Skip to main content

Rachel, Literature's Okay-est Parent



Jeff VanderMeer’s world in Borne is vast and complex, yet its theme is almost exceedingly simple: don’t be an idiot of a parent. This seems to be a deep-rooted theme in science fiction; and, if you really think, shouldn’t be a surprise. The very first science-fiction novel was about the world’s worst parent: Victor Frankenstein. That being said, VanderMeer’s ways of telling his version of this theme is much different than Mary Shelley’s.

First, we’re in a post-apocalyptic setting where parenting is practically impossible. In a flying-bear-eat-human world, there is no time for child rearing. Rachel, our main character, frequently flashes back to her own parents and how life was before, during, and after the apocalypse. She laments she never got to hear their true thoughts and that they put up a front to shield her from the realities of the world affecting her. Rachel eventually finds and “raises” an amorphous creature named Borne, who is a pretty big handful. While definitely not the best parent, Rachel tries and expresses regret when she gets things wrong. We’re also introduced to the Magician’s ruthless and mean children; appropriate to the nature of the city they reside in. They physically beat Rachel to an inch of her life, for Pete's sake. (An obvious example of what not to do with kids.) Then, by the end of the novel after Borne is gone, Rachel adopts more children to take care of - showing that there was a lesson learned.

Since I brought up Frankenstein, I feel that it’s necessary to bring up the similarities of the two stories. Both have human-grown monsters who have gained full sentience. For Frankenstein, it was obviously the monster; and for Borne, it was, well, Borne (and Wick, but he’s not relevant unless he counts as an unsupportive father). Both novels touched on the “how-to”s and “how-not-to”s of raising your horrid, monster child. Both were very vague on how exactly these monster children were made.

So, there are the similarities. What are the differences? Rachael, for one, isn’t the one who made Borne and is therefore never put in the position of God, like Frankenstein was. In fact, she never fully understands Borne or what happens to him. She’s extremely accepting of him, no matter the circumstance. Truly what an adoptive parent should do. Even after finding out about his certain… murderous tendencies, she tries to accommodate and figure out a way around the behavior. Borne, unlike the monster in Frankenstein, doesn’t have a choice in his killing and he never does so for revenge. Rachel also only abandons him after finding that he’s been doing things behind both her and Wick’s back, clearly a consequence of his own actions. Frankenstein, on the other hand, throws any thought of nurture to the wind as soon as his monster is alive.

The biggest difference between Borne and Frankenstein is this: one focuses on the development of an individual as a parent and the resulting trial and error while trying to balance survival. The other is about abandoning your creation and having said creation make your life a living hell because of it. Both are extraordinary examples of a ‘parenting is hard’ theme, and I’m happy there’s at least one parent who’s trying in the sci-fi horror genre.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insights into Bloodchild

The short story Bloodchild by Octavia Butler perfectly combines disgust and intrigue, as well as a big heap of detachment. My first thought after reading was it’s an interesting take on the parasitic alien trope; more domestic, more normalized, just as traumatizing. It’s obvious the race of the Tlic is based on insects, which of most organisms looks the most alien to humans as well as having members that are parasitic in nature, so the connection makes sense. As in certain insect species as well, it seems as though the Tlic are matriarchal - which adds to the interesting role reversal to the men who bear Tlic children. The Terrans in this short story are implied to be minorities, as T'Gatoi mentions them leaving the planet due to subjugation. Terrans are thought to be given an equivalent exchange, as they have access to shelter as well as nonfertilized eggs, which make the Terrans live longer lives. Of course, objectively, being put on a preserve like they are and having to b...
1 comment
Read more

Interview With The Vampire's Apeirophobia And Why Everyone But The Vampire Ignores It

One of the many revisited tropes in media is immortality. The idea of seeing and personally experiencing all the world’s disasters in history captivates us, I guess. Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire establishes immortality as an integral plot point (the only reason the interview can take place). The narrative, therefore, advances some heavy opinions about the topic, as well as those who seek it. Rice’s novel leaves no doubt about it: being and becoming an immortal is gross. A freak bites your neck, you drink said freak’s blood, and your body slowly shuts down. What remains is your consciousness and blood flow, which you have to supplement in order to survive (which kind of takes away the meaning of immortality). The blood-sucking itself is graphically sensual in Interview With The Vampire, revealing their killing as the last real joy that vampires have - there’s a pun on ‘flirting with death’ somewhere in there. Oh, and you can never see the sun again, so get some spray tan. The...
4 comments
Read more

The Answer to the Satirical Universe

Nothing is real, and the answer to the universe is 42. At least, according to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I think it’s safe to assume that most people, at the very least, have heard about Hitchhiker’s guide and some of its more memorable jokes from word of mouth. I only just got around to listening to the radio play (the narrative’s original format) and found that I loved several parts about it. At some point, all of the characters fall into the trope of being a “straight man” in an otherwise crazy world. Of course, when one character falls out of being the straight man to act extremely silly, another takes their place, keeping the balance of one sane character at a time. So no matter how the plot is moving forward with the quirky characters making a mess of things, their designated sheepdog keeps some amount of order. Another thing that I absolutely love about the Hitchhiker’s Guide is its dedication to nihilism. The fact that the answer to the entire ...
Post a Comment
Read more