Who Is the Monster and Who Is the Man?: The changing imagery of Frankenstein’s monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

In 1818 Mary Shelley released her novel Frankenstein in three volumes.  It is referred to as one of the first science fiction novels ever written, as well as the pinacle of Gothic literature. The novel tells the Story of Victor Frankenstein and his successful attempt to create human life. The creature that he does end up creating turns out to be one that is horrifically beautiful, intelligent, and capable of understanding human speech and emotion. Shelley's creature is specifically designed in a way that makes the reader question whether it really is a monster or not. The moral question posed in Shelley's novel is one that is still talked about today: who is the real monster? The original 1818 text was also heavily influenced by Mary Shelley's husband Percy Shelley, which is why, after his death, she released the 1831 version of the novel. There are obvious variations between the two novels, as the 1831 version is more true to the original ghost story Shelley told. However, the depiction of the monster does not change between editions. He is still the same intelligent being in the 1831 edition as he was in the 1818 edition (Shelley).

Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein

Presumption; or, The Fate of Frankenstein is the first adaptation ever made of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It is also the only adaptation that Shelley herself saw. It was written in 1823 by Richard Brinsley Peake, and it is a three act play that follows Victor Frankenstein in his atempt to make a monster that he refers to as a "hobgoblin". This play introduces the assistant character, Fritz, who will later transform into the more commonly known Igor. This play also deviates from the original text by having Clerval also take part in the creation of the monster, taking away the sole responsibilty from Victor. Which, in turn, lessens the moral question that Shelley is posing in her original question as it is no longer Victor's burden to bear. Peake's portrayal of the monster involves him beig nameless. In the script there is only *** in place of where the creature's name would be. The creature is also mute, and he has an affliction for music. This play introduces some of the common things that we see in later adaptations of Frankenstein such as the assistant and a creature who is mute and dumb (Presumption).

Frankenstein 1910

In 1910, Thomas Edison, and Edison Studios, released a fifteen minute film version of Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein. This film is the first time that Shelley's monster was seen on screen. As the film is short, it is a very loose adaptation of the original novel published by Mary Shelley. The film shows the creation of the Creature by Victor Frankenstein, and the Creature's subsequent haunting of Frankenstein on the day of his wedding. The Creature we see in this film is one that is mute and dumb, just as in the 1823 play. However, the film still seems to have grasped some understanding of the original meaning of the novel. In the film, Frankenstein "sees the monster he created reflected in a mirror. Having disappeared, the monster returns to his creator to gain acceptance. However, when the creature is in front of the mirror he disappears again, with only his slowly vanishing reflection left. When Frankenstein arrives and stands in front of the same mirror he witnesses the fading image, signifying the monster's destruction in the face of Frankenstein's increased love for his wife and life" (Frankenstein). 

Frankenstein (1931)

Directed by James Whale and released on November, 21, 1931, this adaptation of Frankenstein, produced by Universal Studios, is based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel, Frankenstein (Suton). Not only is the movie based on the popular novel, but John L. Balderson's play, Frankenstein, from 1927 influenced it (Sites). This adpatation of Shelley's novel ushered in the idea of taking the foundation of a book, and creating a movie series that takes it own form. Frankenstein (1931) is the first movie in a series of three adaptations released during the 1930's. Whale's movie stands out among other adaptations of Frankenstein, because of how cavalier James Whale was in creating this. The 1931 movie adaptation of Frankenstein was under siege by harsh criticism at the time of its release. Thomas Patrick Doherty, author of Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immortality, and Insurrection in America describes the scrutiny that Whale's film underwent by writing, "In Kansas, Frankenstein was banned on the grounds that it exhibited "cruelty and tended to debase morals." The state censor board objected specifically to thirty-two scenes..." (297). The notion that the film should be banned made the film famous, or infamous, depending on how it's framed, making this portrayal of Frankenstein very popular. It is not an adaptation that fell under the radar, rather it's one that audiences were keenly aware of. The talk of banning Frankenstein in a place like Kansas could be a factor that played into our modern day depiction of Frankenstein, which this film helped to usher in, being seared into our heads. Whale's depiction of the monster deviates from the societal criticism that Shelley intended, because he took pieces of her book and manufactured his own idea and storylines.

Citations:

Doherty, Thomas Patrick. Pre-Code Hollywood Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934. Columbia University Press, 1999.

Sites, Melissa J. “Responses to and Adaptations of Frankenstein.” Romantic Circles, Romantic Circles, 1 Sept. 1999, https://romantic-circles.org/reference/misc/ficrep/frankenstein.html.

Suton, Koraljka. “'Frankenstein': James Whale's Macabre Take on One of the Most Sympathetic Characters Ever Created in the World of English Letters • Cinephilia & Beyond.” Cinephilia & Beyond, Cinephilia & Beyond, 2017, https://cinephiliabeyond.org/frankenstein/.

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The Bride of Frankenstein, also directed by James Whale, is the second installment of this movie series that is loosely based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel. The movie picks up where Whale's previous film, Frankenstein (1931), left off, and details the life of Henry Frankenstein, and his quest to create a partner for the monster (Pfeiffer). Dr. Pretorious and the monster essentially groom him into thinking that creating a partner for the monster is absolutely necessary (Pfeiffer). Frequent religious symbols in the film subjected it to intense scrutiny by film critics, leading to calls for it to be censored. The film was pulled in countries like China, Japan, and Hungary, with censorship boards citing concerns that the movie loosely referenced necrophilia (Davison, 157). There were also calls to ban the film in places like England for an array of reasons. Tom Johnson, author of Censorsed Screams: The British Ban on Hollywood Horror in the Thirties wrote, "Then, a bombshell was dropped. Less than two weeks before its scheduled release, the most "beloved" of all horror movies was banned. "It was official announced that Bride of Frankenstein will not be publicly screened in Birmingham," reported the Kinematograph Weekly  (September 19)" (Johnson, 123). The sequel to Frankenstein was met with the same fate, and was not well-received by censorship boards as well, each citing different concerns to prevent the screening of the film. 

Citations:

Johnson, Tom. Censored Screams: The British Ban on Hollywood Horror in the Thirties. McFarland & Co., Inc., 2006.

Davison, Carol Margaret, and Marie Mulvey-Roberts. Global Frankenstein. Vol. 1, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Pfeiffer, Lee. "Bride of Frankenstein". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Apr. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bride-of-Frankenstein. Accessed 15 December 2021.

The Son of Frankenstein (1939)

The movie centers around the son of Dr. Frankenstein, who created the monster, and how he met a man who is hiding the corpse of the creature that his father created. Because the creature has wreaked so much havoc and tarnished the Frankenstein dynasty, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, the son, intends to bring the creature back to life and right any wrongs. Both Wolf von Frankenstein and his wife struggle to make connections in their new town, as the locals harbor strong opinions about the monster, and the pain that he caused in the past. The movie was directed by Rowland V. Lee, and is the third installment of the movies surrounding Frankenstein that were released in the 1930's consecutively (Pfeiffer). 

Citations:

Pfeiffer, Lee. "Son of Frankenstein". Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May. 2014, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Son-of-Frankenstein. Accessed 15 December 2021.

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

The Ghost of Frankenstein was directed by Erle C. Kenton and was released on March 13, 1942. It is the fourth film in Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein series, following The Son of Frankenstein (1939). In this movie, the monster and his friend, Ygor, flee their town and are in search of Dr. Frankenstein’s son, Ludwig, because they want to replace the monster’s damaged brain with Ygor’s. Due to the fact that this is a sequel to Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein series, it does not follow the plot of Mary Shelley’s 1818 edition of Frankenstein, yet takes inspiration from it and builds off of it to create a continuation of the story. As the first movie in the Frankenstein series that didn’t star Boris Karloff as the monster, the audience would be seeing a new face of the monster despite the physical attributes being presented similarly. 

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

The Curse of Frankenstein was directed by Terrence Fisher and released on May 20, 1957, in the United Kingdom. This is Hammer Film Productions’ first movie in their horror series, which later included Dracula (1958) and the Mummy (1959). This was also one of the first colorized horror movies to show blood and gore, which was likely to add to the fear factor for the audience at the time. While the plot is inspired by the 1818 edition of Frankenstein, the plot deviates heavily from the original, while still using the same characters and staying in the same genre. In this adaptation, Victor Frankenstein is awaiting execution when he tells the story of his creation to a priest. Victor kills a professor so he can use the brain for the monster, but the brain is damaged in the process which leads to the monster being dangerous, unintelligent, and violent. This movie leans heavily into the idea that the monster is animalistic and violent and reinforces the association of Frankenstein’s monster with a zombie-like creature that the audience holds already due to previous adaptations.

Frankenstein 1970 (1958)

Frankenstein 1970 was directed by Howard W. Kock and was released on July 20, 1958. This film is a post-World War II adaptation of the original, where Baron Victor von Frankenstein is a victim of torture perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II because of his refusal to participate in their experimentation. He kills off members of a television crew that is living in his home while filming a horror movie for body parts and organs to be used for the monster, who is created using an atomic reactor. An interesting point about this movie, in particular, is that Victor Frankenstein is played by Boris Karloff, who famously played the monster in the first three films of Universal Pictures’ Frankenstein series. Though the monster is not referred to as Frankenstein in the film, the casting of this movie could be a possible reason why Dr. Frankenstein and the monster are commonly switched up in the media and in the modern-day. Because of the post-World War II lens, this was filmed in, the movie does not follow the original plot of Mary Shelley’s 1818 edition of Frankenstein, though it is inspired by the characters and themes.

Monster Mash (1962)

This song was released by Garpax Records in the summer of 1962 on a wax vinyl titled "The Original Monster Mash". Monster Mash is a halloween theme song which was composed, and performed by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers.  The song is narrated by a mad scientist, who's undead creation, or otherwise "Monster" rises up off the lab table, and begins to swing and dance. The Monster Mash is a dance inspired by the popular sixties swing choreography called the "Mashed Potato", with slight adaptations to the footwork, and arm movements to help represent Frankenstein's way of dancing. The dance begins after the mad scientist invites numerous monsters into his castle party, which includes Dracula, Igor, Frankenstein, and Wolfman. Since it's release in 1962, Monster Mash has been regarded as a novelty amongst halloween traditions, and has continued to be at the pinacle of halloween themed music for over 50 years. 

The Frankenstein Monster "Marvel Comics" (1974)

Frankenstein was first introduced to Marvel comics in the 1960s, however his origin of creation, history, and monster demeanor was still to be determined by the readers of marvel comics. The 1974 Frankenstein comic issue #12 was drawn by Bob Brown, written by Doug Moench, and penciled by Val Mayerik. The comic begins with the monster being located on a frozen work site, where he is thawed out and relocated to a freak show circus act. Frankenstein was later found by Derek McDowell who becomes obsessed with the monster after he proves to his girlfriend that the monster does indeed exist, and after a couple day's McDowell's girlfirend tries to set the monster on fire, which awakens Frankenstein who then escapes to the far side of the circus yard, before the Army arrives and shoots the monster down with a bazooka. Frankenstein is then presumed dead until scientific discoveries using electricity presume otherwise, thus awakening Frankenstein again, and sparking a stream of monster murders to escape the trials of scietific dissection and experimentation. Marvel comics redefined Frankenstein's characteristics, making the monster entirely immortal with superhuman stamina, durability, and strength which also attributes to the monsters ability to regenerate health, and substitution of body parts in combat. Frankenstein has a unique Marvel ability to detect, and combat supernatural beings due to his undead state, however his only weakness is his reigning fear of fire. Due to Frankensteins passed experiences in the Marvel universe, he has a horrible fear of fire even though he can regenerate his health, fire is the one catalyst of mental destruction that controls the monster in a combat setting. 

Frankenstein in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"(1975)

The Rocky Horror Picture show was released in August, 1975. The show was written and directed by Jim Sharman and Richard O'brien, and later became a smash hit for halloween themed musical films. The Rocky Horror Picture Show plays into Mary Shelley's 1818 Frankenstein in a rather humerous manner, for starts Frankenstein's name is Frank-N-Furter in the show who instead of being a confused and raged monster, Frank-N-Furter genuinely concerns himself with healthy domestic home life relationships, and host's partys for other Transylvanian party goers. Victor, from the original Frankenstein, performs most of his hellish projects in private, and isolation that way he can perform his scientific work in secrecy from his friends and family. In contrast, Frank-N-Furter performs his hellish feats in public, surrounded by his Transylvanian friends who support his behaviors at first, until he kills Eddie, and tries to feed his party a human body on a plate as an act of cannabalism. Rather than avoiding social situations, and diving deep into self isolation, Frank-N-Furter represents the exact opposite, instead he seeks approval from his friends regarding his creations, while also being very open about his personalized desires and his opposition to the Transylvanian crime "straightness".

Elvira’s Movie Macabre: Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (1984)

Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks was aired on September 15th, 1984 as an installment of Elvira's Movie Macabre. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, played by Cassandra Peterson, is an enduring horror icon who has maintained relevance for the past 40 years. Elvira's Movie Macabre was a series where Elvira would premier B-movies and cut in from time to time with commentary and jokes. In Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks,  a disabled man is lynched by villagers, and Count Frankenstein's years of research have prepared him to bring the man back to life. The process is difficult, however, and he must avoid detection by the towns people, the police, and his daughter - who is preparing to get married. Unfortunately, this rendition of Frankestein's monster bears no resemblance to the monster described in the 1818 version. 

Frankenstein (1984)

Frankenstein (1984) is a TV movie aired on Yorkshire Television (YTV) on December 27th, 1984. While extremely low budget and mostly unknown, the movie stars Robert Powell, David Warner, and Carrie Fisher as Victor Frankenstein, The Creature, and Elizabeth, respectively. In this interpretation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, scientist Victor Frankenstein is obsessed with creating life. When he finally succeeds at creating life, the creature is a man with severe burns on his face and body. He bears no resemblance to the monster described in the original 1818 text, and it is possible that this rendition of the creature was inspired by the appearance of the monster in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). 

The Bride (1985)

The Bride is a 1985 film directed by Franc Roddam starring Sting, Jessica Beals, and Anthony Higgins as Frankenstein, Eva, and Viktor (Frankenstein's Monster) respectively. This film adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is only loosely based on the original story and focuses more on Eva than Frankenstein or Viktor, Frankenstein's monster. The movie was a box office failure and has generally poor reviews. In this version, Frankenstein is pressured by the monster to create a female mate to ease his loneliness and isolation. The monster becomes anxious about the creation of the woman and destroys the lab, killing Frankenstein's assistants and leading Frankenstein to believe that he has also passed away. Eva, a recently deceased woman reanimated by Frankenstein, becomes Frankenstein's protege and is introduced to high society, while Viktor, the monster, joins a circus in Hungary. Overall, the plot deviates greatly from the 1818 text and is only loosely inspired by the novel. Additionally, Eva is a beautiful woman with no physical or behavioral indications that she was recently reanimated. Viktor, on the other hand, appears to have a deformed, leathery face and a large and imposing stature. Viktor's appearance bears no resemblance to the monster described in the 1818 text. 

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994)

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, directed by Kenneth Branagh, is one of the more faithful modern adaptations of the novel. The film itself follows the same structure as the novel, opening with Victor being discovered in the arctic by Captain Walton. We follow Victor’s mad descent into creating life, splintering off into the story of The Creation as he travels through the wilderness. The Creation’s rampage remains truthful to the novel, but an interesting divergence that this adaptation takes is with the death of Elizabeth. Victor, distraught with grief, decides to reanimate Elizabeth. He brings her back to life, but The Creation decides to try to take Elizabeth for himself, as true revenge for the bride Victor refused to make him. In the fight between the two men, she sees herself and becomes so disgusted that she sets herself on fire, burning the mansion down with her. Returning to the arctic, and at the end of our story, Victor dies and The Creation is there to mourn. The Creation, realizing he has no one left, burns himself to death while floating away with his creator’s body.

I, Frankenstein (2014)

I, Frankenstein as an adaptation focuses more on the future of The Monster. The Monster is turned into an immortal demon slayer for a group called The Gargoyle Order, graced by the Archangel Michael to protect humans. He is given the name “Adam” and choses to travel on his own. This feels like a reference to the original text, as The Monster had previously spent time in the wilderness, but this adaptation doesn't lean too heavily into that idea. His main villain throughout the film is the demon prince, Naberius, who plans on creating an army of reanimated corpses to kill humanity. A large focus of this film is around protecting Victor Frankenstein’s journal, and the notes he kept on his experiment with The Monster. Adam decides to burn the notes, and after one of the many fight sequences, reclaims his name as Frankenstein.

Frankenstein (stylized as FRANKƐN5TƐ1N) [2015]

Frankenstein (stylized as FRANKƐN5TƐ1N) is a modern take on the novel, focusing on the morality of reanimation and artificial creation. Victor and Elizabeth Frankenstein are modern scientists who create Adam, The Monster, artificially. Shortly after his creation, his cells fail to replicate, causing his face and skin to deform. Seeing this as a failure, The scientists attempt to euthanize Adam. This doesn’t work, as Adam just seizes with the lethal medicine doing nothing, and Victor chokes him to death. Adam later comes back to life, killing two other scientists who were dissecting him and begins his journey. He has multiple run ins with the Police, ending up living in the street and attempting to have sex with a prostitute, although he ends up killing her by accident. This drives him back to the Frankensteins, where Elizabeth takes on a protective, maternal role upon his return. Victor, however, sees Adam as a monster, and attempts to kill him yet again. This attempt fails and he ends up killing Elizabeth by accident, causing him to flee the house. The film ends with Adam carrying Elizabeth’s body into a large fire, killing himself as well, claiming his name as Adam.