Maddie Mills
October 19, 2010
CPBL, 5
Frank. Compare/Contrast
Victor Frankenstein The novel Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley in 1818. This gothic romance novel tells the story of a philosopher who discovered how to create life, without the full knowledge that his actions could cause grave consequences. Universal Studios made the film version of this novel in 1931. Unfortunately, the film version of Frankenstein has more differences than similarities to the novel. In the novel, Victor’s mental obsession seems to be more severe than in the film. The character of Victor Frankenstein was portrayed in both the novel and the film as a veriphobe, or one who is afraid of the truth, in this case, the truth of his actions. He
Victor is constantly agonized by the thought of the monster sabotaging his wedding night. Also, Victor’s death in the novel is brought upon himself because of his physical and mental exhaustion that is caused by the monster. The film, on the other hand, represents none of these clues that Victor might be mentally obsessed with the monster. When Victor is crafting his monster, he has two assistants. He also allows Elizabeth to visit him, along with Henry and a professor. He also replies to one of Elizabeth’s letters. He is not socially withdrawn, and he does not obsess as completely over the monster. After the monster has left Victor, it seems as thought Victor has a pretty normal lifestyle. He is going home, and he is about to marry Elizabeth. We do not see any clues that Victor might be worrying about his monster, and he is certainly not obsessive about it. Also, Victor never talks to the monster before his wedding night, so he is not aware of the monster’s plans to kill Elizabeth. His obsession over the monster that he created is not as evident in the film as it was in the novel. Although many films based on novels try to follow the same plot, it is easy to say that the film Frankenstein did not follow its counterpart novel. A similarity is that Victor is terrified of his creation in both the novel and the film, but then he overcomes that fear and tries to hunt it down. One of the many differences is that Victor’s obsession and social withdrawal