The image of Frankenstein's monster has drastically changed since its debut in Shelley's book, so much so that this nameless creature has falsely been dubbed "Frankenstein."
In the original book, there are vague descriptions of Frankenstein's monster, but the image of the monster primarily comes from the readers imagination and interpretation of the text. With film adaptation, the monster is put on screen, and the mind now has a fixed image (the traditional green skin and neck bolts) of the monster. This image created in the 1931 film became the universal image of Frankenstein's monster, and it was those physical characteristics that defined it. I remember seeing a Vegetales episode with "Frankencelery" in it, and the only physical trait that differed this character from an average piece of celery was the traditional neck bolts. It is clear the film adaptation of Frankenstein is the cause of this now "traditional" image.
The name Frankenstein belongs to a scientist of sorts, not an eight foot tall green man, so why has the monster adopted the name? I have a theory on this. Unlike other monsters that have been discussed in this class, Frankenstein's monster is not only man made, but made solely by one man. Beasts such as werewolves, witches, and Godzilla all have either religious, social, or scientific reasons for their spawning. Frankenstein's was quite literally made by one man, thus creating a "parent-child" relationship with its creator. The monster has adopted its fathers name simply because it is human tradition to acquire the last name of your parents, and in this case, Victor Frankenstein is the father. This kind of relationship does not exist between other monsters and their cause of creation (few are made by a sole individual) and explains why "Frankenstein" is one of the only cases where this happens.
~Ryan Lantz
In the original book, there are vague descriptions of Frankenstein's monster, but the image of the monster primarily comes from the readers imagination and interpretation of the text. With film adaptation, the monster is put on screen, and the mind now has a fixed image (the traditional green skin and neck bolts) of the monster. This image created in the 1931 film became the universal image of Frankenstein's monster, and it was those physical characteristics that defined it. I remember seeing a Vegetales episode with "Frankencelery" in it, and the only physical trait that differed this character from an average piece of celery was the traditional neck bolts. It is clear the film adaptation of Frankenstein is the cause of this now "traditional" image.
The name Frankenstein belongs to a scientist of sorts, not an eight foot tall green man, so why has the monster adopted the name? I have a theory on this. Unlike other monsters that have been discussed in this class, Frankenstein's monster is not only man made, but made solely by one man. Beasts such as werewolves, witches, and Godzilla all have either religious, social, or scientific reasons for their spawning. Frankenstein's was quite literally made by one man, thus creating a "parent-child" relationship with its creator. The monster has adopted its fathers name simply because it is human tradition to acquire the last name of your parents, and in this case, Victor Frankenstein is the father. This kind of relationship does not exist between other monsters and their cause of creation (few are made by a sole individual) and explains why "Frankenstein" is one of the only cases where this happens.
~Ryan Lantz
Wow, I totally remember that episode of Veggie Tales! Your theory makes a lot of sense. Victor Frankenstein definitely has a unique relationship with the monster he created, and it would explain why the monster is so closely associated with his name. This relationship also, as Emily said in her comment, does indeed make the monster much more human.The monster pretty much was a human in the novel, just bigger and uglier. It could learn, talk, and had very human desires, such as wanting to belong in the world. However, after the monster was reinterpreted in the 1931 film adaptation, it lost many of these human qualities, becoming slow and stupid. It's interesting, then, how the monster has adopted the human name Frankenstein over the years even though it has become less and less human-like in behavior as time has gone on. Great blog!
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