frankensteincest:
society if knowledge and secrets (the Eye) vs. narrative and meaning (the Web) wasn’t presented as a strict dichotomy where one Fear alone developed the ability to Think but rather our amorphous blob of terror being an exploration of epistemology and metafiction. society if there was at the very least an actual discussion of the Spider’s desire to proliferate in and feed on infinite realities being the same hunger that drove Jonah Magnus and how they both deified the same man over it, making him the site of violence in this cosmic struggle between fate and free will.
atayart:
he was taking so much laudanum i just know it
elias-rights:
Jonah may rationalise his actions as self-defence (and it is partially that: a drive to avoid being a victim after realising he lives in a world where he is that by default), but I also think it’s an act of revenge against the entire universe.
elias-rights:
I want you to imagine—not just as you you, raised in postmodernism, but in the shoes of a man who is seeing Modern ideals and technological progress evolve far beyond the expectations of any point in history—discovering definitive proof once and for all that there is something that exists and is greater than yourself, a purpose that predates you (pun intended) and will endure long after you’re gone, and that this purpose is for vast, unknowable entities to have a nibble at the expense of your toiling and fearing. Then come back and tell me Jonah Magnus is unsympathetic.
elias-rights:
See, what gets me is that Smirke and Jonah’s merry band must have felt like such a hopeful endeavour at first. They were witnessing how scientific knowledge was reshaping society in real time (let’s not forget that they lived during the Industrial Revolution). Smirke’s ideas of balance, in that light, make perfect sense. I just wonder when it was that Jonah realised that there would be no answer to neatly organize his new world into happy little columns—and, consequently, when the initial attempts to stop the rituals became a race to complete his first.
dr-fanshawe:
trans jonah magnus is so real to Me… a lot of his traits could be partially ascribed to his experience as a 19th century trans person
it would create a separation between him and his body, make him a guest in his own flesh, form a “my body is not my own” sentiment that would last for 200+ years (even if for different reasons). it would force him to create himself, and to fight for recognition. it would form the “it’s not in your blood, or your soul, or your destiny” belief (he wouldn’t believe in biological determinism at least, which is a solid argument, i think). it would make him afraid of being outed, and thus afraid of being truly known, and yet make him long for someone who would understand
i have two opposite headcanons on jonah’s name:
1. magnus is a family name. jonah changed only his first name and reclaimed his last by founding an institute in his name
2. jonah magnus is a fully made up name, that he immortalised, again, through his institute
in both cases i see his institute as a way to claim the name. honestly, the institute is probably one of the most important things in his life. not only it’s a life-long passion project, it’s also a continuation of himself (he’s a self-described “beating heart of the institute”), so!! i believe he has a soft spot for it and everything it represents
