Various comments on Frankenstein the film
(nb this is someone’s personal opinion but quite interesting)
See also these websites:
Wikipedia – Frankenstein in popular culture
From Book to Blockbuster: Frankenstein (1931) – by Ryan Brennan (very good)
Themes in Frankenstein:
A Knowledge / education
lower classes becoming readers, but not having the social background to anchor the knowledge to = danger to society i.e. give the uneducated learning and they learn to be dissatisfied , they learn of the alternatives, the possibilities and then their status rankles and social unrest follows (black slaves / women / Chinese / bikes for cars)
B Ambition
Walton has ambitions but eventually is persuaded to abandon them in order to secure his crew’s safety; Victor doesn’t – he has no sense of responsibility towards his creation.
C Prejudice
Justine, the Turkish Merchant and Victor are all wrongly accused by people who abuse their authority: ‘rather ten innocent people should suffer than that one guilty one should escape’
p 82. The monster is beaten because of his ugly appearance. Victor, Justine and the monster are all imprisoned despite their innocence; (the monster’s is his hovel – a symbol of his exclusion and isolation.)
Until chapter 11 we see the monster as a devil: ‘abhorred monster! Fiend that thou art…Wretched devil.‘ Because we see him through Victor’s eyes – now we hear his own thoughts and see a different picture. The monster knows that he is a victim of injustice.
D Revenge
Victor denies the monster his human rights so the monster becomes what he is called – a monster. In seeking revenge the monster is getting the only justice he can after Victor destroys his female so the monster evens the score and destroys Victor’s female – Elizabeth.
From Shelley’s diaries we know that she felt revenge is a savage and destructive emotion – see the monster’s last speech – he is disgusted with his own character and crimes and so his only solution is suicide.
E The Meaning of the Monster
He is a symbol, a moral; his purpose is to explore different issues:
- A moral tale – a parable about the conflict between good and evil or a warning about the dangers of scientific progress.
- A Romantic tale – explores the ruins of two tragic heroes; symbols of loneliness destroyed by their own talents and needs.
- A psychological tale – the monster stands for the destructive nature of ‘unnatural desires and dangerous ambitions or the dark side of Victor’s personality on the rampage (Jekyll and Hyde?)
- A social tale – a story about parent/child relationships and the consequences of a father failing to perform his duties.
- A political tale – the monster symbolises people who have been denied their human rights, freedom, equality and fraternity (see French Revolution). Victor stands for a tyrannical ruler.
- A philosophical tale – which asks ‘what is the origin of evil?’ Does it come from within our nature or from the world around us? The monster begins as a good creature, innocent, but becomes a monster because of the way he is treated.