Final Writing Project – Victor as a Bad Creator

Both Mary Shelley and Kenneth Branagh acknowledge Victor as a bad creator in their interpretations of Frankenstein. Branagh, however, dissimilarly to Shelley uses his visual medium in order to expand upon the opposing creator styles of God and Victor, throughout his version of the creation scene, in a way left unsaid by Shelley. He successfully accomplishes this by focusing on extending Shelley’s original ideas, as well as by using his medium to speed up and slow down his scenes, allowing his audience to give their full attention at his intended places. In contrast, with only the ability to invite readers in with words, Shelley excels at impacting her audience by drawing contrasting visual pictures of Prometheus and Victor in their roles as creators. Branagh lacks this strong comparison in his interpretation, thus he instills a sense of sympathy in his audience for the monster that was not created by Shelley.

In the Branagh version of the monster’s creation, Victor is not only seen as a bad creator, but his bad creator persona is intensified through the contrastingly unnatural images of the monster and Jesus Christ’s births. Both individuals were created devoid of natural human law; however God created Christ as a good creator in order to save human kind from its sin. In contrast, Victor Frankenstein created the monster to fulfill his own personal scientific goals. Branagh presents Victor and his monster covered in amniotic fluid as Victor attempts to show the monster how to stand. The sight is one which undoubtedly makes an audience cringe due to the stark contrast between Victor’s normal body and that of the monster’s naked clumsy one. The camera shows the two bodies side-by-side in an awkward, slow, and unnatural way. This is an intentional transition, further emphasized by the dramatic change in the pace of the scene, which just moments before was loud, fast, and filled with music.  In addition, the elimination of a female figure in the birthing scene, again seems unnatural.

In failing to connect with the monster Victor gives up on him by allowing him to be caught and elevated in chains. This act is not simply a connection to Christ’s crucifixion but also a solidification of Victor as a bad creator. Still covered in amniotic fluid, the monster falls into the chains, and springs several feet off the ground as the chains cacophonously clank together. The monster appears to be hung from the chains, his arms and feet spread slightly, in a symbolic form of crucifixion. In this case, Branagh’s version shows the scenes jumping quickly from the birth to the suspected death of the monster, as he lies limply suspended in the air. Victor abusing his power as a creator neither places inquiry into the monster’s well being, nor mourns his assumption of the monster’s death.

Visually, this scene allows the audience to develop a sense of sympathy for the monster, because Branagh slowly transitions through Victor’s attempts to teach the monster to stand, until its supposed death. By allowing this scene to play out slowly the viewer has the ability to focus on the struggles of the monster and they lack of patience exhibited by Victor.  Shelley, however, shows Prometheus as a good creator in order to instill in her readers the type of creator Victor could have been, but failed to be.

Shelley effectively shows the fact that Prometheus displays qualities of a good creator, while Frankenstein exhibits characteristics to the contrary. According to the images of the gods, Prometheus, a Grecian mythological Titan, created the first human beings from clay and water, greatly displeasing Zeus, the patriarch of the gods. Prometheus, however, wanted to take care of his creations, teaching them to see, showing them how to hear, and stealing a piece of sun from Zeus, which he gave to humans, granting them fire. As punishment for this, Prometheus was tied to a rock for eternity having his liver eaten out everyday by an eagle, only to grow back each night. Victor Frankenstein, similarly to Prometheus took the act of creating life into his own hands. He created life under the inclination that “a new species would bless [him] as its creator and source (page 58).”  Once Frankenstein gives life to his monster, however, he is horrified by what he has created and chooses to isolate himself from the creature. Because of Victor’s rejection, he inspires feelings of loneliness in his creation.  In turn, this brings more disappointment to the creator, and causes the monster to acquire an increasing resentment towards Victor for his neglect and refusal to provide the monster with a mate. Despite their punishments, Prometheus exhibited excellent qualities of being a good creator, while Frankenstein’s actions proved that he was a bad creator. In the face of adversity, Prometheus fought to protect the human beings he had given life to. Contrary to Prometheus, Frankenstein fathered his monster with his own two hands; he labored for years in order to successfully breathe life into the creature, and then abandoned him. He did not teach the monster, nor did he provide him with love.  He also refused to give the monster a mate. In his rejection of the monster, his own creation, Frankenstein has committed a poor act of creation.

In Shelley’s version of Frankenstein the parallels between Christ and the monster are not etched as clearly in her penmanship as in Branagh’s visual interpretation. Instead, she highlights the comparison of a good creator and a bad creator, in a way not shown in the on screen version. Branagh’s use of additional scenes and visual effects allows his interpretation to exceed the limited allowances of the written word. By withholding Prometheus, however, Branagh’s interpretation does not provide the audience with a set of standards with which to hold Victor accountable, and therefore allows pity to be bestowed upon the monster. It could easily be justified and assumed that this is not what Shelley had intended. Shelley highlights Prometheus in her title page, which is almost the first thing seen by a reader when beginning the story of Victor Frankenstein.  Mary Shelley uses this as a way to show the importance of drawing conclusions of the two individuals side by side. In addition, without the ability to contrast the onscreen version of Victor’s cruel deeds to another creator, the audience lacks the ability to truly comprehend the scope of Victor as a bad creator.

Mary Shelley’s use of intertextuality, as seen in her reference to Prometheus, displays her desire to provide depth and insight into the minds and existence of her characters.  In examining Victor’s monster and Prometheus in conjunction with each other, their similarities and differences as creators of life become quite apparent, which allows her readers to fully understand Victor as a bad creator. In Branagh’s version, however, his use of the camera allows him to highlight Victor as a bad creator in an intensely visual way. Although this is visually appealing, by instilling feelings of sympathy for the monster in the viewer, he has changed Shelley’s original intentions. Her intent, it would seem, in adding Prometheus, was to provide another dimension of distaste for Victor, as it highlights how he fell short as a creator.

Original Works

Writing Project # 3

Both Mary Shelley and Kenneth Branagh acknowledge Victor as a bad creator in their interpretations of Frankenstein. Branagh, however, dissimilarly to Shelley uses his visual medium in order to expand upon the opposing creator styles of God and Victor, both in the sense of Victor’s loss of Elizabeth, and creation of the monster, in a way left unsaid by Shelley. He successfully accomplishes this by focusing on extending Shelley’s original ideas as well as by using his medium to speed up and slow down his scenes in order to allow his audience to give their full attention at his intended places.

In the Branagh version of the monster’s creation, Victor is not only seen as a bad creator, but his bad creator persona is intensified through the contrastingly unnatural images of the monster and Jesus Christ’s births. Both individuals were created devoid of natural human law; however God created Christ as a good creator in order to save human kind from its sin. In contrast, Victor Frankenstein created the monster to fulfill his own personal scientific goals. Branagh presents Victor and his monster covered in amniotic fluid as Victor attempts to show the monster how to stand. The sight is one which undoubtedly makes an audience cringe due to the stark contrast between Victor’s normal body and that of the monster’s naked clumsy one. The camera shows the two bodies side-by-side in an awkward, slow, and unnatural way. This is an intentional transition, further emphasized by the dramatic change in the pace of the scene, which just moments before was loud, fast, and filled with music.  In addition, the elimination of a female figure in the birthing scene, again seems unnatural.

In failing to connect with the monster Victor gives up on him by allowing him to be caught and elevated in chains. This act is not simply a connection to Christ’s crucifixion but also a solidification of Victor as a bad creator. Still covered in amniotic fluid, the monster falls into the chains, and springs several feet off the ground as the chains cacophonously clank together. The monster appears to be hung from the chains, his arms and feet spread slightly, in a symbolic form of crucifixion. In this case, Branagh’s version shows the scenes jumping quickly from the birth to the suspected death of the monster, as he lays limply suspended in the air. Victor abusing his power as a creator neither places inquiry into the monster’s well being, nor mourns his assumption of the monster’s death.

Despite the horror and resulting consequences that incurred from Victor’s creation of the monster, elements of bad creation again show forth in his revival of Elizabeth. Victor’s act is contrary to the creation of Christ, as God created Christ for the good of man kind and with the knowledge the his son would have to be sacrificed to save humanity. God’s intentions in his bringing Christ back from the dead were therefore good, and for the good of mankind. Victor, however, recreates Elizabeth after the monster has killed her. He performs her revival in the same fashion in which he originally brought his monster to life. This is proof that Victor is not only a bad creator, but one that unfortunately refuses to repent and learn from his mistakes.

Branagh’s version of Frankenstein injects the scene in which Elizabeth is recreated in order to provide the audience with a more dramatic ending than originally provided by Shelley. Branagh strays from Shelley’s intended closing by adding the scene, which in reality is more of a reference to the Bride of Frankenstein as opposed to Frankenstein itself. Additionally, Branagh’s emphasis on gender and lack of femininity in the birthing scene is again revived in Elizabeth’s recreation. The mother figure is again removed and replaced by Victor. Yet, even more unsettling is the fact that Elizabeth scarifies herself when both the monster and Victor begin fighting over her. Branagh’s creation of Elizabeth, in contrast to the awkward birthing scene of the monster, moves exceedingly fast. This leaves the audience wondering whether Elizabeth gives her life because of her new and unfortunate appearance, or due to the fact that both men are arguing over possession of her. Regardless, Victor’s plan to live with this new construction of Elizabeth obviously backfires, as his pursuit of his own selfish desires leads him to refuse to comprehend and abide by natural human laws.

In Shelley’s version of Frankenstein the parallels between Christ and the monster are not etched as clearly in her penmanship as in Branagh’s visual interpretation. In conjunction with this, Branagh’s use of additional scenes and visual effects allows his interpretation to exceed the limited allowances of the written word. He further highlights the issues of both Victor as a bad creator and gender in order to provide his audience with a greater, more intense effect. Because of the visual aspect of Branagh’s film, the viewer is able to get a clearer picture of gender interaction, specifically that of Victor, Elizabeth, and the monster. Through changing certain aspects of Shelley’s original Frankenstein, Branagh is able to make a more exciting, thrilling film than could not have been achieved if his interpretation had stayed strictly true to Shelley’s text.

Writing Project # 2

Mary Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein’s creation of the monster to display a connection to Prometheus’ creation of human life. While there are similarities between the two, Shelley effectively shows the fact that Prometheus displays qualities of a good creator, while Frankenstein exhibits characteristics to the contrary.

According to the images of the gods, Prometheus, a Grecian mythological Titan, created the first human beings from clay and water. When the other gods became aware of the existence of humans, they agreed to protect them under the condition that they worship the gods and obey their every word. Prometheus went to the gods in order to ask for the conditions to be slackened; however he tricked Zeus, head of the gods, along with all the other gods into eating bare bones instead of real meat. This caused Zeus to punish humanity by making them suffer sicknesses and forced them to live without fire. Prometheus, however, wanted to take care of his creations, teaching them to see, showing them how to hear, and stealing a piece of sun from Zeus, which he gave to humans allowing them fire. As punishment for this, Prometheus was tied to a rock for eternity having his liver eaten out everyday by an eagle, only to grow back each night.

Victor Frankenstein, similarly to Prometheus took the act of creating life into his own hands. He created life under the inclination that “a new species would bless [him] as its creator and source”. (pg 58)  Once Frankenstein gives life to his monster, however, he is horrified by what he has created and chooses to isolate himself from the creature. Because of Victor’s rejection, he inspires feelings of loneliness in his creation.  In turn, this brings more disappointment to the creator, and causes the monster to acquire an increasing resentment towards Victor for his neglect and refusal to provide the monster with a mate.

As creators, a few connections can be drawn between Victor Frankenstein and Prometheus. Both characters rebelled against natural creation by giving life with their own hands. Prometheus used his hands to mold the first human beings out of clay and water, while Frankenstein “found so astonishing a power placed within [his] hands” and began “successfully collecting and arranging [the] materials” he would need to created his creature. (pg 58) In having the ability to give life, and acting upon this ability, both Prometheus and Frankenstein gave a piece of themselves to their creations. Prometheus gave a piece of himself to human beings in creating them in the image of the gods, and Frankenstein unintentionally and unknowingly transfer his disposition to the monster. Frankenstein becomes horrified by seeing the monster he has created.  Due to his horror he further isolates himself from people, leaving him feeling alone and hopeless. Similarly, because he rejects the monster, the monster also becomes “wretched, helpless, and alone.” (pg 116)

In conjunction with this, Frankenstein and Prometheus are punished for their lack of respect for natural human order. Due to Frankenstein’s reaction of horror at the sight of his monster, and resulting isolation from society, he ends up alone, forced to watch those close to him die. In creating the monster to avoid his loneliness he actually worsens it, even losing the love of his life at the hands of his own creation. In a similar fashion, Prometheus is punished by Zeus to suffer an eternity of having his liver eaten out by day and grown back by night.

Despite their punishments, Prometheus exhibited excellent qualities of being a good creator, while Frankenstein’s actions proved that he was a bad creator. In the face of adversity, Prometheus fought to protect the human beings he had give life too. He went to Zeus in order to request a lessening of demands on the humans by the gods. He taught his humans how to hear, to see, to speak, provided them with companions, and gave up his eternal life in order to deliver them fire. In standing by and teaching his creations, Prometheus was depicted as a good creator. Contrary to Prometheus, Frankenstein fathered his monster with his own two hands; he labored for years in order to successfully breathe life into the creature, and then abandoned him. He did not teach the monster, nor did he provide him with love.  He also refused to give the monster a mate. In his rejection of the monster, his own creation, Frankenstein has committed a poor act of creation.

Mary Shelley’s use of intertextuality, as seen in her reference to Prometheus, displays her desire to provide depth and insight into the minds and existence of her characters.  In examining Victor’s monster and Prometheus in conjunction with each other, their similarities and differences as creators of life become quite apparent.

Self-Reflection

For my final portfolio, I wanted to combine and expand upon my works from projects two and three. I really enjoy looking at the idea of Victor Frankenstein as a bad creator and thought it would be an interesting challenge to show the role he plays in Shelley’s original version as well as Branagh’s interpretation. Therefore, I took pieces from both the second and third essays. This involved altering my thesis and morphing it in order to add elements from both, while also adding new ideas. For this essay, Victor as a bad creator is the central theme, while in the other two its role was more secondary or shown in a different light.

In Branagh’s Frankenstein he does not use the comparison of Victor to Prometheus, but instead uses the visual effects of slowing and speeding up scenes in order to highlight Victor as a poor creator. He leaves out Prometheus and in doing this allows his audience to form sympathy for the monster and Victor in a way that is not intended by Shelley.

Throughout the semester, I attempted to become at drafting. In previous papers I would have to write a first draft numerous time before becoming satisfied with a work. I believe throughout the semester I was able to accomplish this goal. I began writing ideas down and taking notes before beginning a draft which I had not normally done before. I think that this help organize my thoughts and thus allowed me to draft a work more easily. I also, wanted to tuned up my ability to revise works. Two things helped m to improve this. The first was having other students peer edit my paper in class. They helped to give me an outside prospective on a paper that I could not always see myself as the writer. The second was reading my paper out loud before turning it in which helped me to check grammatical errors that I might have breezed over if I had read it in my head.

Overall, I believe that this paper is the culmination of the works I have completed thus far in the semester. I do not believe it is easier to cohesively mesh two separate papers into one, but ultimately I think it shows my progression as a writer. It is also my thinking that a writer can always improve and I would like to continue to become a better writer in the future. I think that I am currently taking the right steps, but by taking more intensive writing courses, I know I will develop into an even better writer.