I am reading Frankenstein and I really identify with the monster. I'm sure most people who read it do- this whole world seems to live in isolation- we're all cut off from each other, by our masks, by everyone's expectations. Is it even possible to connect to others? All the monster wants is to connect to others, but by his very nature, it is impossible, despite his best efforts. I think maybe this is why the experience is coded in the metaphor of the monster- it's unacceptable to actually have failed despite your best efforts. It's unthinkable, it seems.

But in the body of the monster, Shelly can express the story of the loser, the outcast. I wonder if the idea of history not being always written by the winners is historically recent. I haven't made enough of a study of older modes to know if that is true or not. But, if anyone writes or paints or draws, remember- tell your own story, not the story that you are supposed to tell. Even if you must disguise it, show it, ok?