the truth of the events that compose it. You can easily imagine that I was very satisfied with the communication offered, but I couldn't stand it. that he should renew his pain by recounting his misfortunes. I felt the greatest desire to hear the promised narrative, partly from curiosity, and partly from a strong desire to improve their lot if it were in my power.

I expressed these feelings in my response. I appreciate you, you responded for my sympathy, but it is useless, my destiny is almost fulfilled, I wait for only one event and then I will rest in peace. I understand your feeling. He continued, realizing that I wanted to interrupt him, but you are wrong, friend. If so, you will allow me to name you. Nothing can alter my destiny. Listen to my story and You will perceive how irrevocably it is determined. Then he told me that he would begin his narrative the next day when I was free. This promise obtained from me the warmest gratitude.

I have resolved that every night, when I am NOT imperatively occupied by my duties, to record as faithfully as possible with in his own words what he told me during the day. If I had to get busy, I'll at least take notes. This manuscript will no doubt give you the greatest pleasure, but for me, who know it and hear it from your own lips, with what interest and sympathy will I read it on some future day, even now that I have begun my task? His full-toned voice swells in my ears. Her shining eyes rest on me in all their melancholy sweetness I see her thin hand raised animatedly while the features of her face are radiated by the soul within strange and heartbreaking must be her frightful story the storm that embraced the ship Galland on her course and took her. destroyed like that and that's the end of episode one and I'll continue episode 2 with the beginning of the Victor Frankenstein narrative.

I hope you enjoyed it thanks to everyone who has subscribed and if you haven't, if you hit the subscribe button now you will know when we publish part 2. of Frankenstein in the meantime thanks for watching and thanks for listening