in Shelleys and Whales Frankensteins

By

Koichi Takahashi (12L5022H)

Course: Anglophone Literature

Date: 10th February 2014

Instructor: Andrew Rayment

Word Count:

I selected James Whales Frankenstein Scene 16 (THE CREATURE KILS THE

CHILD). This scene relates to many important themes in the film. In the beginning of the
scene the creature encounters with a farmer's little daughter Maria. At first she appeared

to be creeped out, but she quickly decides to ask him with a smile Will you play with

me? (James, 16), and leads him by the hand. The scene relates to the theme of prejudice.

Maria doesnt have prejudice and acts towards him kindly. (This much differs from

William in the novel). This scene also suggests that women in the film are active unlike

in the novel. She then hands him a flower. The creature smells the flower and smiles.

This implies that he has the same sense as we have. Then the two take turns to toss the

flowers in the lake, where they float. This scene relates to the theme of innocence,

because they play together innocently. The creature looks happy and he is smiling like a

child while they are playing. They are both innocents and there is a strong suggestion of

two children playing together (Rayment a, para 11). From those similarities, we can say

they are doubles. When the creature has no more flowers, he picks up Maria and throws

her into the lake. This scene makes us think about theme of murder. Is this a murder?

This is not murder because it is an accident in a game. He reacts in horror and runs away

as a child would if he/she had done something wrong (Rayment a, para 13).

I chose the end of Chapter 16 of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein as an equivalent scene. In

this scene, the creature kills a little boy William. The scene and above scene have many

similarities and differences. They are similar in that the creature kills a small child. But

there are differences between the film and the novel. First, as I mentioned above, the

creature in the film kills the child accidentally, but in the novel he murders a child

intentionally. Why did the difference occur? The creature is well educated in the novel,

but he is not well educated in the movie. The same can be said for children. A child in the

novel (William) is well educated because he is a son of an upper class family. On the
other hand a child in the film (Maria) is a farmars daughter. The creature and William

have lost their innocence because both, having learned the lessons of society, have

learned to be human too well (Rayment b, para 4). The novel suggests that education

lessens innonence and increases prejudice. Also in this scene, a name of Victor

Frankenstein triggered William the murder. "Frankenstein! you belong then to my

enemy--to him towards whom I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first

victim. (Shelly, 171). So Victor must take responsibility for the murder. Another

simirarity is reflection. The creature just reflects his environments in both scenes. He

reflects how children treat him. In the film, because the little girl is not prejudice and acts

kindly towards him, the creature in turn acts kindly (Rayment a, para 11). In the novel,

however, William treats him brutally: Let me go, he cried; monster! Ugly wretch! You

wish to eat me and tear me to pieces. You are an ogre. Let me go, or I will tell my papa.

(Shelly, 170). So the creature treats him brutally in response. Also both the creature and a

child are doubles in the film and novel similarly. In the film, the creature and a child are

double because they both are innocent children. In the novel, they are double because

they are both children who lost their innocence. In conclusion, the scene of killing a child

in the film much differs from its equivalent scene in the novel.