Title: Black as the Pit, from Pole to Pole

Authors: Steven Utley and Howard Waldrop

Date of First Publication: 1977

Place of Publication: New Dimensions 7, Ed. Robert Silverberg (Harper & Row)

Bibliographic Reference: isfdb

Type: Short story

Character: The Creature, Victor Frankenstein

Keywords: RETRO SF; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER; POSTHUMAN

Critical Summary: This short fiction work, composed of ten chapters, opens with the Creature languishing over his inability to properly die in a world that disdains him. The theme of ice is prevalent throughout the text and serves a theme of being paralyzed or literally frozen into place. Here, the Creature cannot meld into society, but also cannot be killed by mortal means and appears to defy the aging process. The Creature retains its health and life despite several attempts to extinguish its life.

The text also explores the notion of isolation yet of the wonder found within the science fiction and Gothic genres, and interwoven in nature, mentioning such writers as Edgar Allan Poe and Herman Melville, as well as Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley. The final chapter opens with a direct reference to Jules Verne’s science fiction masterpiece A Journey to the Center of the Earth where Axel and his grandfather journey to find the core of the earth, highlighting their fascination with the core’s geology. The story ends with the creature spying a whale in the foamy sea and finding a newfound freedom within the image. The creature begins to row away from the frozen island, smiling and gleeful to be away from the ever-frowning Victor Frankenstein.

Admin Notes: Rebekah Kromm, CSUF. Edited by Gareth O’Neal and Melanie Yogurtian, CSUF