Psychological Study of the novel and Movie Frankenstein

SUBJECT: Paper no.5.The Romantic Literature:

ROLL NUMBER: 32

Study: M.A SEM: 2

GUIDED By: Heenaba Zala

Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.

Topic: Psychological Study of the Frankenstein Movie and Novel.

Introduction:

Frankenstein Novel Written by Mary Shelley, and Movie directed by Kenneth Brenath. The novel published in 1818, and movie published in 1999. The novel owes a great deal to the scientific progress and discoveries about electricity at the time. In the late 18^th century an Italian scientist, named Luigi Galvani, had shown that frogs legs could be ‘brought back to life’ by stimulating the muscles with electrical sparks. A fellow Italian scientist, named Alessandro Volta, subsequently built the first electric cell, so that further experimentation could be carried out.

This was the environment and starting point for Mary     Shelley’s fictional creation Frankenstein’s monster, whose life is described in her 1818 Gothic novel. Victor Frankenstein himself is a scientist in the mould of Galvani and Volta. Through his abundant enthusiasm for science he creates a monster by using electricity to bring a cadaver back to life. The monster is evidently larger and stronger than a normal person. Although Frankenstein does not divulge the details, the implication is that he fabricated the monster by hand and made it oversized so that he could physically tailor it together. When he brings it to life he is immediately horrified by what  he has created, but the deed is done so he flees the scene.

The story begins and ends in the Arctic as the majority of the novel is told abroad a ship by way of explanation for Frankenstein’s predicament. In essence the tale is a warning that medding with nature is not a part of the natural order of things and that it will end in tragedy. Frankenstein is ultimately destroyed by his own creation and the monster then destroys itself because it has the sensibilities of a human and does not want humanity to know of its existence.

In the case of Mary Shelley, she wrote Frankenstein following a vivid and terrifying dream in which an embryonic idea filled out into a lifelike story. There is a castle Frankenstein in Germany, where Johan Conrad Dippel practiced alchemy and experimented with bodies prior to the discoveries of Galvani and Volta. It is evident that Shelley visited, or had at least heard tale of the castle whilst on a European tour with her husband and the seed for her novel was planted. However. Shelley was mindful of her place as a female writer and never admitted the influence of the castle, despite it being glaringly obvious, for the sake of maintaining a reputation for originally.

In this way, Shelley’s story reaches a climax with both Frankenstein and his creation dying. Frankenstein can no longer interfere with the natural order of things with his crazy scientific experiments and the personification of evil removes itself from causing more terror by allowing the good side of its own personality to prevail.

Frankenstein is really famous movie and novel. It is represented in many versions of the movie. After watching all that  movies. Kenneth Brenath’s movie is better than all   that movies. She presents very well and she gives more justice to the book ‘Frankenstein’. According to my point of view Main theme of this novel is save relation or save life of woman during the time of  Delivery or   woman has not to suffer from the pain of pregnancy so he try to find out to gave a birth human body  by scientific way.

Psychological Study in the Movie and Novel ‘Frankenstein’;

              

                                     

Death and birth were” Hideously mixed” in the life of Mary Shelley. Mary Shelley’s experience, Mores points out, was highly unusual: “The harum-scarum circumstances surrounding her maternity have no parallel until our own time… Mary Godwin sailed into teenage motherhood without any of the financial or social or family supports that made bearing and rearing children a relaxed experience for the normal middle-class woman of her day. ”

In the movie main character is ‘Victor Frankenstein’. He is a son of ‘Caroline’. After many years of Frankenstein’s birth she became pregnant, and she gave a birth to William during that time she was died. In movie Kenneth Brenath made major different in this point. After some years Victor Frankenstein thinks about it and he wants to apply some experiments for human birth, Because when he saw his mother in that pain he cannot ready to accept that so that time he decided that he was doing something for woman so they don’t have to suffer from that pain and not lost their life also.   From the childhood Victor Frankenstein loved ‘Elizabeth’, and she also Fall in loved Frankenstein. When Victor meets the professor that time he told him that:

“ We are unfashioned creaturs, but half made up,

If one wiser better, dearer than ourselves- such a friend ought to be – do not lend his aid to perfectionate our weak and faulty natures. I once had a friend, the most noble of human creatures, and am entitled, thereore, to judge respecting friendship. You have hope, and the world before you, and have no cause for despair. But I-I have lost every thing and cannot begin life anew.”

The Delacey family is much different than the novel describes. The novel states that Felix and Agatha are siblings and their  father is Mr.Delacey. However, in the movie, Felix and Agatha are married and have two younger children.

                  

                                     

                            

       

Victor Meets with Dr.betrayed. He was also research on this topic but because of some circumstances he was died, after him Frankenstein apply first experiment on FROG and this experiment became successful that time glass broke down by that frog.  it symbolized that something is going do wrong in next some time. That experiment victor Frankenstein applies on human body which he was created by many parts of the other bodies, and at the end this experiment was successful. That ugly body has a life but at the first look it looks horrible. When victor saw this he was totally frighten by that body even he cannot trust on his own eyes but that is true so he has to trust on it. He just runs away from that place. That body has a ugly look and giant body because of it he looks like ‘MONSTER’. In this picture we can see the horrible face Monster.

                             Just because of this experiment he lives alone for give life to that body, but when that body has a live he except the place, even he deny to except that ‘MONSTER’. Monster was innocent he has no knowledge about society, human life or anything. He just wants to know his father who gave him a birth. He just need moral support, someone special in his life with whom he can spent his time and his problems or his thoughts but just because of his ugly look he lost all this things. When first time he face the society. He was frighten by the peoples because that time he was too hungry and he try to search for eat something but he cannot find so he ask for food that time peoples beat him.

                             After face this problem He saw one family there are two children, one couple and one blind grandfather. Monster save his life from his enemy so he was thankful to him but he was blind so he cannot see the monster’s ugly look because of this he became MONSTER’S FIRST FRIEND. Monster learns first word from him that was the word ‘FRIEND’. When his son and daughter in law are come they beat him and insult him. This was the second harm from the society to Monster. That old man told monster that:

                   “Do not trouble yourself , my kind host;

                 I have Food; it is warmth and rest only that I need.”

That time Monster replies him:

“I am about undertake that task; and it is on that account that feel so many overwhelming terrors. I tenderly love these friends; I have, unknown to them, been for many months in the habits of daily kindness towards them; but they believe that I wish to injure them, and it is that prejudice which I wish to overcome.”

                             Monster is not monster by his birth but he became monster after the face society’s hate, ignorance and they beat him when he saw this he was totally lost his behavior for society. In the lines we can see the purity of monster’s heart. When he get love from that grandfather and he think he is his friend so he was emotionally attached with him but that time also he was face the problem because of his ugly look.

                             After this He decide to find his father and unfortunately he find out the Diary of victor Frankenstein and from that diary he knew that victor was his father and so he try to find him. During this time his birth to meet Frankenstein he just saw the sadness, feel depression and hatred from the society so all this depression come out on William because before victor monster meets with William and he killed him, but because of some misunderstanding everyone thinks that Justine killed him So everyone gives her to punishment of death. In this picture we can see the height of Monster in the movie.

                  

When Victor Frankenstein and Monster became face to face that was really horrible scene in the movie. Mary Shelley presents him with 8 feet dangerous look According to her monster was too ugly and dangerous, because if any person saw him they hate him or stay away from him. Monster that time try to hit him or try to harm him because he rejects him and monster not able to digest this. That time monster come to know that victor has one girlfriend and he loved him a lot so he give condition to him that he has to create lady monster for him if he deny him so he harm to Elizabeth. Monster use this words to Victor Frankenstein: “I AM WITH YOU ON YOUR WEDDING NIGHT”.

                  

Elizabeth was really beautiful girl and kindly fall in love with Victor Frankenstein. When Victor try to apply that experiment that time she try to stop him but he never listen her. In the movie Kenneth Brenath express Elizabeth’s feelings with love scenes in the movie; with this scene she cans easily convenience the audience to her point of view. Monster expresses his feelings with these words:

“I am not mad, I cried energetically; the sun and the heavens, who have viewed my operations, can bear witness of my truth. I am the assassin of those most innocent victims; they died by my machinations. A thousand times would I have shed my own blood, drop by drop, to have saved their lives; but I could not, my father, indeed I could not sacrifice the whole human race.”

After the marriage of Victor Frankenstein and Elizabeth Monster killed Elizabeth that she frighten a lot we can see that in this picture.

Victor Frankenstein cheat him he creates lady monster but himself he destroy her because if monster has family it is really danger to the human life.  So Monster became very angry on him and he killed his love Elizabeth on their wedding night front of Victor Frankenstein. In Front of victor’s eyes his love was murdered by monster that was really painful moment for him so he try to give rebirth to Elizabeth’s body but after rebirth she became very ugly and she was looking like lady monster. When monster saw her he thinks she is just only for him he called her BEAUTIFUL. That called beauty of heart not beauty of look or just body. Here we can see the ugly look of Elizabeth.

     When Elizabeth realizes that now she became lady monster that time she commit suicide. That was horrible death of Elizabeth, after this victor second time lost his love just for his one mistake that creating monster he lost all of his life, like His small Brother, his love Elizabeth.

          In ‘Frankenstein’ at the rear of the end Victor Frankenstein and Monster both are alone. After the death of Elizabeth Monster feeling very guilty, he trying to give support to Victor Frankenstein but because of lost his love victor has no wish to live more without Elizabeth. He was died with the incomplete wish to get his love. Just because of his own mistake and try to go against the nature so he faces many problems in his life. Like he lost his love, he lost his friend ‘Henry’ and his brother ‘William’ also.

Before the death victor was full of pain and he express his feelings to Monster with these words:

“My Life, as it passed thus, was indeed hateful to me, and it was during sleeep alone that I could taste joy. O blessed sleep! Often, when most miserable, I sank guarded me had provided these moments, or rather hours, of happiness that I might retain strength to fulfil my pilgrimage. Deprived of this respite, I should have sunk under my hardships. During the day I was sustained and inspirited by the hope of night: for in sleep I saw my friends, my wife and my beloved country; again I saw the countenance of my father, heard the silver tones of my Elizabeth’s voice, and beheld Clerval enjoying health and youth. Often, when wearied by a toil- some march, I persuaded myself that I was dreaming until night should come, and that I should then enjoy reality in the arms of  my dearest friend. What agoinising fondness did forms, as sometimes they haunted even my waking hours, and persuade myself that they still lived! At such moments vengeance, that burned within me, died in my heart, and I pursued my path towards the destruction of the daemon, more as a task enjoined by heaven, as the mechanical impulse of some power of which I was unconscious, than as the ardent desire of my soul.”

          Human mind never accepts the things what they don’t want in their life. That think done with Victor Frankenstein he just want beautiful thinks in his life but he has to face the reality of life that time he suffers a lot and try to go against the nature and he try to creates himself a human being. Because of this he ruined his life.

When he died Monster was very sad he thinks that he is the reason of his death so he feels very guilty and helpless person. That time someone asked him his name he said that:

“ He Never gave me a Name”

Monster take Victor as a his father. Victor gives life to monster that’s why monster called him his father. Monster give him a funeral with these words:

“ Farewell! I leave you, and in you the last of human-kind whom these eyes will ever behold.

Farewell, Frankenstein! If thou wert yet alive and yet cherished a desire of revenge against me, it would be better satiated in my life than in my destruction. But it was not so; thou didst seek my extinction, that  I might not cause greater wretchedness; and if yet, in some mode unknown to me, thou wouldst not desire against me a vengeance greater than that which I feel. Blasted as thou wert, my agony was still superior to thine; for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them for eve.”

During the funeral there is a ice-raft so all people runs away from that plce but Monster still stay their and gave him a funeral and he also died with Victor Frankenstein.

Conclusion:

                             Understanding Frankenstein means understanding the gendered psychology of its creator. In Frankenstein Femininity embraces life and regeneration, whereas masculinity murders and turns suicidal upon itself. Victor is alienated from the domestic sphere in his masculine quest for scientific glory, and as Mary Povvery observes,

“ the monster he creates completes his alienation by virtually        wiping out his family”.

Kate Eliss finds that Frankenstein critiques  “a  bifurcated social order” that separates “the masculine sphere of discovery and the feminine sphere of  domesticity”. Victor’s sin of expropriating the function of the female by giving “birth” to a child would seem to be a bridging of the two spheres. But though he sees himself as promoting social good in his unselfish desire to right the wrongs of material life, the unnaturalness of his ambition to attain immortality is related to his forswearing normal relations with women, with his family and friends, and with his own “CHILD.” How fitting that people shas confused Frankenstein with his creature, calling both “FRANKENSTEIN”: Victor, the creator who erases others identities, has been partially erased by his creature.