Frankenstein by Mary Shelley with Vanessa Hammick
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
I'm Sarah Pascoe. And I'm Cariad Lloyd. And we're weird about books. We love to read. We read too much.
We talk too much. About the too much that we've read.
Which is why we created the Weirdos Book Club. A space for the lonely outsider to feel accepted and appreciated. Each week we're joined by amazing comedian guests and writer guests to discuss some wonderfully and crucially weird books, writing, reading and reading. just generally being a weirdo.
You don't even need to have read the books to join in. It will be a really interesting, wide-ranging conversation and maybe you'll want to read the book afterwards.
We will share all the upcoming books we're going to be discussing on our Instagram, Sarah and Cariad's Weirdos Book Club. Thank you for reading with us. We like reading with you.
This week's book guest is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. What's it about? Victor Frankenstein builds a man and then spends a long time trying to escape him. What qualifies it for the Weirdos Book Club? Well, the main character is an animated quilt of corpses. In this episode, we discuss AI, dissertations, Kenneth Branagh, broad strokes, and Emma Stone.
And joining us this week is Vanessa Hammack. Vanessa is an amazing comedian, writer, playwright, and she also happens to be one of our best pals who went to university with us.
Trigger warning, in this episode, because of the content of the book, we do talk about sexual assault and child murder.
Welcome to the podcast, Vanessa Hammock. Hello, Vanessa. We're so excited to have you. I'm excited to be here, guys. So, you came into our lives a very long time ago at university. The three of us came to each other's lives.
Yeah, we all met at the same time.
Our country's good. At Sussex University.
Yeah.
Suds. Suds Drama Society. But more recently, you were very enthusiastic about Frankenstein and why we should talk about it on the podcast.
Yes, I've been reflecting on that. So, I feel... A lot about Frankenstein.
Yeah.
I don't know if I know a lot.
What is the main theme of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?
Okay, great.
Yeah. My feelings, not knowledge.
Yeah.
That's how we have got this far with our feelings, Vanessa.
Yeah.
When did you first read it? So this is how I came into it was Poor Things, the film Poor Things.
Oh, right.
Which is based on a book by Alistair Gray. Yeah. Did you see Poor Things?
No.
How does AI relate to the themes explored in Frankenstein?
I got it wrong on a quiz, frustratingly. I feel like it came out just as I was having one small baby. And so I missed it and then have never caught up with it. But that's Emma Stone, right? It's Emma Stone, yeah. And it's Yanis... Who did The Lobster. Yeah, exactly.
Who she works with repeatedly. So I absolutely loved... Poor Things, and it's very Frankenstein-like. The basic premise, a scientist reanimates a corpse of a woman and brings her to life. It's really controversial. A lot of people hated it. I'm used to this, really loving something, and then everyone's like, it's so anti-feminist.
What are the significant adaptations of Frankenstein discussed?
I'll never forget. Oh, it's an absolute banger.
It's a banger. How conflicting. But then, the lyrics.
Sing them louder, be conflicted. I'm not a radio station, I'm just a woman, okay? Sorry.
So when I saw the film, what it is is Emma Stone produced it and obviously had a huge hand in bringing it about. And what I saw was an actress getting to play the most liberated woman with no social conventions, completely free and wild and able to be whatever she wants to be. The plot twist I think people had a problem with is... Don't tell us. We want to watch it. You will see it, and this is early on. It's a pregnant dead woman. Right. And he reanimates her by taking the brain of the baby and putting it in the brain.
So a woman's got a baby brain? The reason I don't mind this is having just read the OG text, which let's just say does not pass the Bechdel test, and I would not consider this in any way a feminist book. No, sure. So in terms of a remaking of it, and also there are some logic problems with this monster's brain. Mary Shelley was 18 when she started this book. Look, go crazy. Yeah.
Go crazy. Absolutely. And people do. And that's another thing that I think is really, really interesting about it.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:04–1:56
2
What is the main theme of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?
1:56–2:11
3
How does AI relate to the themes explored in Frankenstein?
2:11–2:50
4
What are the significant adaptations of Frankenstein discussed?
2:50–7:09
5
What role does ambition play in Victor Frankenstein's character?
7:09–11:29
6
What are the implications of the monster's asexuality?
11:29–13:57
7
How do the characters reflect self-obsession and accountability?
13:57–14:43
8
What modern parallels can be drawn from Frankenstein's narrative?
14:43–54:25
Speakers
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