Does Fritz’s mistake in the 1931 masterpiece FRANKENSTEIN absolve Victor Frankenstein…sorry, make that *Henry* Frankenstein…of his original sin?
One of the biggest themes of the novel FRANKENSTEIN, if not *the* biggest theme, is that of a man going too far in the pursuit of knowledge, treading in territory that is beyond him, a man “playing God”, in other words. This is perfectly illustrated by the novel’s subtitle, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS. Prometheus, as you will recall, is the figure from mythology who got into trouble for taking fire from the gods and gifting it to humanity. The movie FRANKENSTEIN is *not* a faithful adaptation of the novel. It is a magnificent piece of Art all on its own, but the storyline deviates significantly from the novel.
In the movie, Fritz, Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant, accidentally drops the brain he was attempting to steal for use in the body of the Monster Frankenstein is constructing. Fritz then grabs a substitute, a brain marked “abnormal”. This begs the question, had they used the “normal” brain as intended, would Frankenstein’s Monster have been perfectly normal? Would the experiment have been a complete success? The theme of the scientist transgressing by going too far in his pursuit of knowledge is, if not erased completely, and least lessened.
I have never watched a Frankenstein movie, which movie is your favorite adaptation?
The James Whale 1931 film is the greatest of them all. As far as faithful adaptations of the novel, I’d recommend the cable TV miniseries with Luke Goss as the Monster.