Quotation: “So far, in the room itself there had not been a sound. When the clock had struck ten, as it seemed to me, years ago, there came a rustling noise, from the direction of the bed. Feet stepped upon the floor,— moving towards where I was lying. It was, of course, now broad day, and I, presently, perceived that a figure, clad in some queer coloured garment, was standing at my side, looking down at me. It stooped, then knelt. My only covering was unceremoniously thrown from off me, so that I lay there in my nakedness. Fingers prodded me then and there, as if I had been some beast ready for the butcher’s stall. A face looked into mine, and, in front of me, were those dreadful eyes. Then, whether I was dead or living, I said to myself that this could be nothing human,— nothing fashioned in God’s image could wear such a shape as that. Fingers were pressed into my cheeks, they were thrust into my mouth, they touched my staring eyes, shut my eyelids, then opened them again, and— horror of horrors!— the blubber lips were pressed to mine— the soul of something evil entered into me in the guise of a kiss.” (Marsh, Chapter 4)

Connection: This section during chapter four reminded me of Cohen’s fourth thesis: The Monster is a kind of desire. This passage has a very intimate tone from the monster, ending in a kiss. As Cohen’s theses describe monsters as a desire, especially in sexual terms, this passage could continue the trend of a sort of “sexual deviancy” from the narrator.

Question: I wonder how monsters have changed in terms of Cohen’s fourth thesis throughout the years, especially since social norms and acceptability have evolved.