“With a devouring maladie du pays” (p.134). Maladie du pays is French for “home sickness.” This is one of very few (or the only?) examples where Victor uses his native language. Victor is recovering from three months in prison and a devastating loss of his friend. With the new accompaniment of his father, he misses his homeland and the rest of his family dearly. This may be the reason that Shelley has him speak in his native language. She could be reminding her audience that Frankenstein is in fact French.
“Maladie du pays.” English Upenn. 30 Aug. 2009. http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/V3notes/maladie.html
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
yes -- and why would Shelley want to remind this of us?
ReplyDelete