1816 yilinda Geneva yakinlarinda bir ahbap grubu, soguk
ve yagmurlu havada atesin basinda toplanmis, ellerine gecen birkac hayalet
hikayesi ile oyalanmislar. Bu hikayelerin benzerlerini yazmak icin muzipce bir
istek duymuslar. Ne var ki, ilerleyen gunlerde hava duzelince gruptan iki kisi
Alpleri gezmeye cikinca, olaganustu hikayelerin verdigi ilhami kaybetmisler. Sansliyiz
ki diger kisi, tam bir klasik olacak olan hikayesini tamamlayabilmis.
Kitap, kutuplara bir kesif gezisine gidecek olan R.
Walton’un kizkardesine yazdigi mektuplarla basliyor. Kaptan, bir arkadasa olan
ihtiyacini anlatiyor bunlarda:
‘I have no friend,
Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success, there will be none
to participate my joy: if I am assailed by disappointment, no one will
endeavour to sustain me in dejection. I shall commit my thoughts to paper, it
is true; but that is a poor medium for the communication of feeling. I desire
the company of a man who could sympathise with me, whose eyes would reply to
mine. You may deem me romantic, my dear sister, but I bitterly feel the want of
a friend. I have no one near me, gentle yet courageous, possessed of a
cultivated as well as of a capacious mind, whose tastes are like my own, to
approve or amend my plans. How would such a friend repair the faults of your
poor brother!’
Meshur hikayemiz, boyle bir arkadasin eksikligini kolayca
giderebilecek olan Victor’un buzullar uzerinde kurtarilip gemiye alinmasiyla
baslar. Victor, meger ogrencilik yillarinda, benzeri gorulmemis bi rise
kalkismistir: olu insan parcalarini birlestirip yeniden canlandirmak.
‘A new species would
bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe
their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child completely
as I should deserve theirs.’
Bu ise o kadar dalar ki;
ayni evde buyuyup asik oldugu sevgili Elizabeth’inin endiseli mektuplari
bile gecesini gunduzune katarak bu amac ugrunda didinmesine engel olamaz:
‘I was encompassed by
a cloud which no beneficial influence could penetrate. The wounded deer
dragging its fainting limbs to some untrodden brake, there to gaze upon the
arrow which had pierced it, and to die- was but a type of me.’
Uzun denemeler sonucu elektrik sokuyla canlandirdigi
yaratigin cirkin yuzunden o kadar dehsete duser ki, yaratik kendini sokaga
atar. Sanilanin aksine yaratigin adi degildir Frankenstein; her ne kadar o adla
bilinse de Victor yaratiga bir isim vermez.
Victor yasadigi sok yuzunden aylarca hasta yatar ve
arkadasinin bakimi sayesinde iyilesir. Tam babasinin evine gidecegi zaman en
kucuk kardesinin kayboldugunu ve bogularak olduruldugunu ogrenir. Kucucuk
boyundaki kocaman parmak izleri cinayeti yaratigin isledigini belli eder Victor’a.
Bazi nedenlerden evin masum hizmetcisi Justine’den suphelenilmistir. Kiz hapse
atilir ama Victor kimseye bir sey anlatamaz. Justine idam edilince vicdan azabi
daha cok artar. Bir gun evine yakin buzul daglarinda gezerken yaratik aniden
karsisina cikar Victor’un. Meshur yuzlesme su sekilde olur:
‘Devil! Do you dare
approach me? And do you not fear the vengeance of my arm wreaked on your
miserable head? Begone, vile insect! Or rather, stay, that I may trample you to
dust! And, oh, that I could, with the extinction of your miserable existence,
restore those victims whom you have so diabolically murdered!’
‘I expected this
reception. All men hate the wretched; how, then, I must be hated, who am
miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me,
thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation
of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do
your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind.
If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but
if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the
blood of your remaining friends.’
‘Abhorred monster! Fiend
that thou art! The tortures of hell are too mild a vengeance for thy crimes.
Wretched devil! You approach me with your creation; come on, then, that I may
extinguish the spark which I so negligently bestowed.’
‘Be calm! I entreat
you to hear me, before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head. Have I
not suffered enough that you seek to increase my misery? Life, although it may
only be an accumulation of anguish, is so dear to me, and I will defend it.
Remember, thou has made me more powerful than thyself; my height is superior to
thine; my joints more supple. But I will not be tempted to set myself in
opposition to thee. I am thy creature, and I will be even mild and docile to my
natural lord and king, if thou wilt also perform thy part, the which thou owest
me. Oh, Frankenstein, be not equitable to every other, and trample upon me
alone, to whom thy justice, and even thy clemency and affection, is most due.
Remember, that I am thy creature, I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the
fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see
bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded. I was benevolent and good;
misery made me a fiend. Make me happy, and I shall again be virtuous.’
‘Begone! I will not
hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Begone,
or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall.’
‘How can I move thee?
Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye on your creature, who
implores thy kindness and compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein: I was
benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone,
miserably not alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hope can I gather from
your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me. The desert
mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days;
the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only
one which man does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to
me than your fellow-beings. If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence,
they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not
then hate them who abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am
miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness. Yet it is in your power to
recompense me, and deliver them from an evil which it only remains for you to make
so great that not only you and your family, but quit for ever the neighbourhood
of man, and lead a harmless life, or become the scourge of your
fellow-creatures, and the author of your own speedy ruin.’
Evet, filmlerdeki tasvirinin aksine, yaratigin orjinal
hali dilsiz veya akilsiz degil, kendini
egitmis ve ikna kabiliyeti yuksek bir varliktir. Victor ilk kez yaraticinin yarattigina
karsi gorevleri oldugunu ve onun kotulugunden yakinmadan once onu mutlu etmesi
gerektigini dusunur. Adem, Havva’sini istemektedir.
Yaratik kendini kaderine terkedilmis bulunca ormanda bir
kulube bulur. Icindeki yasli adami ve iki genci duvardaki bir delikten izlemeye
baslar. Onlarin uzgun gorunusunden cok etkilenir ve dusunur: ‘Bu guzel
yaratiklar, benim gibi yalniz ve kusurlu olmadiklari halde boyle mutsuzsa, ben
mahvolmaliyim.’ Onlari dinleyerek konusmayi ogrenir, yasli adamin gozlerinin
gormedigini farkeder. Bir gun kulubeden iceri ‘The Arabian’ karakteri, yani
Safie girer. (Kim derdi Frankenstein romaninda bir Safiye olsun!)
Safiye meger yasli
de Lacey’in oglunun sevgilisi imis. Bunlar Paris’te yasarken, Safiye’nin
Turk bir tuccar olan babasi ile Pariste’dir ama niyeyse hukumetle zitlasir ve
tam Safiye’nin Istanbul’dan yanina geldigi gun hapse atilir. Haksiz yere olume
mahkum edilir ve bundan dolayi tum Paris halki ofkelenmistir. Malesef bu
kararin sebebi tuccarin dini ve zengin olmasidir.
Safiye’nin annesi Hristiyan olan bir Arap’tir. Turkler
tarafindan esir alinmis ve ona asik olan tuccar ile evlenmistir (…) Kadin,
kizini kendi dinine gore yetistirir, ruhun ozgurlugunu ve keskin bir kavrayisa
sahip olmayi amaclamasini ister ki, bunlar Muhammed’in kadin takipcilerine
yasak edilmis seylerdir. Asya’ya geri donup hareme kapatilma korkusu gittikce
buyumektedir. Bir Hristiyanla evlenip, kadina toplumda yer veren bir ulkede
kalmak tek umududur. Hasili, Turkiye’de kalmak onun icin korkunctu; cunku bu
ulke diniyle de duygulariyla da catisma icindeydi vs. gibi cumlelerle yazar
ulkemizi gommus de gommus.
Safiye faslini gecersek, yaratik iyilik yaptigi, odun
toplayip kapilarina biraktigi insanlardan ancak korku ve dusmanlik gormustur.
Victor’dan bir Havva istemesi bundandir. O bu istegi kabul etmeyince aralarinda
bir kovalamaca baslar. Victor her adimda bir dostunun daha olum haberini alir
ve bu kez o yaratigin pesine duser. Hikayenin basinda kurtarilarak alindigi
gemide hastalanarak olur.
Classic!
Son bir alinti:
‘It is so long before
the mind can persuade itself that she, who we saw every day, and whose very
existence appeared a part of our own, can have departed for ever- that the
brightness of a beloved eye can have been extinguished, and the sound of a
voice so familiar, and dear to the ear, can be hushed, never more to be heard.’
