The Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein

1The Agonizing Resurrection ofVictor Frankenstein& Other Gothic TalesSilver Salamander Press, October 1994CONTENTS:One Thousand Painful Variations Performed Upon Divers Creatures Undergoing theTreatment of Dr. Moreau, HumanistThe Exruiating !inal Da"s of Dr. Henr" #e$"ll, EnglishmanThe %goni&ing 'esurretion of Vitor !ran$enstein, Citi&en of (enevaThe Heart of Count Draula, Desendant of %ttila, )ourge of (odThe *nsuffera+le )alvation of ,a-rene Tal+ot the .olfmanThe *ntolera+le ,esson of the Phantom of the OperaThe Un+eara+le 'e+irth of the Phantom of the .ax MuseumThe Perilous ,ega" of Emil" )t. %u+ert, *nheritress of UdolphoThe Eternal Devotion of the (overness to the 'esidents of /l"The Unnatural Perseution, +" a Vampire, of Mr. #ao+ #.The )uper+ Companion of %ndr0 de V., %nti1P"gmalionThe Ever1Vigilant (uardians of )eluded EstatesThe )ream2 from 3455 to the PresentThe Transparent %lias of .illiam .ilson, )portsman and )oundrelThe .orth" *nmate of the .ill of the ,ad" ,igeiaThe *ntermina+le 'esidene of the !riends of the House of UsherThe !a+ulous %lienation of the Outsider, /eing of 6o !ixed %+odeThe /lasphemous Enlightenment of Prof. !ranis .a"land Thurston of /oston,Providene, and the Human 'ae2The Premature Death of H. P. ,overaft, Oldest Man in 6e- England * * *One Thousand Painful VariationsPerformed Upon Diers!reatures Undergoing TheTreatment of Dr" #oreau$%umanist Dr. Moreau is examining the man-olf strapped to the operating ta+le. Hehas -or$edver"hardonthis one, tearinghim+"slo-andtorturousdegrees a-a" from his +estial origins.Toda"Dr. Moreauisurious. Heseestheman-olf ga&ingat hisprett"assistant. He first tries to read the truth in the man-olf7s e"es +ut annot.6o- he must resort to an empirial test.Ver" asuall" Dr. Moreau loosens the straps +inding the -rists and an$les ofthe man-olf and then, 8uietl", leaves the room. He -aits a fe- moments inthehall-a", anxioustoallo-themenoughtime. !inall", openingathinra$ in the door, he pee$s inside -ith one e"e.Well somuchforthat, hethin$s, andsuddenl"stepsintotheroomtoonfront his t-osu+9ets:theassistant; standingrigid-ithterror; theman-olf2 do-n on one $nee li$e a delirious $night +efore the manaed lad"he -ould gladl" save.his agen"7s top man? as$ed him ho- he li$ed Carfax -ith regardto loation, ondition of the house and propert", and 9ust all around. he7s as fit as heever -as?, +ut his seond -ife7s health, li$e her predeessors suddenl" andinexplia+l" seems to +e delining.He sees ,ad" 'o-ena suffer a series of relapses and reoveries, until to hise"es she has at last -asted a-a" altogether, and dies in that seluded andfantastiall" renovated ham+er. Her lifeless form lies +efore him, +ut all hean thin$ a+out is his first -ife, his lost love, ,igeia./" design, that strange room he +uilt for himself is perfet for dreaming in,and no- he is dreaming 8uite strenuousl", dreaming -ith ever" oune of his-ill a+out hisfirst -ife, the,ad",igeia. Healsota$esanimmoderateamount of opium as an aid to his dreaming. %t the same time the orpse of24hisseond-ife. ,ad"'o-ena,seemsto+eexhi+itinginredi+lesignsofrevived life:olor in the fae, faint pulsing of the heart:-hih thendisappear, onl"toreappearaftera+riefinterval. Thisoursoffandonthroughout the night and ulminates in the supernatural resurretion not of,ad" 'o-ena, +ut of the ,ad" ,igeia, -hom the -ido-er of +oth ladies hasdreamed +a$ to life, suppl"ing the +od" of his seond -ife to aommodatethe first./ut the resurretion is an illusor" one. ,ad" 'o-ena is, in fat, not dead;nor is the ,ad" ,igeia alive. !or all his efforts, their hus+and hadn7tdreamedeither of theman"-here+ut has sueededonl"indreaminghimself out of one -orld and into another. Through this exerise of -ill hehasfinall"meritedtheloveofthedar$-oman-hoseravenhairisno-spreading from the shado-s of her shroud. He has -illed himself into herdomain, from -hih no one ever esapes and -hih is the ver" soure of the-ill itself.%nd no- the" are +oth lo$ed forever in the formless phantasmagoria from-hih emanates innumera+le ehoes of eah gor" and passionate thro+ ofthe Heart Divine. /est of all, ,igeia has her hus+and +a$.Thesenotes arelater lost, to the disma" of sholars.?T-o nurses ome to loo$ in on the gentleman in the private room and arethe first to disover that he has, not unexpetedl", passed a-a". The" havealread" seen death man" times in their nursing areers, though the"7re still8uite "oung, and neither is alarmed. The" $no- nothing an +e done for thedead man. One of them sa"s2