In honor of Mary Shelley’s birthday, today has been designated as National Frankenstein Day.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818 when she was only 18 years old. Lord Byron suggested she, he and Percy Bysshe Shelley compete to see who could write the most frightening story and of course, she won!
Although we commonly think of her monster as being named Frankenstein, Frankenstein was actually the name of his creator. In the novel, our back-from-the-dead friend is simply called the “Creature.” I haven’t read the novel but I understand the Creature talks whereas in the most famous of the Frankenstein movies, the Universal one made in 1931, of course, he does not. In many other ways, however, the movies are similar to the novels.
Oddly, although I love horror movies, I find Frankenstein films too disturbing to really enjoy, although I acknowledge that they are brilliant and I particularly like Boris Karloff as an actor. For me, the dramatic representation of Frankenstein triggers a sensitivity I have about the historic treatment of disabled people. Therefore, I find them more painful to watch than werewolf or vampire movies. And I cannot help but empathize with the Creature.
