Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Summer of Our Discontent--part 23


Frankenstein, Mary Shelley


"'One night...leathern portmanteau..."111


A portmanteau means two things packed into one word. However it can also mean a kind of suitcase, as it does here. Inside of the portmanteau Frankenstein's creation finds three books which influence him greatly(Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and The Sorrows of Werter). The word portmanteau comes from the words porter(to take or carry) and manteau which is a cloak or mantle. Here the portmanteau symbolizes hidden knowledge.


"Portmanteau." Wikipedia. July 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmanteau>

1 comment:

Xwing212 said...

very nice..hidden knowledge