Frankenstein: Guitar of M. De Lacey
Guitar of M. De Lacey; Looking at the Best in Humanity
1794 Fabricatore 6 string Early Romantic French Guitar. Honey colored wood, simple decoration around the edge of the guitar and the sound hole. Decorative black metal expanding from guitar’s bridge. Some mild scratching due to age.
This guitar was featured in the book “Frankenstein,” and belonged to the elderly, impoverished M. De Lacey to whom Frankenstein’s monster formed an attachment. De Lacey’s guitar playing was one of the few pleasures that the monster experienced in its life, just as De Lacey's kindness was the only positive interaction that the monster ever had with humanity.
M. De Lacey's guitar contributed to the mood of the Creature's narrative about his early developments and benevolent impulses.
Mary Shelley
Megan Lang
Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus.
Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday
January 1, 1818
October 22, 2018
Megan Lang
Public Domain
Literary Artifact from Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein."
JPEG image, guitar
. De Lacey's guitar would have been created by hand in the mid to late-18th century, an instrument that signified wealth and education in that era.
Shelley uses the guitar to indicate M. De Lacey's genteel nature, despite his fall into poverty. This gentility is mirrored in the treatment the monster receives from De Lacey, as the blind man is the only one to treat the creature with any respect or concern. Listening to the guitar is a significant part of the creature's development of its better nature, and its attraction to the better parts of humanity.
English
Speculative Fiction
Gothic Literature
Horror
Science Fiction
Guitar,
Handmade
Instrument
18th century
De Lacey family
Wealth
Hope
Early Romantic Period France, 18th century guitar. Handmade instrument by guitar builder Fabricatore, it represented education and wealth for owners, and was one of the few signs of the De Lacey family's "noble" upbringing.
Described intermittently in chapters 11 -15 of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" in the creature's narrative.
Musgroves's Grand Piano
Instrument
The Musgroves own a grand-piano, but their grown daughters are only passable players. The piano is scattered amongst Henrietta and Louisa’s other accomplishments, but they are much more oriented toward laughing and socializing than practicing music or their other talents. It is Anne who plays the Musgroves’s piano, and when contrasted with her supposed rivals for Captain Wentworth’s affections, Anne is the more accomplished and sophisticated, in music and mind.
Unknown
Persuasion, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Marrianne Dashwood's Piano-Forte
Instruments
Marrianne brings her piano-forte from Norland to their new cottage. Fanny Dashwood is disappointed that such a fine instrument should go to a family with such inferior wealth, but Marrianne has a special connection to the instrument. At various times, she plays with great joy and sorrow, using music as another way of expressing her intense emotions and sensibilities. Those who truly appreciate her music, like Colonel Brandon, truly appreciate Marrianne’s spirit.
Unknown
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Mockingjay
Flora and Fauna
Mocking jays are an accidental mutation that came into existence when male jabberjays mated with female mocking jays after being released into the wild during the Dark Days.
While mockingjays do not have the same abilities as the jabberjay to remember whole conversations or even to enunciate words; they do have the ability to recite notes, tunes, and even melodies to whole songs when they are sung to by a human voice that they think is beautiful. These birds can also recreate songs.
The significance of the appearance of the mockingjays in the hunger games series is that they are considered a symbol of rebellion against the capital because their existence was caused by a mistake made by the capital. Their presence is also a reminder for Katniss Everdeen of her father and of her friend and 74th hunger game ally, Rue.
The presence of mockingjays in the 74th hunger games also becomes important to how Katniss and Rue communicate when they separate to "take out" the career's food supply.
Mockingjays are the product of cross breeding Mocking Birds with Jabberjays.
Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
These birds originated sometime during the Dark Days. Their existence happened shortly after Jabberjays were released into the wild. This would have been over 75 years before Katniss Everdeen took down the Capital.
Brittany Vlaminck
Mockingjay Bird. Digital image. Gallery for Mockingjay Bird Drawings. Online Image Arcade, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://imgarcade.com/1/mockingjay-bird-drawing/>.
Lyre of Hermes
The lyre that Hermes created on the day he was born. Made from cow intestines and a tortoise shell.
Though this lyre is typically associated with Apollo, it was created by the great god Hermes. On the day that Hermes was born, he stole and hid Apollo's cattle. As he is a cunning and mischievous god, he was able to do so without anyone but his mother, Maia, noticing. He used the intestines of one of these cows, combined with the shell of a tortoise, to create this lyre.
Of course, Apollo eventually found out that Hermes was responsible for the disappearance of his cattle. With the help of Zeus, he coerced Hermes into showing him where the cows were hidden. When they arrived and Hermes started playing his lyre, Apollo lost interest in his stolen beasts. He was utterly enchanted by the instrument, to the point where he offered to trade his cattle for the lyre.
Hermes is a clever god! I attribute the lyre to him, because it was his invention.
Hermes
Mary Metzger