Analysis of the Creation Scene from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 Film Version
One of the key themes in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ is human arrogance. Frankenstein’s curiosity leads him to play the role of God. In a way Frankenstein is responsible for the monster and has ultimately become a father figure to the monster. Frankenstein abandoning the monster leads up to it turning evil and looking for revenge. Therefore, parenting is another theme in the novel. The nature of beauty is another theme. Frankenstein abandons the monster because he did not turn out as good looking as he had intended. The best features were chosen to make Frankenstein’s monster but ironically the…show more content… The “heart” is used symbolically. It symbolises love and patriotism but in this context it symbolises the life and death of the monster. ===================================================================
Likewise, we see Shelley using other techniques to juxtapose the good and the bad. Shelley contradicts herself several times during this scene. Her description of the monster differs between good and bad descriptions: =====================================================================
“his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of pearly whiteness” ===================================================================
“his watery eyes, that seemed almost the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.” ======================================================================
It seems as though Shelley is describing two different things. But she is describing the same thing and bizarrely the two descriptions are next to each other. The contradiction is contrasting the good and bad.
One of the main themes in the novel is parenting. Mary Shelley plays on this idea by using some words that we relate to birth and parents:
