Frankenstein is a novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797–1851) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a hideous sapient creature in a scientific experiment.  The construction of the character is accompanied by “hostility to monsters and hybrids in their capacity as boundary figures which adhere to neither the human nor the non-human sphere” (Kirkup, 76).   The eyes of Frankenstein also display a sense of enlightened human being, who fails to pass as truly human (ibid.).

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Frankenstein does not have a name, representing a lack of identity.  His creation is identified by words such as "creature", "monster", "daemon", "wretch", "abortion", "fiend" and "it". Although the creature was described in later works as a composite of whole body parts grafted together from cadavers and reanimated by the use of electricity, this description is not consistent with Shelley's work; both the use of electricity and the cobbled-together image of Frankenstein's monster were more the result of James Whale's popular 1931 film adaptation of the story.  In Whale’s film, the creature appears as a towering, undead-like figure, often with a flat-topped angular head and bolts on his neck to serve as electrical connectors or grotesque electrodes.  The tone of his skin varies and his body appears stitched together at certain parts such as around the neck and joints. This image has influenced the creation of other fictional characters, such as the Hulk, in various genres in the contemporary cultures.

 

Works cited:

“Frankenstein.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Mar. 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein.

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Kirkup, Gill, et al., eds. The gendered cyborg: A reader. Psychology Press, 2000.

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“Frankenstein (3/8) Movie CLIP - Meet the Monster (1931) HD.” YouTube, uploaded by Movieclips, 1 Jun 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nur4g4r1LN4&t=84s.

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Images:

Wikimedia Foundation. "Boris Karloff promotional photo." ibid.

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Wikimedia Foundation. “Theatrical release poster by Karoly Grosz.” Frankenstein (1931 film), Wikipedia, 1 Jan 1931, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_(1931_film)#/media/File:Frankenstein_poster_1931.jpg.

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Wikimedia Foundation.  “Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein.”  Frankenstein (2011 play), Wikipedia, 12 Jul 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_(2011_play)#/media/File:Frankenstein_Boyle_Poster.png.

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