Awkward: Why it's more than just a funny word

There are so many different reasons why the word "awkward" fascinates me. Perhaps most importantly is that there seems to be no direct translation of this word in Spanish. I have asked several native spanish speakers as well as non-native speakers, and i haven't been able to get a clear answer. As far as i know, there is no word in the Spanish language that equates to 'awkward'. I frequently wonder how such a universal human-emotion could not have a direct translation or similar word, no matter how closely or distantly related the two languages are. I'm curious to see where this word came from and how it was first used.

Castle Terminology

Arcading - Rows of arches supported by columns.
Merlons - "Teeth-like" structures on top of a wall.
Keep - A usually square building where that contains the king's accommodations.
Finial - A slender piece of carved stone used to decorate the tops of towers and walls.


EXAMPLE: The Alhambra located in Granada, Spain:

BREAKING NEWS: Grendel is dead!

Breaking news from the mead hall:

Grendel is declared dead after attempting to attack under the cover of dark last night, says several eye-witnesses. Men from far and wide are in celebration after the news of Grendel's death spread across the great land of the Danes. Beowulf, the hero and destroyer of the monster who terrorized our people for twelve years, briefly spoke with the Danish Times the night of the incident. "It's a great honor and privilege to be the slayer of our enemy," he exclaimed, "the cover of the dark night didn't seem to bring Grendel good fortune this time… our trickery proved to be beneficial in our plot to finally end his reign of terror." Other witnesses that we spoke to described the attack in great detail, one stating "Our plan to appear as asleep men until Grendel appeared in the mead hall was a fantastic strategy-- when Grendel was in our sight, we all sprang up with our swords and shields in hand, obviously to his great surprise. His unpreparedness proved to be his greatest weakness. It couldn't have gone more perfectly." 

Grendel, who has made several other attacks on the Danes over the past twelve years, has injured and killed many men in his ruthless actions, bringing fear and hopelessness to all who live in the area. 

Another man who was at the scene praised Beowulf for his participation in the event. "Beowulf, our rightful savior, attacked Grendel with grace and heroism; his actions have declared him the greatest man of the Danes. May his heroism and dignity be respected by all”, he proclaimed.

Other witnesses explained to us how Grendel faced great challenges during the attack, unlike in the past. In addition to his being unprepared for the attack on him, during the battle he is reported to have slipped on his own blood, causing him to fall to the ground. Several other people have also even claimed to have heard him wail “Mama!” during the combat, though reporters were unable to find concrete evidence to prove that he did indeed cry out to his mother.

Celebrations are expected to last in the area for the next several weeks as people return to their normal way of life, free of the fear that Grendel caused amongst all. 

A Combination of English and French

Because of Norman (French) conquest in England in the 9th and 10th centuries, the French and English languages heavily mixed. New words were created which combined roots from both languages. Even through the French tried to abolish the use of English, it managed to survive. One of the major factors  included them only overthrowing the aristocracy, which left the huge class of peasants unaffected, and enabled them to live in rural areas and speak their native tongue as they please. Also, the French dialect that the Normans spoke (Anglo-Norman) gradually became socially inferior. As new people from Paris arrived, they criticized the local dialect and insisted that everyone use a more "true" French dialect. However, this had the effect of making more people turn to English instead of French.

Listed below are several examples of English words that are of French and Old English decent. The definitions of the roots in their respective languages are given.

Gentil (French/"high-born, of good family"),  man (English/"human being") - Gentleman
Gentil (French/"high-born, of good family"),  wimmen (English/"woman man") - Gentlewomen
Gentil (French/"high-born, of good family"), -nes (English/"denoting state") - Gentleness
Feid (French/"trust"), -ful (English/"completely") - Faithful
Feid (French/"trust"), -leas (English/"free from") - Faithless
Comun (French/"general, free"), weal (English/"happiness") - Commonweal
Pais (French/"absence of war"), fullice (English/"entire"), -lic (English/"having qualities of") - Peacefully
Bataille (French/"battle"), æces (English/"axe") - Battleaxe

Nearly 30% of words in the English language are of French decent (blue). See chart below.

Sources:
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_French_origin
Our Faire Englische Tung: A brief History of the English Language by Lance C. Coon

"Frankenstein and Radical Science" by Marilyn Butler

"When it comes to parenting, Frankenstein is himself a monster. He will not acknowledge his only child, the Being he chooses to call Monster, Fiend, and Demon, though no human father ever played so thorough-going a role in any birth."

- Butler states that Frankenstein is indeed a monster himself, perhaps more so than the creature that he created. Frankenstein never refers to his creation as anything other than malicious terms. This could imply that Frankenstein never really took creditability for his actions, especially for creating what he did. He does not want to associate himself with the monster, which is why the fatherly/godly aspect is pretty much non-existant in the text (contrary to what he originally wanted--"A new species would bless me as its creator and source"--see page 32).

"The public controversy concerning some of the kinds of science represented in Frankenstein endangered the book's future, for it read differently after readers became more knowing."

- There is a heavy focus on the differences between the several versions of Frankenstein that were all published at different times. Shelley heavily revised the novel between publishings, and Butler reminds us that the first published version (1823) was more heavily focused on religious aspects of creation rather than the scientific aspects. This is perhaps why it was not as popular in 1823 due to the extreme--and possibly absurd, at the time--ideas that are presented in the novel regarding scientific creation. When the newer (and more popular) version was published in 1831, it was much better received by the public due to a dramatic shift in thought over the years.

"Their friendship with Lawrence probably ensured that both Shelleys wrote more accurately and less speculatively on scientific matters than they otherwise might."

- Shelley's friendship with William Lawrence (her physician) provided her accurate scientific information at the time so that she would write less speculatively on such issues. This could also have been a source--or inspiration--for why Shelley wrote what she did. This could suggest that any role of science in society was very minimal at the time.

The Creator or the Created: Which is the true monster?

1. "A new species would bless me as its creator and source…" (Shelley 32)
2. "Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil, as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave…" (Shelley 32)
3. "I seem to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit…" (Shelley 32)
4. "In the solitary chamber, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy creation…" (Shelley 32)

All of these phrases found near the beginning of Frankenstein directly relate to how Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, creates a complex attitude towards Victor's pursuit to create a monster. While Victor clearly has control over his actions, Shelley in some ways portrays Victor as being hopelessly lost in his emotional thoughts and desires to create something supernatural. By carefully wording Victor's thoughts and describing his actions in detail, the author is able to give the reader the impression--even this early in the novel--that there is not just one monster, but two.

An interesting aspect of this whole situation is that Victor frequently portrays his work as being extremely negative. In a way, he does realize that what he is doing is not in his best interest as well as in the best interests of others around him. However, one thing that i thought was strange was that although he does describe his actions negatively, he does very little to stop the process. It could be argued that he has such a strong mind-set that disallows him to purely reflect on what he's doing and stop it when he realizes that he is taking this too far. His extensive knowledge regarding anatomy and other sciences fixate him on this single idea that appears to be his chief goal in life to complete, and he never really thinks through the possible consequences that could arise by tinkering with nature and the human framework.

Additionally, Shelley gives the reader an impression that Victor is somewhat of a monster himself. While he might not be the typical monster, his actions surely do make him appear like one. He is working with body parts from different human corpses that he stole from charnel houses, and connects them all together to form one "true" physical monster. Farther into the novel, Victor seems even more like a monster than his creation, which ultimately leads us to believe that Victor is indeed the one to blame for his actions.

In a broader aspect, Shelley establishes a complex attitude towards Victor's ideas and actions early in the story to lead the reader to form his or her own opinions regarding his pursuit. This allows the reader to interpret Victor in several different ways-- perhaps that he is the victim his own human nature to gain more knowledge than the average person should know, or maybe that he is a monster himself and should have been able to control his own actions. It is purely up to the reader to take all evidence given and to form conclusions about Victor's mental health and situation, and that is why Frankenstein is such a coveted and respected novel that still remains popular today.

Why a monster?

One aspect of Frankenstein that really interested me--and perhaps puzzled me at the same time--was why Frankenstein decided to create this monster in the first place. Although a few reasons are given for his desire to create such a being, such as it being a result of gaining the knowledge of how to bring the deceased back to life ("I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter"/P.30), there is really no concise reason as to why he wanted to do this in the first place, other than because 'he could' and because he was interested in natural philosophy and chemistry. While reading the book, I was constantly questioning if there was a greater reasoning behind his creation, especially since it leads to rather severe consequences for himself--as the creator--specifically as you read near the middle and end of the novel. However, there are some phrases near the beginning of the book that peaked my attention and could perhaps add some well-needed insight into Frankenstein's mind-set.

The first idea that grabbed my attention was that Frankenstein seemed to be relatively interested in human relationships ("A new species would bless me as its creator and source"/P.32). This phrase caught my attention because it seems like he is looking for some sense of value in his life. He wants to want to be valued by someone or something, and perhaps might think that creating this creature might fulfill this empty role.

Secondly, it is obvious that he wants to have a role in the advancement of science and technology ("I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success." P.31). This could also go back to my previous point about him desiring a sense of worth for himself, but could also be the direct result of him studying with Professor Waldman and Professor Krempe, as well as by reading several books on natural philosophy and other fields of study. He became fascinated by these studies early on in the book, and his fascination with them led to his desire to experiment with life itself.

However, i think the most important point is that he is constantly searching for knowledge, and this gained insight into human life ultimately leads him to tinker with nature--which as he discovers, really shouldn't be tinkered with in the first place. He talks about the danger of such knowledge ("How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge,"/P.31) and how attempting to be greater than humanly possible ("and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to be greater than his nature will allow"/P.31) is ultimately what leads him to regret following his perhaps dangerous aspirations, and is what leads to all of the atrocities that happen later in the novel. Additionally, Robert Walton was also on the pursuit of knowledge, but later learned his lesson and backed out to save himself. The search for knowledge is definitely a major theme in Frankenstein.

While in totality Frankenstein is not really clear behind his reasons for his creation, i think it is safe to say that the pursuit of knowledge was one of the main reasons, and is what should be looked at with the greatest attention to understand his point-of-view and situation.