Abstract This paper discusses Kenneth Branagh's 1994 movie "Frankenstein" which is based on Mary Shelley's novel of the same name. The paper shows that Branagh's film is one of many movie adaptations of Shelley's Frankenstein and generally remains true to the book. The paper looks at the differences between the two, including the changes made to certain characters and the fact that the monster's narrative is not incorporated into the movie.
From the Paper "Although there are significant deviations in plot between the film and the novel, the mood, tone and setting of Kenneth Branagh's film version of Frankenstein are similar to Mary Shelley's novel. Both are melancholy stories about the dark side of human nature. The Creature is not pure evil, but rather is like an abandoned child who rebels against his parents and society. Both the film and the novel reveal problems with people ?playing God.? Victor Frankenstein is overly ambitious and obsessed, and he is also in denial. He refuses to take responsibility for the Creature that he gave birth to. As a result, the Creature wreaks havoc on the community and kills people, including his creator. Both versions of Frankenstein have themes of responsibility, playing God, and loneliness. Neither Kenneth Branagh nor Mary Shelley make value judgments on their characters, but instead show the consequences of their actions. The film and the novel are Gothic horror stories that are more about human nature than about the supernatural."
Abstract This paper examines how two characters in Mary Godwin Shelley's "Frankenstein" reflect the theme of exploration. Victor Frankenstein, the student, takes the reader on an exploration into the unknown, for his primary goal is to create life from the dead. The paper also discusses Captain Robert Walton, also an explorer, who ends up on a journey into the darkest regions of human existence after Victor Frankenstein tells him his weird story while aboard Walton's ship at the North Pole.
From the Paper "The beginning of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein opens the proverbial door to the strange and horrifying tale related by Victor Frankenstein to Captain Walton, an English explorer surveying the polar regions of the far north. One day, as the ship's company is looking out over the empty ice fields, they are astonished to see a sledge drawn by dogs speeding northward with the sledge driver huge and misshapen. That night, an ice floe carries another sledge with a weakened man to the ship, and once the man (Victor Frankenstein) discovers that the first sledge has been sighted, he turns quite agitated. As Victor convalesces on the ship, he becomes friendly with Walton and after recovering his strength, relates the tale of the creature that he created artificially from the dead."
Abstract In this article, the writer studies the novel 'Frankenstein' and looks at its characters. The writer notes that the relationship that is established between the creator and his creation, as well as the other relations between the characters of the novel, form the core of the moral and psychological investigation developed in the book. The writer points out that Shelley's novel is full of superior characters, which are all angelic to a certain extent. Victor is the superior Romantic hero, alone and isolated in his quest for an unreachable ideal. Walton and Clerval resemble him, with the difference of being more humane. The women are clearly angelic figures, excelling in beauty and virtue. The writer concludes that the creature is like the fallen angel, Satan, who is banished by his own creator and because of this, he becomes evil.
From the Paper "Of the various pairings of characters in Shelley's novel, the one between Victor Frankenstein and the Creature is arguably the most interesting and most complex. Other pairings might be established however, such as that of Frankenstein with his best friend Henry Clerval, that of Frankenstein and Robert Walton, his biographer, or that between the women characters in the novel, Elizabeth, Caroline, Justine and the others. Thus, first of all, the relationship that takes contour between Frankenstein and his creation is very complex and symbolic. Following the Biblical account, what the creator does when he engenders life is to give birth to a replica of himself, of his own image. In spite of his good intentions to perfect humanity by introducing a new and more enduring race, Frankenstein fails in his attempt because he is trying to assume the place of the divine creator without realizing his own imperfection. The imperfect creator therefore engenders an even more imperfect creation."
