By including the author's name in the title, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein hopes to distinguish itself from previous film versions of the monster saga by suggesting that, unlike those other incarnations of the classic tale, this one is a faithful rendering of the original novel. According to the legend, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein on a dare during a thunder and lightning scarred night spent in the company of her lover, the blasphemous poet Percy Blythe Shelley. The resulting story of an obsessed scientist who creates life from the bits and pieces of dead men is one of the most famous in literature, but once filmmakers got their hands on it, the amateur authoress' tale was given as many alterations as Dr. Frankenstein gave those corpses he used in his experiments.
The theme of alienation causes distress is also shown through the creature that Victor creates. The sufferings of the creature in the movie are also the result of being alienated, but unlike Victor, he does not bring this upon himself.
Steel engraving (993 x 71mm) for frontispiece to t...
English: Portrait of Mary Shelley
TYRON SHELLEYInstead, others isolate the monster by his yellow skin, his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips frightened the people.
Victor, his own creator, is the first to abandon him, leaving him to learn and fend for himself. Then, when the monster enters a village, the people are terrified of him. He had hardly placed his foot within the door before the children shrieked, and one of the women fainted. The people of the village, horrified by his looks, drove the monster out by throwing stones and other objects at him. They judged him on his appearance only, showing that many people in society value good looks. The next event in which...