a post!
an image
anne as a gothic mad scientist
the Mad Scientist is typified by unwavering arrogance and an unshakeable belief in his work, believing that the experiments and research that he is embarking upon will be in the first instance beneficial to himself and, as a conceited afterthought, beneficial to humankind as a whole. macarthur 25
He is a layered character; multi-dimensional and rarely simply villainous to the core, but often troubled by personal issues that motivate him to pursue his scientific interests. Such personal investment often leads him to ‘take too much upon himself’4 and become blind-sighted, incapable of seeing the dangers and the risks that his research poses 25 macarthur
‘I want, I get’ is an attitude that describes perfectly the attitude and behaviour of another Mad Scientist from this early period of Gothic science fiction 29 macarthur
It is the lot of the Mad Scientist however that he simply cannot help himself when it comes to misadventure and experimentation into changing and manipulating the natural order of the world – particularly the boundary between life and death 36 macarthur re drexel
The mark of a true Mad Scientist it seems is not in itself the desire for power, but rather the abuse of it once it is in his grasp, and it is this distinction that forms one of the strongest links between the Mad Scientist and the traditional Gothic villain – it is not power per se that is the problem, but rather when it falls into the hands of those men who simply cannot help themselves 44 macarthur
what all Mad Scientists do best, and continues his work in secret 44 macathur
the female Mad Scientists are brazen and shrewd, and possessed of great intelligence that allows them to command a great many people and events at the same time. They are, like male Mad Scientists, hugely ambitious and equally power-hungry, but more importantly they have mastered the arts of both manipulation and cunning 46 macarthur
- drexel is the classic mad scientist villain - obsessed with ideas of death
- but anne is like the other side of his coin in the audios - ruthless, driven, almost unfeeling and she's fucking awesome!!!!!
Episode List Footnotes MacArthur, Sian. 2015. Gothic Science Fiction: 1818 to the Present. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
