Frankenstein Comparison

When people hear the name Frankenstein, they all think of the story of the scary monster created by a scientist. The original story was written by Mary Shelley which told of a man, Victor Frankenstein and his creation of such a monster. Her novel explores the events of the creation of the monster, what Frankenstein encounters and goes through, and the chaos which the monster causes. Due to this well-known tale, film makers and other authors have depicted their own versions of the story and created an abundance of adaptations that all follow the general story line.

Frankenstein begins with Robert Walton's letter from St. Petersburgh, Russia, to his sister in England. Walton, an arctic seafarer, willingly takes Frankenstein aboard his boat.

Walton begins to tell Frankenstein of his purpose and his hope of making significant discoveries when Frankenstein, “cautions him to leave off his mad pursuit, to listen to his story of how once he began in earnest to know all that could be known” (Plot).
Born in Naples, Italy, to a wealthy Swiss family, Victor Frankenstein was the only child of doting parents until, when he turns five; his mother brings home an orphaned girl named Elizabeth to be Victor's sister.

The two children, along with his younger brother, Will, who was born when Victor was seven, become extremely close and have an intense bond between each other. At seventeen, as he is to leave for the University at Ingolstadt, Elizabeth contracts scarlet fever. Nursed by Victor's mother, she recovers, but his mother soon dies afterward. Victor later departs for Ingolstadt, which is where his chemistry professor encourages him in the study of science where Victor determines to discover the secret of life, perhaps even how to create life itself: “to devote myself to a science for which I believed myself to possess a natural talent” (Shelley). This leads to the construction of the monster himself. At the end of his creation, Victor is horrified by what he has generated, and runs away. This however, was a horrible mistake; the monster murders Victor’s younger brother and a servant is blamed for the

death.
The monster eventually finds his creator and pleads with Victor to make him a mate, threatening him and his family if he does not. Frankenstein agrees, but only on the condition that the creatures flee to dilapidated parts of the earth where they will do no harm to humans. Frankenstein begins making a mate, but soon realizes how horrid the decision was and takes the remains of the new creature and unloads them into the sea from a boat he takes offshore. The monster seeks Victor on his wedding day, breaks into the room and kills Elizabeth: “Frankenstein leaves the room, and it is while he is away that his bride is murdered by the monster on her untried marriage bed…” (Kiely). After Victor sees the monster gazing through the window, smirking, Victor vows to seek revenge. He hunts the monster across the Alps, across Europe, into Russia and north to the pole, where he finds himself shipwrecked on an ice flow before he is taken aboard Walton's ship.
While the main theme of the novel is the monstrous consequences of egotism, the counter-theme is the virtue of friendship.

Superiority through suffering and acceptance are other major themes of Frankenstein as well. Victor refuses to give his creation the love and acceptance it craves and in doing so creates the monstrous nightmare that later comes to kill everyone he cares for. While also refusing to construct the creation a companion of his own is another example of depriving the creation of love. By not providing his creation with someone of his own artificial species, the monster cannot find acceptance. In the end, Victor forces the monster to a life of suffering which in return he suffers himself: “isolation only leads to despair” (Themes). The monster and Victor Frankenstein are the major characters that portray these themes throughout the creation, journey, tragic events, and over all

story.
For the most part, film makers have followed the same story line as above: a scientist creates a monster, it comes to life, and a series of tragic events follow. In some cases, such as children’s movies, the monster is kind and caring. A good example of this would be Frankenweenie, directed by Tim Burton, which tells of a child scientist who brings his dog back to life. The dog acts as the monster that is created in the original novel and still manages to cause chaos throughout the movie even though it is not the dog directly creating the mayhem. Other creatures are brought to life due to Victor, the kid scientist, and his scientific discovery. This event is what leads to the outbreak of pandemonium in the movie, but the dog, Sparky, or the “monster”, is different from the original story in the sense that he did not create any of the tragic events that occurred.
Another well-known movie, focusing more on older audiences, is Van Helsing. Directed by Stephen Sommers, a twist on the original story is made when the notorious monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for some sinister purpose. There is a combination of monsters such as Dracula, the monster Frankenstein created, werewolves and other creatures; however, original character names from the novel are used and a majority of the plot is still followed throughout the movie. Van Helsing is a prime example of movie directors creating their own take on the story of Frankenstein by adding in their own ideas.
Brad Bird's animated film The Iron Giant is an over looked adaptation of Frankenstein, but over the years has proved to have many similarities to the novel. Although the film does not follow exactly what Shelley wrote in her novel, it is still noticeable that Bird has used similar ideas: “Some of the similarities consist simply in shared physical characteristics: both Frankenstein's monster and the Iron Giant, two artificial beings of "gigantic stature" (56) and "harsh" of voice (107), subsist on a "coarser diet" than mankind (96), and can at first utter only "inarticulate sounds" later refined into human speech (40)…” (Miller). The Iron Giant is a tale of an artificial being that, unlike Frankenstein's monster, receives proper nourishment and ethical education from a surrogate parent; for that reason, Bird's giant rejects the destructive impulses that turn Frankenstein into a tragedy.
Gene Wilder’s film Young Frankenstein is another great example of an adaptation of the well-known monster. This movie, however, is a different take; it is a comedy. Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, after years of living down the family reputation, inherits his granddad's castle and repeats the experiments. He encounters a lab assistant Inga, the hunchback Igor, and the house keeper. At first he believes his grandfather’s science to be phony and stupid, but he soon realizes what he can do and replicates the experiments. Although this does not follow the specific storyline of the original Frankenstein, character names and pieces of the story are still used throughout the entirety of the movie.
Aside from movies, the monster Frankenstein created appears in television shows such as Scooby-Doo, The Addams Family, Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and many more. These do not follow the plot in any way, except for the monstrous creation causing destruction. The monster is famous in the sense that it is used for movies, television shows, Halloween purposes, and other horror related topics. Also, due to different opinions and ideas, Frankenstein is not always portrayed as evil and destructive; sometimes, mainly in children’s shows or movies, the monster is friendly.
Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and the famous character of Frankenstein's monster have influenced popular culture for at least 100 years. The work has inspired numerous films, television programs, video games and derivative works. The character of the monster remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. “Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein has inspired an almost uncountable number of film adaptations, many of which have in turn spawned their own sequels, series, spin-offs, mega-franchises, and finally parodies…” (Miller). Mary Shelley has opened the door for many film makers allowing them to take their own directions off of this eventful horror novel.