"Putting on the Ritz" with Plato and Aristotle


Orators and sophists of the ancient times were welled versed in the art of rhetoric, or rather the art of being able to persuade. Persuasion can be a valuable asset to anyone; if wielded properly it can offer alliances, a community, and above all power. The methods behind persuasion can often be rooted in concepts that are entirely unknown to the persuadee, or ones being persuaded. These methods all come from one of the Aristotelian devices being logos (an appeal to logic), pathos (an appeal to the emotions), or ethos(an appeal from a community or an expert). In this scene, Dr. Frankenstein initially uses ethos to persuade his audience, reminding them again of their common interest in science, and as his role as a scientist. It is in this way that he gains their trust. However, he is essentially manipulating them into believing what he has created is something legitimate to be revered, not something horrifying to be shunned.
Dr. Frankenstein is a complex example of mimesis, or the art of imitation, which Plato claimed was practiced by all artists, orators, and poets alike. The doctor is imitating an orator, but his imitation goes much farther. He is an imitation of the people in the audience, using his rhetoric to align himself with them ethically and morally; he draws them out towards him. He is an imitation of God as well, or whatever name one would attribute to the source, or spark, of life. Doctor Frankenstein has created the creature, which he is presenting to the community with which he aligns, but he presents it to them in a theatrical way -- on stage in an auditorium. The attendees have all bought tickets as if it is a freak show they are attending, not a scientifically based pursuit. In this light, the scientific community could most be compared to Plato’s idea of a just society, representing all things that are logical and good. Plato would agree that this type of theatrics should be scorned, because it makes a mockery of the common morality of the people and incites in them emotions that are indecent -- fear and pity. Fear and pity are also used, according to Plato and Aristotle as well, in poetry to relate people to the characters. The poetry, or performance we are seeing however is ultimately an imitation of the situations represented, and thrice removed from the reality, or the Forms.
The Forms, according to Plato, were the true essence of everything that existed in the natural world, in it’s natural state. Everything that is created by man, in fact man himself, already exists in another realm as an absolute idea. Human beings are able to make multiple versions of a particular universal form in the real world, but the thing created will always be one step away from the truth because we will always be unable to fully capture the true essence of anything. In this way the creature, created by Dr. Frankenstein, is presented as further and further removed from the truth. He is created by a man, and therefore in an imitation of a human being, but the fact that he is paraded on stage, acting, makes him an imitation of himself, even further from the truth. This representation, according to Plato would be very dangerous for the people of the audience because they would be reacting to something that was not even a semblance of the truth. When the creature first makes his appearance on stage the audience gasps, women scream and stand up, almost ready to run from the auditorium but Dr. Frankenstein assures them they have nothing to fear. Fear -- one of the essential emotions that would be incited by witnessing theater or reading poetry.
The presence of the police in the auditorium are like Plato’s guiders of his Republic. They are the ones who will decide what is best and what is not, what the audience should see and what it should not. Interestingly, they stand behind the audience -- unknown and unseen while they observe the performance as well.
Aristotle wrote much about the difference between a comedy and a tragedy, but what is found interesting here could be the similarities. The scene is both comical, and tragic. The idea of the creature dancing and performing “Putting on the Ritz” for a house full of scientists is hilarious, but the fundamental ideas of the creature, being scorned and laughed at, and misunderstood, is a tragedy. If comedy brings out the worst in people, and tragedy the best, as Aristotle says, then it is clear to see that the creator here is the comical one, the base one, and the created is the tragic one.