Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Charon
I believe I used the Leyden jars for the lightning and the Benjamin Franklin reference. A voltaic pile would be more reliable, but not as mystically significant (not that Dr. Frankenstein would be consciously aware of that). Of course, the Leyden jars are mentioned as not only being charged by lightning, so voltaic piles could be involved.
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I think I would read the symbolism otherwise. Remember, the starting point for the Voltaic pile was Galvani's discovery that when two different metals were placed in contact with the leg of a dead frog, the leg twitched. This suggests that the mystical vital energy of the tissues is being turned into electricity. Even when you substitute a vat of acid for the dead tissue, there is still a remnant of that symbolism: by the Law of Similarity, the acid is a symbol or analog for the living tissue. So it's a perfect magical ritual for calling up the vital force that animates the constructed body.