Response Paper #2

Dissecting Death

Peter Callstrom

            In one of the first shots of Frankenstein (Whale, Universal, 1931), the gravedigger of a cemetery that’s just put someone to rest tosses the match he used to light his pipe right on top of the grave he just filled. In the next scene, the film’s protagonist, Henry Frankenstein begins digging up the body with his assistant, tossing dirt in the face of a statue of the grim reaper, a rather direct symbol of death. Frankenstein’s recurring theme of disrespect for death is prevalent throughout the film, drawing comparisons to society’s handling of mortality through a scientific endeavor gone both right and horribly wrong.

            Though it’s a film about the creation of life through extreme patchwork, Frankenstein says a number of things about death as well. With the aforementioned examples of how the characters are disrespecting the dead at the very beginning of the film, the audience can see right away how the quest to create life can be spit on the grave of those who have lost it. Rick Worland notes, in reference to Henry Frankenstein standing between statues of Christ and death, “Moving out from his hiding place, Frankenstein is momentarily flanked by these two symbolic figures personifying the certainty of human morality and the Christian promise of resurrection and eternal life,” (Worland 161). Between these extremely symbolic figures in the setting of a cemetery sets up Henry Frankenstein’s experiment as an affront to death and an attempt to wield the power of a god through the manipulation of death to create life.

            Where this theme of disrespect for death is further woven into the film is in a scene in which students are receiving a medical lesson from Dr. Waldman. As he instructs the class about the differences between the brain of a nonviolent citizen and a criminal’s brain, the class laughs when a hanging skeleton is bumped. Further, a cadaver sits at the front of class, covered by only a thin sheet. The class’s bout of laughter almost literally in the face of death in response to a skeleton, another rather direct symbol of death, being bumped into seems to imply even an academic disrespect for death, hinting that perhaps even education can’t cleanse the morality of humankind.

            This disrespect for death in humanity is thrown into comparison against the monster’s reaction to nature. When the monster is first brought on screen, Henry Frankenstein shows it the light of the sun before blocking it out again. In the sight of the light, the audience can see the monster’s happiness at the sight of nature. One could say there is even an appreciation in its eyes, which stands in stark contrast to Henry’s toying with it. Viewing it as a tool to manipulate a living thing, Henry Frankenstein highlights the disregard for nature’s place in the world of humankind. Toying with the monster and locking it up indicates a statement as to how society deals with life that comes from nothing – life that comes from death.

            Where this theme is cemented in the film is in one of the final scenes in which the monster is hunted down and destroyed. Pursued by angry citizens and fire, the monster holes up in a windmill. After throwing Henry Frankenstein out of the structure, the mob lights it on fire. Angry at its own creation, mankind resorts to returning the life it produced straight back to the dark embrace of death. The communal misunderstanding of this “monster” and its actions in Frankenstein highlights a societal misunderstanding and mistreatment of the lines between life and death. Frankenstein’s monster serves as a portal into both, his feet stepping into both realms. What this means in a retrospective sense is highlighted by the actions of the characters that interact with this dual citizen. The mistreatment and disrespect for death is illustrated in the actions leading to the monster’s creation as well as in its ultimate destruction.

Worland, Rick. The Horror Film: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008. Print.