In contemporary
portrayals of Frankenstein's monster, nearly every image looks exactly the
same. He has a huge square head with hooded eyes and an emotionless expression.
He's dressed in a dark suit with a greenish hued skin. Also, it seems as though
he is living his life in slow motion. He walks slowly with giant clumsy feet
and is simple minded because he cannot read or speak. All of these
interpretations are entirely false however because he was a nimble, smart
monster capable of everything humans are.
In my opinion, the
new interpretations of Frankenstein's monster are disappointing because they
completely disregard the original meanings Mary Shelly had in mind. There was
an emotional sympathy readers used to feel while reading the story. They'd feel
torn over how the townspeople saw him as an abomination and even his own
creator would not even assuage his pain with the only thing he wanted, a woman
to love. People used to be drawn to his
character because he was a lost soul looking for a purpose in a world who hated
him. Now, he is seen only as a cartoon image slapped on advertisements for
Halloween.
I believe the name
Frankenstein was given to the creature over the years because it gives the
monster an identity. When thinking of creatures, demons, and wretches, you
think of numerous different things because they are all such broad terms. The
name Frankenstein is such an uncommon name which makes it unique and memorable.
Also, I believe the name Frankenstein was given to the monster now because
visual artists wanted a new name to be associated with their new interpretation
of the monster. While those educated in literature associate Frankenstein's
monster with the original creature, those unaware of his original name
associate the name Frankenstein with the giant, green creature.
The correlation above between the change in the name and appearance actually makes a lot of sense now that you point it out. The book was entirely new to me, and I was quite surprised by the angle that was portrayed from my previous experiences with Frankenstein and his monster. I had no idea Frankenstein wasn’t the monster, and I had no idea he wasn’t green with nails through his head. When I first opened the book and read a letter about a ship lost amongst glaciers I thought I might be reading the wrong book. Of all the tales that have been twisted as they are passed along, Frankenstein is one that got it the worst. I expected to read long and complex scientific passages, and I expected most of the book to take place in a laboratory. But the moral of the story has nothing to do with mad science. It’s about a creature’s acceptance (or lack thereof) into society. But as the name and the look changed, so did the plot of the story. It was no longer about the monster’s feelings, but about Frankenstein’s madness for pursuing his own version of life, which is an entirely different can of worms.
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