| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: although it is highly probable that these papers may never reach you,
yet I cannot forbear recording it.
We are still surrounded by mountains of ice, still in imminent
danger of being crushed in their conflict. The cold is excessive,
and many of my unfortunate comrades have already found a grave
amidst this scene of desolation. Frankenstein has daily declined
in health; a feverish fire still glimmers in his eyes, but he is
exhausted, and when suddenly roused to any exertion, he speedily
sinks again into apparent lifelessness.
I mentioned in my last letter the fears I entertained of a mutiny.
This morning, as I sat watching the wan countenance of my friend--
Frankenstein |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Odyssey by Homer: remorseless. Come, my friends, do ye heal the harm, for
yours is the power."
'So I spake, beseeching them in soft words, but they held
their peace. And the father answered, saying: "Get thee
forth from the island straightway, thou that art the most
reprobate of living men. Far be it from me to help or to
further that man whom the blessed gods abhor! Get thee
forth, for lo, thy coming marks thee hated by the deathless
gods."
'Therewith he sent me forth from the house making heavy
moan. Thence we sailed onwards stricken at heart. And the
The Odyssey |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Manon Lescaut by Abbe Prevost: shedding a tear as I concluded this appeal.
"A father's heart is a chef-d'oeuvre of creation. There nature
rules in undisturbed dominion, and regulates at will its most
secret springs. He was a man of high feeling and good taste, and
was so sensibly affected by the turn I had given to my defence,
that he could no longer hide from me the change I had wrought.
"`Come to me, my poor chevalier,' said he; `come and embrace
me. I do pity you!'
"I embraced him: he pressed me to him in such a manner, that I
guessed what was passing in his heart.
"`But how are we,' said he, `to extricate you from this place?
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