Frankenstein’s Creature: The Progressive
There are many destructive forces
that are present in this world and many innocent lives end up paying the price
because of this. Even after 80 plus years of its official release, the 1931
James Whale’s film Frankenstein shows
the monster as the embodiment of chaos and destruction. However the reason why
the creature acts out the way it does is because of how it is treated. Since
the creature first awoke it knew nothing but the anger and hated that its
creator instilled within it. As a result the creature escaped and even the
towns people, all but for one little girl, grew fearful and alienated the
creature. Xenophobia is what caused this creature to become the monster it is today.
This particular type of fear is present all throughout the film; however it is
not the only phobia that is present. Homophobia plays a role in this film as
well but it isn’t seen as much of a destructive force as xenophobia. What is
even more interesting is that both of these phobias are still present in modern
culture and that the creature in a sense played a progressive role in the film.
Xenophobia and homophobia are still
issues that society hasn’t fully eradicated yet and these two themes are
present throughout the film. Xenophobia in the film is shown at the very first
sight of Frankenstein’s creature. At first glance villagers become horrified
and fearful. The villagers of the town immediately thought that this ‘newborn’
creature was a menace and killed people because it wanted to. They are
disgusted and afraid of this foreign being, one could even say alien, because
of its physical appearance. This phobia is caused by ignorance and is a
reflection of the fear of a growing foreign power that could disrupt the
balance of their society. This irrational fear can be seen in certain political
parties that believe allowing something foreign within society would ultimately
be the down fall and destruction would follow. However, not all the villagers
felt that way about the creature. The little girl, who was accidentally
murdered, felt no ill feeling towards the creature and as a result it finally
felt the warm embrace of acceptance that it always wanted. This is a reflection
of how children and newer generations are able to see past barriers of
prejudice. However, older generations of these villagers aren’t as open to
foreigners as children are.
Baron Von Frankenstein, Henry’s father,
was in disbelief that his only son, heir to the name of Frankenstein, was
locked away in a tower with his male assistant and presumed that there was
another woman involved. When other characters tried to suggest another scenario
that Henry could be in the baron would get frustrated and yell at them for
thinking such nonsense. Even Elizabeth, Henry’s fiancée, told Henry that she
felt as if there is something coming between them. The creature looks like a
man and is always hidden when Henry has company and as a result there seems to
be some undertones suggesting that Henry is a homosexual and his creation is
his lover. Since Frankenstein was a
1931 film it is surprising to see these types of progressive ideas.
In the end the creature ended up “dying”
from a burning windmill and all of the chaos came to a halt after its
disappearance. No radical changes came to the villages nor was there any trial
for the creature’s creator. However, even though the creature didn’t create a
positive impact on society it certainly did show the true horrific side of
humanity and how destructive a society could be with an irrational fear. The
creature was truly a progressive in the sense of advocating change for
foreigners and homosexuals.
I like the point you brought up about Frankenstein hiding the monster from everyone, and how that parallels him hiding his "homosexuality". There are many allusions towards homosexuality in the movie, but, with your example, it seems the movie, as a whole, can be related to the issue. From the very beginning of the monsters creation there is a constant conflict with it from every character. The way that every character rejects the monster and is even horrified by it. That can certainly reflect people's attitude toward homosexuality. There must be half a dozen scenes in the end of the movie of Frankenstein physically fighting with the monster towards the end of the film. I don't think Whale could have made it any less clear that the grapple of accepting an individual's sexuality is a central theme to the movie. I think the absolute climax of this theme comes out in the windmill when the two are facing off between the windmill wheel. At that moment it seems implied that Frankenstein finally confronts who he really is, if only for a few seconds.
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