Since its 1818 publication, Frankenstein has encountered a multitude of alterations and misinterpretations. Characters have been created, events get fabricated, and our understanding of the monster consistently gets lost in translation. I present to you a response to the mayhem: a comprehensive overview of the monster Shelley created, and the myths that others formed.
This experience is best when accompanied by music. To make this presentation really come alive, please follow the link below to the project's music pairing.
To begin, let's start with an overview of who our monster really is.
WHO IS FRANKENSTEIN?
One of the most frequented misinterpretations of the text stems from confusion over characters. Specifically, there is a widely held belief that the monster himself is, indeed, Frankenstein. To clarify, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the creator, and Adam (the monster) is his experiment. That knowledge in mind, let's move on to discussing the creature's appearance.
APPEARANCE
It's easy to imagine the horror of Dr. Frankenstein's monster. His body, composed of the cold and dead extremities of multiple persons, defies nature. However, amongst all our ideas of what the monster could look like, we often lose what he did look like.
Movies paint the picture as such: the monster hobbles in tattered clothing, moaning and groaning as he yearns for human flesh. His green skin is pasty beyond compare, bolts plunge into the side of his elongated neck, scars adorn nearly every inch of his body, and even the Grim Reaper would shudder at the yellow in his eyes. But how much of this description is truly accurate?
WHAT WE KNOW
Though Shelley did not spend a bulk of the novel describing Adam, we do get some distinct information regarding his appearance. The following covers our undeniable evidence of who and what the monster is.
BORN A KILLER
Arguably, the greatest tragedy that comes of all this misinterpretation is something that goes beyond appearance. When people hear the word "monster," they immediately equate it with terror, violence, and all negative feelings of the like. But what many don't know is that Frankenstein's monster was not born a beast.
When first brought to life, Adam is essentially a blank slate. He has no idea who he is, he knows no language, and his body is entirely new to him. This is why the monster moans and groans; he is trying to communicate but simply does not have the tools to do so.
As the story progresses, the monster actually turns into quite the intellectual. His speech is eloquent, he seeks goodness and love, and he develops emotional intelligence and empathy. Indeed, it is not until provoked over an extended period of time that he turns into a traditional monster.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE & EMPATHY
"I heard of the discovery of the American hemisphere and wept with Safie over the hapless fate of its original inhabitants" (64)
LOVING UNTIL SHAMED AND PROVOKED
"Believe me, Frankenstein, I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity; but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what can I gather from my fellow creatures, who owe me nothing? They spurn and hate me... I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness" (52)
THE DOCTOR'S CLAIM TO FAME
Although he is the most known character of the novel, the monster isn't the only one who has been misrepresented over time. Just the same, the creator himself has faced his own set of alterations over the years. The biggest adaptation: his most famous line.
MAD SCIENTIST
We all know the scene. Dr. Frankenstein paces in his lab on a dark and stormy night. His completed creature lay on a slab in the middle of the room, and the weather outside is the best chance of his dream - quite literally - coming to life. Suddenly, lighting strikes and Frankenstein uses it to conduct his machine. He transfers the energy into the monster and as the creature opens his eyes, the doctor says his most famous line:
"IT'S ALIVE!"
The problem? Dr. Frankenstein never actually says this line in the text. He is not overwhelmed with joy at his success. Instead, his immediate reaction is regret.
"Now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room" (26)
Indeed, his most famous lines are Hollywood born. C'est la vie, not "It's alive."
IGOR
Among all the misinterpretations of the text, there is one absolute lie that reappears time and again. Despite popular belief, Igor does not exist in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Alas, the erratic hunchback who follows the doctor's every step is a fictional character completely outside of the original narrative.
ORIGIN
In 1823, a few years following the publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a man named Richard Brinsley Peake wrote Presumption; or The Fate of Frankenstein. It is in this play that the doctor's assistant makes his first debut.
Described as "a servant to Frankenstein," the play uses the character to portray an inaccurate representation of the monster coming to life. In it, the servant and (known character) Clerval assist the doctor in giving life to a creature named Hobgoblin. Although inaccurate, the character stuck. From there on, Frankenstein's erratic assistant made his way into countless adaptations.
MYTH WITHIN THE MYTH
Though we know that an assistant does not exist in the original novel, another misconception concerns the name Igor itself. Frankenstein's right hand man isn't actually named Igor in Peake's play. Rather, he goes by Fritz, a name that popularly occurs in the 1931 movie adaptation, as well as the 1935 Bride of Frankenstein film. It wasn't until the 1939 Son of Frankenstein movie that Igor officially made his name onstage. Since, the name has appeared in numerous adaptations, including the highly popular 1974 film, Young Frankenstein.
As the years progress, the name continues on. The main character in the 2015 film, Victor Frankenstein, is, indeed, named Igor. When Halloween rolls around, nearly every radio in the country plays "Monster Mash," a song that specifically names Igor. The times change, and so does the story. Alas, the mayhem continues.
MOVING FORWARD
All this information in mind, it may seem that the original Frankenstein is nowhere to be found in this day and age. Yet, the original novel remains on bookstore shelves to this day, having never been out of print in the 200 years since its publication. The point: don't believe everything you hear - or see. And when you hear word of someone trying to bring the dead back to life, remember that sometimes, it's better to leave well enough alone.
Credits:
Created with images by Norbert Tóth - "Poles in the rain" • skeeze - "frankenstein monster boris karloff actor vintage movies" • maraisea - "eery fear stalk frankenstein forest psychopath attack" • blueberrykings111 - "eye iris pupil" • sirenia57 - "frankenstein monster statue man art unusual style" • m wrona - "Alone In The Woods" • Peter Forster - "Eye of the Storm" • Olenka Kotyk - "Kyiv city fine art"