Writ of Habeas Corpus

Title: Writ of Habeas Corpus

Author: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Date of First Publication: 1991

Place of Publication: Ultimate Frankenstein

Type: Short story

Themes: RACE/POLITICS; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER; ANDROID; POSTHUMAN; BYRONIC HERO; MAD SCIENTIST/MONSTER

Critical Summary: Frank Einstein has been in a psychiatric ward in Senzono State prison for the years; he continues to write letters to lawyers asking them if they could review his case but to no avail until one finally does. Gregory Hartford, a lawyer, replies to his plea and agrees to help Frank. Once introduced, Hartford, suppressing fear towards the monster, asks Frank to tell him his story. Frank argues that he was not the one who killed all those people; Victor, the little girl, the brother, etc. He had no part in it, in fact it was the brain that was to blame. The brain inside him is not his but of a dangerous criminal named Elihu Sacton, who deals with multi personality disorder. Skepticism arises because if that were true then wouldn’t Frank be another one of Sacton’s personalities? When asked if he ever consented to take part in Victor’s experiment Frank assures him that he did not.

Frank believes that Victor is his brother, at least partly. Victor took his brother’s body and used only his neck to his knees. Below his knees and his head, were of other human remains. This information was suppressed from the jury because of its grotesque truth.

Frank has a lot of blank gaps in his memories. For instance, he does not remember killing a girl but has a memory of a girl and a flower. He also could not have done it because in the beginning he had no control of the body’s functions. He could not even command his new hands to move. When asked if he would kill again Frank admits that even though the brain might want to the body would never allow it. The odds are not looking good for Frank and he doubts that anyone would believe his testimonial, much less the jury.

Hartford has a plan: they will direct the jury to the creature’s brain transplant. The objective is to position Frank as the victim in Victor’s evil scheme. Once freed, Hartford hopes to have Frank’s autography published and perhaps a movie deal will pan out. Frank is shell-shocked and continues to doubt. The trial ends. Frank Einstein is free. Hartford waits outside along with a bottle of wine food and a limousine. They have big plans. As they are driving away Frank begins to retract from himself. This new unfamiliar freedom becomes uncomfortable and at the end of the story it appears as if a different mind might be returning, but whose?

In Writ of Habeas Corpus written by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, the monster named Frank Einstein is portrayed as the victim and Victor the villain, while in the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, there seems to be to an uncertainty whether who is really the villain of the story. In Yarbro’s version, the Creature is quite civilized and calm. The readers then sympathize with the character because of the injustice that was done to him. We see Frank struggle with self-doubt and uncertainty. He is being accused of a crime that he claims he did not commit and asks for help and for someone to listen to him. Yarbo has completely humanized the creature by giving him a conscious and having someone to guide him. Through this perspective, we are able to identify with the creature and understand his situation. In Frankenstein, there is not a single person who helps the creature or would dare come close to it but Yarbro introduces us characters who not only sympathize with the creature but also befriend him.

Administrative Notes: Joana Chavez, CSUF; Dr. David Sandner (editing)