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"Born of Man and Woman" (Discussion Article)Read the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only".
» CBJ - You're Invited As we've seen from the discussion article, Richard Matheson's "Born of Man and Woman" portrays the plight of a child who has been shunned by his family. How do you feel about the subject? How do you feel about the story? You're invited to post your thoughts here and join in a discussion. Anything you feel is related is fine. Let's just see where the discussion leads!Here are two other links you might find useful: -- posted by CBJ » Marella - Re: You're Invited In response to message posted by CBJ:All I know is that this story, like "The Cold Equations," is one that sticks with you. I first read it so long ago I don't even know when, and I remembered the story long after I'd forgotten the title or the author's name. Then when I read it again many years later, I was delighted to 'rediscover' it and finally connect a title to that story about the kid in the basement. Like "The Nine Billion Names of God," the last line is something you remember, too. It makes you shiver, and it makes you sorry that this family had done so little for the narrator. If they'd only been nice to her, even once, you wonder - would it have ended any differently? -- posted by Marella » CBJ - Sticking In response to message posted by Marella:I definitely agree, Marella. I think the fact that it's so short and sweet really helps it hit home so strongly. Would it have ended differently if the family had done more for the child? I think is certainly would have. The child sounds so helpless throughout, and it's only after his father beats him the last time that he turns so hateful. A little love goes a long way. Your comment about the last line sticking reminds me of another story I plan to write about at some point. That story is Isaac Asimov's "The Last Question." I just sat there for several minutes after reading the last line of that one. It was brilliant. I won't spoil it for those who have never read it, but I highly recommend it. Asimov said in the forward to one of his anthologies that many people remember that story's ending, but few remember its title. -- posted by CBJ » carkerboucher - Born of Man & Woman Mr. Matheson's powerfully slight story was the first overtly horrific story I ever read, and has remained on my bookshelf in various collections ever since that day when, at age 9, I found a story a page and a half long, thinking it would be a quick read and would get me out of some chore or other. Within two sentences my life changed. I have been an avid horror and fantasy reader and writer ever since.The precarious (in ethical if not moral or physical terms) position of both the narrator and the parents, as regards personal responsibility for action or inaction, continues to intrigue me, and makes me question what constitutes abuse, pity and monstrousness. If monstrousness is simply evil, then the narrator cannot be considered a monster, as he is certainly not evil in any sense of accountability or forethought. There is no malice in the child's actions, until the last few lines of the story (and those are a projected malice at that... the child hasn't made good on any threat... YET!). By contrast, the parents may well be considered evil by some standards, in that they are well aware of the consequences of their actions, not only in their treatment of their child, but in having it in the first place. They were innocent of any 'choice' in how their child turned out, but they have obviously never known how to deal with the problem. They essentially act like the type of person who would toss her baby in a trash can at the prom... as inconvenient, fearful and repugnant. Instead of caring and nurturing, they choose fear and abuse. But this is an 'evil' that most of us as adults can understand a hell of a lot better than we may want to admit. When hearing of the birth of a deformed, sick or otherwise abnormal baby (monsters?) we sigh with empathy, offer some sort of solace and perhaps a promise of help if need be, and walk away thanking God silently that 'we don't have to deal with it', 'at least WE'RE normal', and so on. This is natural, if not cruel, but raises a key issue fingered in Matheson's story, to wit, what child wouldn't hate to be raised this way, yet what parent doesn't fear that they would resort to this kind of abject torture if pushed into such a situation? If one removes the stigma of 'monster' or even 'abnormality' from the narrator's character, and sets this story into a modern, average parent/child setting, the same questions can be raised. At some point, as a parent of any teenager can attest, the child becomes something different than what we once knew and loved, becomes monstrous in it's new-found independence, capacity for stupid actions and decisions, often wrathful ravings against US, the very people who gave it life and home and food and the rest. At times we DO want to chain them to the wall in the basement, not as a torture but as a way of controlling them so that we may better control ourselves, because we fear what we may say or do the next time they act 'crazy'. And if my 16 year old daughter is chained up, well hell, at least I'll KNOW where she is 24 hours a day, rather than hanging out with God-knows-what kind of crowd. Obviously, this is satirical, but the point remains... Matheson may well be telling the reader that we are at once monstrous and lovely, we are all little mothers and fathers AND 'wretches'. We all act the way we do based on what we fear and what we desire, and the need for acceptance and understanding can be as great a catalyst for ill-will and rebellion as for love and change and growth. I find CBJ's analogies between Born Of.. and Frankenstien to be quite salient, particularly in this regard. There are no truly evil or inherently monstrous characters in either story, but every character's need for control, acceptance, and love eventually leads each of them to act cruelly, clumsily, and the need for good in turn creates spite and bitterness, to the point of revenge. Our quest for something bright turns dark indeed. Of man and woman, in sexual passion borne from a union of love, is born something physically (and more importantly in our context, symbolically) monstrous. Victor Frankenstein seeks acceptance, control, and knowledge of the mysteries beyond his narrow life (just as the child narrator of this tale seeks the 'white place upstairs') but once he acts on this desire, it turns on him, because of his own inability to accept (irony?) responsibility for what he has created. The child's parents do the same thing. BUT, the child *cannot* achieve his desire and so becomes bitter, resentful, and ultimately harmful. The Monster of Frankenstein, attains the same end. Can it be said then, that the only real difference between the Parent/Frankenstein characters and the Child/Monster characters, is that the former achieved their initial desire, while the latter did not? This would seem to be a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' philosophy about accomplishment and desire. But I don't think it's that simple, or at least that hopeless. In human society, it is the onus of those who are fortunate enough to achieve their desires and have the intellect and emotional experience to create 'life' (interpret as you may), to be RESPONSIBLE for those creations and actions. Those who cannot, by mind or body or spirit, achieve those same innate desires, are at the mercy of those who can. Sometimes, hopefully more often than not, the fortunates help and love and nurture the less fortunate, and thereby good results. Writers like Shelley and Matheson are merely showing us the other side of that lesson: sometimes bad can result instead, and we are all lessened for it. -- posted by carkerboucher » Stacey18 - Re: Born of Man & Woman In response to Born of Man & Woman posted by carkerboucher:Hi I currently read the short story for my English class and I was wondering if you had any insight on some parts of the story. There are X's in front of parts of the story and also the author mentions "the green drip" in your opinion what do these signify? -- posted by Stacey18 » Tiana22 - Re: Born of Man & Woman In response to Re: Born of Man & Woman posted by Stacey18:The x's in my opinion are the marking of days, like a prisoner would do. -- posted by Tiana22
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