fandomhigh | Professor Chaucer's Office Hours, Tuesday

Kiki comes in, holding up her books. "Found 'em!" she says. "I'd left them in the assistant's lounge."

It's perhaps a little suspicious that it took her 2 full periods after lunch to find her books, a curiosity underscored by the redness around her eyes.

"Now, on to Frankenstein," Kiki grins.

"Frankenstein it is," Geoff agrees, grinning a little more brightly and setting aside the box he was packing. He sits down in his chair and pulls out his class notes.

"All right. Well, for starters, we didn't really have a class discussion because we watched a movie. But...let's see. How about you tell me your impressions of the novel -- what you thought of it, what you like or didn't like about it."

"Honestly? I felt sorry for the creature. He didn't ask to be created, but as soon as he was, he was abandoned," Kiki shakes her head. "Frankenstein was so absorbed in whether he could do it, he never stopped to think as to whether he should."

[ooc: *Is totally channeling lines from Jurassic Park*]

"That's an excellent reading, Kiki. I think...it seems to me anyway, that people forget sometimes that the creature isn't the villain. Victor Frankenstein is the real monster in the story."

He thinks for a moment, then nods to himself and says, "All right. There are two common interpretations of the story. The first says that she meant it as an indictment of industrialization, an argument against where science seemed to be leading. The second says that she was actually depicting women's fears about childbirth. What do you think?"

"I don't think it's a matter of an argument against science, per se," Kiki says, thinking, "Or against knowledge, education, or the advancement of reason, but it is a very strong reminder that science and philosophy are two very different things. Science, at this time, was making huge leaps forward, but philosophy and ethics and values were still in an 18th century mind-set. It will always take a while for those to catch up to the advances in science - what scientists discover has to be investigated and looked at from all angles before deciding whether to attempt to use it or to turn away from it as too dangerous, and it takes much longer to do that than it does to discover it in the first place."

"Good!" Geoff looks impressed, and maybe a little proud too. "All right...this one is entirely based on your opinion. There's a school of thought that says the monster is actually a figment of Frankenstein's imagination, and that he's actually insane and committing all of the atrocities himself. What do you think about that?"

"I guess it is possible," Kiki answers. "But doesn't he have an alibi for one of the murders? But if no one can bear out that alibi, I guess that, too, could be a fake."

"I think it's possible to read things that way, although I personally feel that it would detract from the lesson of what happens to the monster. It think it's a lesser reading, myself."

He leans back in his chair. "All right. Now for your questions about the reading, if you have any. And then, I'm afraid, there'll be a quiz." Geoff looks very stern.

"Questions? How about, 'What's on the quiz?' Except that's not about the reading," grins Kiki. "I can't think of any, at the moment."

"Well, then you get your wish!" He grins and pulls out a piece of paper with five questions printed on it. "The quiz."

1. Renaissance humanist writers recommended that tragedies be written with five acts. Name another one of their recommendations for a proper tragedy.

2. Who is the central protagonist of Julius Caesar?

3. What is a "closet drama"?

4. What is the name of the demonic being that visits the title character in Faust?

5. Tell me which of the readings assignments covered in class thus far has been your favorite, and why.

1. The play should begin in medias res.

2. Marcus Brutus

3. Closet dramas are plays designed to be read privately, or aloud by only a small number of people, rather than played out on the stage.

4. Mephistopheles

5. Lysistrata. It was so hilarious!

"Perfect." Geoff grins as he looks over the quiz. "Then that's all I have for you, Kiki. I showed a movie in class yesterday, Young Frankenstein, so I suppose you could watch it if you want the complete class experience. But other than that, your only assignment is to start reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame. And enjoy your vacation, of course."

"Great," she smiles. "I will. I actually do have one question - I know, I keep coming back to this - but do you think karmic retribution works in the real world? I mean, should punishments fit crimes as Dante describes, or is that too much for imperfect mortals to decide?" It's a serious question, but there does seem to be a giggle trying to work it's way out.

Geoff cocks his head to look at Kiki, because he's not sure where this question might be leading, and if there's one thing he's learned it's that students can't always be trusted.

"I think people should receive appropriate punishments for their crimes or sins, but I also believe that it very often doesn't work out that way. So, I suppose I'd also like to think that some sort of fitting punishment will be meted out in the afterlife, although I'm not sure I agree with Dante's choices any more than you do. Does that answer your question?"

It's on the tip of Kiki's tongue to ask, "But what if the person in question doesn't have an afterlife," but instead, she just grins and nods. "I think it does. Thanks."

"You're welcome," he replies, still a little uncertain about Kiki's motivation for the question. "If you're worried about yourself, Kiki, I really doubt that you've ever done anything that would warrant even Purgatory, let alone Hell. So certainly I wouldn't worry about karmic retribution."

Her cropped dark hair swishes as she shakes her head. "I'm not. Well, not much, anyway."

[ooc: Kiki's real reason for asking (http://community.livejournal.com/fandomassistant/11709.html?thread=817341#t817341). We ended up playing that out in the lounge rather than right under Geoff's nose *g*]

"All right." Geoff grins. "You'll be meeting your new teacher this afternoon, in Poetry."

[ooc: *dies* Actually, Geoff would be so completely on board with punishments for Crowley. *g*]

"What's he like?" Kiki asks curiously, "Although I expect I'll find out soon enough. Do you know if he'll need a TA?"

[ooc: Hee! We thought as much, but we figured the girls would not discuss (a) the reason for the vengeance, or (b) their plot to get back at him right in front of someone else other than Bel - especially a teacher - so although the girls really have taken Dante to heart, Geoff will probably go blissfully unaware of the dangerous seeds he's sown here.]

[[OOC: He'd be so proud of them, though. :)]]

[True, dat!]

"I really don't know him very well, but he seems nice enough from the correspondence I've had with him. And he seems genuinely interested in the subject. So I think you'll all be fine." He nods, grinning again. "I'm sure he'll need a TA. And I told him he was inheriting two very good ones."

[ooc: *laughs* Geoff would be just amazed that his class actually had some sort of impact on people. *g*]

Kiki smiles and blushes. "Thanks. I'll be curious to see what he'll do. I wonder if he'll change the syllabus at all," she wonders.

"I think he might plan to make a few changes. I'm sure he has his own interests, and ideas on what you should be learning. But I did tell him about your independent study, so I would think there'll be no problems with you continuing."

"Really? Great!" Kiki exclaims. "I wouldn't want to give it up even though you won't be teaching it anymore."

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