Soooo it appears as if the current season of the phenomenal show American
Horror Story (honestly everyone should watch......it may have some twisted
themes but overall the show is a bon a fide thriller) just cannot seem to stay
away from the underlying themes and messages that were once exploited
throughout Mary Shelley's wondrous novel, Frankenstein. As the season
continues to move on and various characters begin to develop internally and
externally, situations keep popping up that are all too similar to the various
escapades that happen within Frankenstein. An episode that vividly
shows a similar relationship to the story of Victor Frankenstein's creature
interaction with Mr. Delacey during one of his attempts to communicate with
those around him is an episode named "The Axeman Cometh". During this
episode, one of the witches of the coven, the "house mother", to be
exact, becomes the victim of an act of violence and has acid thrown in her
face, thus leading her to become blind. This tragic incident leads to her
ironically gaining true sight; things she couldn’t see before about people’s
true motives and previous actions suddenly become clear whenever she touches
them in even the slightest way. For instance, this particular witches’ husband
has been performing acts of adultery and murder behind his naive wife back; her
mother is not one to become blind to his shady motives, however, the witch
herself doesn't see past his lying exterior and goes on loving him without
knowing of the unfair treatment she is actually receiving. Once the witch loses
her literal sight and her husband attempts to interact with her while she is in
the hospital, she gains true insight into the murderous/adulterous acts he has
been engaging in and finally is able to grasp onto the characters true motives.
As the episode continues, the witch begins to encounter various truths she
couldn't acquire for herself before; the reasoning for a young witches
suffering, the previous actions of the infamous "Axeman", and the
revealing of her mother's previous murderous actions towards one of the Coven's
young witches are finally brought to the characters attention. With all this
being said, it's clear of the ways that those who are "lacking" sight
are the ones who actually can see who a person truly is compared to others
around them. In Frankenstein, Victor's creature has a brief encounter
with Mr. DeLacey, a blind man who is the father of a kind, unwealthy family.
Though his children and others in his community previously acted unkindly or
fearful towards the lost, innocent creature, Mr. DeLacey, who is unable to
actually catch a glimpse of this monstrous appearance, actually takes the time
to listen to what the creature has to say and get to know him for who he is on
the inside. The blind witch and Mr. DeLacey represent the harsh realities that
have always appeared throughout society, and still do, in relation to the way
people to tend to connect those who appear to be outsiders to this type of
fearful unknown. The unknown can be scary, confusing even, and when someone doesn’t
have full grasp on what’s going on around them or who they're interacting with,
judgment tends to rise and emotions tends to overcome people and their coping
abilities. The witch refused to accept what was right in front of her when she
had sight because it was an unknown she feared and didn’t wish to see; her and
Mr. DeLacey's blindness to the appearance of the unknown and first instinct of
simply getting a feel for this new being or truth simply for what it was shows
just how lacking sight can give someone the power to see what they need to see
to accomplish greater things for themselves and others around them. Will
society ever stop fearing the unknown? Or is the only way someone can really
find a new truth to the life around them by losing their literal sight? Who
knows. Times are changing, unknowns are continuing to rise, and if people want
to survive and surround themselves with those with good intentions the negative
first insight people have towards the world needs to be thrown aside so that
the judgment free, motive catching form of sight we all need can be attained. Ya
feel me?
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