Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
All the classic mad
scientist books, novels, and plays mentioned throughout this survey have been
adapted from the original text to one or more film versions. The most renounced
is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Frankenstein was published in 1818 under an anonymous author who was later identified as Mary Shelley. Many female authors at the time who wished to write about something other than romance or housework often published novels anonymously or under a male’s name because the public would not read the work. That is, if it could get published. The book instantly became a bestseller, despite its grotesque nature. However, critics at the time did not revere the work for this reason. The Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine said “This is a very bold fiction; and did not the author, in a short Preface, make a kind of apology, we should almost pronounce it impious” (qtd. in Lengleman). In other words, without the author’s forewarning to the horror to come readers would think it horrendous and unmoral for any good man or woman to read. Mary Shelley was merely 20 years old when she imagined this tale while staying in Switzerland with her husband, and other friends, reading German ghost stories from a collection in The Fantasmagoriana during stormy nights. One member challenged the group to write their own story. At the time Mrs. Shelley had no story to tell, but began writing Frankenstein a few nights later after a nightmare (Lengleman).
Frankenstein was published in 1818 under an anonymous author who was later identified as Mary Shelley. Many female authors at the time who wished to write about something other than romance or housework often published novels anonymously or under a male’s name because the public would not read the work. That is, if it could get published. The book instantly became a bestseller, despite its grotesque nature. However, critics at the time did not revere the work for this reason. The Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine said “This is a very bold fiction; and did not the author, in a short Preface, make a kind of apology, we should almost pronounce it impious” (qtd. in Lengleman). In other words, without the author’s forewarning to the horror to come readers would think it horrendous and unmoral for any good man or woman to read. Mary Shelley was merely 20 years old when she imagined this tale while staying in Switzerland with her husband, and other friends, reading German ghost stories from a collection in The Fantasmagoriana during stormy nights. One member challenged the group to write their own story. At the time Mrs. Shelley had no story to tell, but began writing Frankenstein a few nights later after a nightmare (Lengleman).
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was adapted to film in 1931 by James Whale. Mordunt Hall, a New York Times reviewer in 1931 at the time of the movie’s premier said that even the movie Dracula was in no comparison to this film’s horror (Hall). Audiences were cultivated by the eerie old windmill laboratory of Dr. Frankenstein played by Colin Clive. His words “It’s alive, it’s alive,” which later became famous, exclaim the excitement and horror of his creation, Frankenstein’s monster. The monster was played by Lon Chaney who also played Quasimodo in the film version of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Chaney’s portrayal of the monster made of reanimated body parts was perfected by groaning and a heavy step (Hall). Despite the nature of this monster, the doctor is shown as a sound minded and clearheaded scientist, unlike some of the other mad scientists of the day. However, the doctor’s blatant neglect of ethics to respect the dead leads to his grave injury and his monster’s ruin. Like Mary Shelley’s novel, the film fared well. Audiences were shocked by the gruesome theme, but were fascinated nonetheless.
Below is a clip from James Whale's 1931 adaption of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in which Dr. Frankenstein reanimates living body parts to create his infamous monster.
Below is a clip from James Whale's 1931 adaption of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in which Dr. Frankenstein reanimates living body parts to create his infamous monster.
It's Alive!. (2006, November 1). YouTube. Retrieved November 20, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H3dFh6GA-A. Web.