About Herbert West...

Herbert West is a very interesting character to me, and I find him quite easy to analyze and sympathize with. I believe I first watched "Re-Animator" two or three years ago, and while I suppose I didn't realize it at the time, I was quite taken with that twitchy little rat freak of a man. I say this with love! His primary motivation, of course, is to defeat death, but also to prove himself as a worthy scientist, and in turn to prove that he himself is worthy of meaning. Being an Enneagram 5, like myself, I believe that his needs as a child were dismissed and ridiculed, his motivations made to seem trivial. Of course I am certain I am projecting at least a little bit, but save for his frustration at Daniel for not understanding his motives, his anger at Meg and Francesca for getting in the way of his work by distracting his big strong henchman, I do believe that he seems to display a bit of anhedonia...a disconnect from emotion, inability to feel pleasure.

Of course, Herbert isn't completely unable to feel joy or happiness, that's not what I'm implying, but the positivity in his life hinges on how valuable his work can be, how valuable he can be. Without his work...he's nothing but a failure, a nobody, someone stupid and undeserving of any of life's comforts. He is DETRIMENTALLY social blind due to his upbringing and just how he is as a person. He likely grew up in a well-off, academic family, or that is what I like to believe. Absent parents, ones who provided him with what was needed to succeed, but everything else was entirely vapid. His struggles were not important because he had it all, and so he learned to separate himself from his emotions, from his womanhood. (Yes, this is where I drop on you that I personally headcanon Herbert to be trans.) He holds disdain for people and for doing the things that make one "human", though he has a very rich inner life, of course. You cannnot have such a strong desire to defeat death and to be known for YOUR work without having some crazy inner fantasies!!
His "safety" in the world hinges on his knowledge of science and the body. His passion for what he does, and the fact that despite his mishaps he is GOOD at it, is wwhat gives him his autonomy as a person. I mean, hell, when he's in prison in "Beyond" he STILL gets some semblance of livelihood because people know of his work, and that there is strong potential. Through his knowledge he builds walls of emotional blockage and self-sufficieny...and I love him for it XD.

To get a little "darker", I will now discuss my headcanon regarding Herbert West being transgender, and how it effects his social biases. I mean, come on, you can't watch "Bride" and listen to him say "I will not be shackled by the failures of your God. The only blasphemy is to wallow in insignificance. I have taken refuse of your God's failures and I have triumphed!" and not find even a little bit of a transgender undertone...right? Anyway. There is quite a bit of misogyny that women and feminine-presenting people face in the STEM field, there is no denying it. I've experienced it, my friends have experienced, my professors have experienced it...so it does not seem far-fetched to say that Herbert, as a child and young adult, would have faced this as well prior to his transition. That, in turn, would further push him to throw himself into his work, to become a Dr., so that no one says "Miss". Perhaps his disdain towards Meg and Francesca is a misguided anger at what they face, but in front of it all is still a pretty healthy dose of just pure hate, haha. Of course, people would still falsely judge his work if it was done by a woman, so I believe this further motivated his pursuits. He likely found his own way to do DIY HRT haha, but I believe that by the beginning of the first movie, with the death of Dr. Gruber, he had gotten top surgery. I like to personally think that at some point in the future, when his serum works, he somehow manages to give himself phallo. Reanimated penis, hells yeah.