Frankenstein's monster teaches himself to read from Milton, Plutarch and Goethe

arts, ideas & societyanalysisThe Public Domain Review1818

Frankenstein's monster teaches himself to read from Milton, Plutarch and Goethe

the gist

Mary Shelley's creature in Frankenstein learns language by secretly watching a family, and then by reading three books he finds in a leather bag: Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives and The Sorrows of Young Werther. Each book shapes him differently. Milton's epic makes him see himself as Satan, an outcast made by a creator who abandons him, while Werther gives him words for despair. Plutarch's lives of heroes and lawgivers give him ideals of virtue and public life. The novel suggests that education lets the creature ask who he is, yet society still rejects him. It is an early fictional argument that people are formed by what they read.

so what

The novel asks whether humanity is learned or innate, a question that still runs through debates about education and identity. Its reading list makes the monster's tragedy one of literacy meeting prejudice.

fun fact

Frankenstein is the name of the scientist who creates the monster, not the monster itself, a mix-up that became common.

Image: The Public Domain Review

source: The Public Domain Review ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗